Buzzz buzz Granola

Looking back over old posts, I realized it has been quite a while since I last wrote an entry about granola. This is rather odd considering how often I make granola, and I rarely make the same exact granola twice.  The beauty of granola is that you can make infinite substitutions once you have a basic ratio of oats : nuts : sweetener : oil : add-ins in place.  This also comes in handy when you want to clean out your pantry.  In my family, we have something called "fridge soup".  There's no actual recipe; it's just whatever is starting to look a little tired in your fridge plus an onion and some spices, finished by being pureed (or what we call "mix-souped").  Going along with this idea, I think I will dub my granolas "pantry granolas" because I rarely rarely follow a recipe fully; there are always substitutions and additions to be made based on what I have lying around!

Below is my latest granola creation, the idea sparked by a container of hazelnuts and a 1/2 gallon of honey sitting on my shelf.  This granola has an intensely honey flavor, so make sure you use a good honey that you like.  The honey I used came from bees living in alfalfa fields.  It's a really delicious sweet and light honey, which gave the granola some beautiful floral notes.

A towering pile of granola, among what little remains of Nemo's thankfully pathetic visit to my neck of the woods.

Honey Buzzz buzz Hazelnut Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• scant 1 cup hazelnuts, skins removed (buy them blanched or do it yourself) and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup puffed millet (or another puffed cereal)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp honey bzzzzzz
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp nut butter (I used my cashew macademia nut butter, but almond butter would be good, too)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, hazelnuts, puffed millet, and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, mix together the honey, coconut oil, and nut butter.  Microwave for 45 seconds, stirring halfway through.
4. Stir the vanilla into the honey mixture.
5. Stir the honey mixture into the oat mixture.  Stir thoroughly so that everything is well coated.
6. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip or stir the granola around on the sheet.
8. Bake for another 10 minutes, then stir the granola again.
9. Bake for 5-10 minutes more, watching carefully so that the hazelnuts don't burn.  You want the granola to look nicely toasted.  It will still be soft when you take it out of the oven, but don't worry, it will harden into clumps as it cools.
10. Let the granola cool completely and then store in glass jars or air-tight plastic containers.

With this recipe, I had three jars full.  (Not counting all the granola I snacked on off the baking sheet...)

Enjoy plain, by the handful, or over top yogurt or ice cream!

Feel free to subzzzzztitute away!

Savoring winter squash while I still can!

It's hard to believe that it's already February.  While spring is not too far away - what did the groundhog conclude? - the frigid temperatures I have been experiencing here make me think I will be stuck in winter forever.  Will it ever get warmer?

At least there are certain comforts associated with winter.  Hmm comfort categories...FOOD.  I suppose wool socks and voluminous sweaters count as comfort, too, but nothing rivals the comforts that food can bring.  What do I look forward to most in winter?  Squash!  All varieties.  Unfortunately, I'm already seeing the squash quantity and variety dwindle at the farmers market as the vendors sell the last of their reserves.  What will I do when these beauties can no longer be found at the market?

Just as the fantastic summer veggies must come to an end at the end of the summer, so too must the winter ones at the end of the winter.  While I see the dwindling squash count as a promise of spring around the corner - with fields of lush strawberries, bundles of green onions, and stalks of asparagus - I cannot help but be sad.  The only solution is to make the most of the squash while I can.  And I fully intend to do just that!  Here's a lovely butternut squash recipe.

Something that always amazes me at the farmers market this time of year is the incredible greens the farmers are able to grow.  For this recipe, I picked up some dinosaur kale, and last week I also got the most beautiful bag of spinach - dark, turgid leaves with the sweetest little taste; I eat the leaves plain, one by one, just as if I were eating chips.

Dear Mr. Butternut Squash,

I hope this is not our last recipe together of the season, but if it is, I am content knowing that we ended in such a delicious way.  Perfect memories to tide me over the spring and summer.

Love,

Fredeliciosa

Butternut Squash with Kale, Almonds, and Cashews

(Slightly adapted from Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of butternut squash, cubed (3/4-1" pieces) (one small squash or half a large one, approximately)
• 2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced (I used two mammoth sized cloves of particularly fragrant garlic, and I adored the garlicky-ness)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups of kale, chopped (I used dinosaur/Lacinato)

• 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly oil a 8x8 Pyrex glass baking dish or an equivalent casserole dish or dutch oven (just something oven safe!).
2. Put the squash, garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4-1/2 tsp salt in the dish and toss.
3. Cover the dish with tin foil (or a lid if it has one) and poke a few holes in the foil.
4. Bake covered for 35-40 minutes until the squash is tender.
5. Meanwhile mix the almonds, cashews, nutritional yeast, 2 tsp olive oil, and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl.
6. When the squash is tender, remove the foil/cover and stir in the chopped kale.  Sprinkle the nut mixture evenly over the top.
7. Return the dish, uncovered, to the oven for 8-12 minutes until the nuts are nicely toasted.  Make sure you keep an eye on the nuts during this cooking time so you don't burn them!
8. Remove from the oven once toasty and serve!

This dish goes fabulously with a piece of toast slathered with oozy, smelly cheese or a fried egg and sprout tartine.

Mmm big dish of yummy, colorful goodness!

There is no lack of color, flavor, or texture in this dish! 

Fire escape photoshoot.  Glam?  Edgy?  You decide.

Heehee the squash is practically the same color as my plate!

Some possible substitutions:

-If you are allergic to nuts, any seeds would work.  Pumpkin seeds would be particularly scrumptious, but sunflower and sesame also come to mind.
-If you don't have nutritional yeast, some grated parmesan or pecorino romano would be divine.
-Any leafy dark green could sub for the kale.
-Any sweet, firm squash you can find will work well.  And when good squash are no longer to be found, I imagine sweet potatoes will do.

So many possibilities, so little squash season left!