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A Perfectly Delicious Granola Recipe

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I am not really a cereal person. At least not in the morning. Cereal is a great late night snack, but breakfast? I would much rather have something warm like toast and bacon. Cold cereal is just not a motivator to get me out of bed – with one exception – a perfect homemade granola. And of course a delicious cup of artisan coffee (we just got a monthly subscription to Ruby and are LOVING it). After trying a slew of granola recipes, I have landed on this one as my favorite go-to.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews (my preference is to roughly chop them, but on afternoons like mine today when you are feeling lazy, just leave them whole)
3/4 cup shredded coconut (I prefer unsweetened, but sweetened works great too)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff please)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

Ice cold milk or plain yogurt for serving

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar, maple syrup, oil, and salt. Stir well.

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Pour onto large sheet pan. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes-ish to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl.

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I let mine cool and then store it in a large ziplock bag, where I have never had it last longer than a week, but it would probably easily keep at least a month.

Note: I am sure you could easily make all sorts of modifications based on your nut preferences, level of sweetness you like, adding dried fruit etc. But, for me, this combination is quite perfect.

Recipe based on the brilliant Alton Brown’s version here.

Cheesy Lasagne Soup Recipe

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(Picture is from A Farm Girl Dabbles)

I know it is kind of strange to post recipes on this very art centric blog. There are plenty of wonderful sites that fill that niche without needing any help from me. But, food is my love language. Making delicious meals for the people I love is what I do. I never get tired of it. So, here is yet another recipe from my files

Over Christmas, we went to our annual family potluck at my grandfather’s cabin in KS. My aunt, who I am beginning to think of as the “queen of comfort soup” made a version of this yumminess. I knew immediately that it would become a new family staple. Besides the fact that it is filled with cheesy melty goodness, and tastes likes the best of lasagnes, one of my favorite things about how this is served is that the cheeses, and mozzarella, and pasta all go in separate bowls so you can individually craft your dish. Between three picky children and lots of friends with food sensitivities, I am a fan of any recipe that is highly customizable. Extra cheese in mine? Yes please.

(this recipe is adapted just slightly from A Farm Girl Dabbles)

LASAGNA SOUP

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUP:

  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy, and ground beef works here too)
  • 1 package McCormicks spaghetti seasoning (not in the original recipe, so you could leave this out, but I think it adds a good amount of flavor quickly and easily. Cheating I know, but try it)
  • 3 c. chopped onions (I just use one large onion)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (leave out if you have kids who don’t like spicy)
  • 2 T. tomato paste
  • 1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (regular would be fine too)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 c. chicken stock
  • 8 oz. fusilli pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
  • 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE CHEESY YUM:

  • 8 oz. ricotta
  • 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • pinch of freshly ground pepper
additional cheesy yum:
  • 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta to al dente following package directions in a large pot of heavily salted water. Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and seasoning packet and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the sauce is simmering, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, spoon noodles into bowl, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the top.

Banoffee Pie Recipe

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We have a lot of birthdays around this time – mine, Harriet’s, Beatrice’s and Tim’s are all within a few weeks of each other. Tim’s is the last of the great hurrah and this year for his birthday, quite understandably, he requested this pie (it is also the one I served for our medal ceremony).

Banoffee pie was invented in the 80’s in Great Britain. The name is a cross between “Banana” and “Toffee”. In case you, like me, are a little wary of anything banana, don’t let that off put you. The way Tim describes this pie is “it’s like I discovered a color I never knew existed and suddenly the world is more beautiful than before.” My only critique of this pie is that it is very rich and sweet, so for balance, leave the whipped cream unsweetened.

Betony’s BANOFFEE PIE

SERVES 8

For the Pie Crust

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1 (8-oz.) package of Biscoff cookies

For the Filling

1 stick unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 (14-oz.) can condensed milk (I recently discovered that the off-brand is not as good)
splash of apple cider vinegar – I find that acid really brings out caramel flavors
a pinch of salt
1 banana
1 pint heavy cream

Instructions

Make the crumb crust: Crush the cookies and salt in a food processor until you get a fine crumb texture. Transfer to a bowl and stir in melted butter. Press into a pie pan. Press the mixture up the sides of the pan with the back of a spoon. Chill the crust in refrigerator for at least one hour.
Make the toffee: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and melt over low heat. Add the condensed milk and bring the mixture to a boil for a few minutes, stirring continuously. The toffee should darken slightly (keep a close eye on it!). Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and pinch of salt and stir to combine.  Pour the filling into the crust. Cool and chill again for at least one hour until the caramel is firm.
To serve, slice the banana and place them in a single layer on top of the caramel. Whip the cream and spoon it over the toffee and bananas, sealing the filling in.

Mine is a take on this version by Savuer (pretty similar except that I added salt, a splash of acid in the caramel, changed the crust to biscoff cookies, and reduced it from 4 to one banana)

banoffee pie
(credit to Dale Fredrickson for this pic)

My Two Very Favorite Biscuit Recipes

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There are two kinds of biscuits – ones that you put toppings on and ones that you don’t. As much as my husband would like to argue there is a third kind that comes in a can, he is wrong. This first recipe acts as a perfect vehicle for toppings – sausage gravy, salted butter and strawberry jam, maple cream (if you are so lucky), homemade apple butter, etc. In this case, I want a thick simple biscuit, served right out of the oven, split in half and slathered with whichever toppings I have on hand. In this case, the biscuit I want is my mother’s (which is adapted from Better Homes & Gardens).

Preheat oven to 450°. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (you can do this in the food processor if you want). Make a well in the center; add milk all at once. Stir just till dough clings together. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently for 10-12 strokes. Roll or pat dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter (a drinking glass works great), dipping cutter into flour between cuts (my kiddos like shaped cookie cutters). Transfer biscuits to a baking sheet. Bake in a 450° oven for 9-11 minutes or until golden on the edges. Serve warm with butter and toppings. Makes 10.

This second biscuit recipe is the kind of thing I would want to have with a cup of tea in the afternoon. If you were coming over to my house for an afternoon chat, or in need of a little extra love, I would make you these. They are buttery, salty, and crispy on the outside, and sweet and tender on the inside. They need absolutely no adornments – just eat them the way they are. They are little pillows of magic. We made two pans of these for Easter dinner this year. There wasn’t a single one left. You must eat these while still warm out of the oven. Fortunately, the prepped pan of biscuits freezes great. You can make them ahead of time and then bake when ready.

Note: This recipe is Rosa’s almost exactly except that I cut down the sugar a bit.

Ingredients

SERVINGS: MAKES 24

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces; plus 6 Tbsp. (¾ stick), melted
  • ¾ cup chilled buttermilk

 Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1½ tsp. salt in a large bowl. Add chilled butter and toss to coat. Work butter into flour mixture with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal with several pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
  • Using a fork, gently mix in buttermilk, then gently knead just until dough comes together (do not overmix).
  • Pinch off pieces of dough and gently roll into 1” balls; place on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2” apart (you should have about 24). If butter softens too much while you are working, chill dough until firm before baking, 15–20 minutes.
  • Bake biscuits until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with more salt (I use flaky sea salt). Serve warm.

    Recipe adapted from Rosa Pacheco, Del Posto, NYC, Photograph by Dustin Aksland – published in Bon Appetit, 2014