Published by mel on October 24, 2008 in breakfast, recipe and sides & bites.
I love granola bars of all varieties and flavors. Chewy, crunchy, nutty and fruity. I used to stock up at the grocery store weekly, but then I looked at the list of ingredients. Far too many processed food-like substances for my taste, so I decided to make my own. I posted a recipe for Banana Chocolate bars over the summer and haven’t bought a box of granola bars since. The recipe was a huge success and I’ve been meaning to post follow-up varieties, but haven’t been all that inspired. Now that it’s fall and everything is cranberries, cinnamon and nutmeg, I’ve finally found the inspiration I was looking for.
These Cranberry Spice granola bars taste just like the Autumn. Tom thinks they taste like Pumpkin Pie, but he thinks that about everything made with nutmeg. While the recipe and method are almost identical to the summer’s granola bars, the mix-ins give them a unique flavor all their own. Instead of chocolate, cashews and banana chips, I used dried cranberries, pecans and a blend of warming spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger.
I encourage you to give these granola bars a try. They come together in under 20 minutes, everyone loves them and you can experiment with a huge variety of nuts and mix-ins to make them your own. They also make a filling and nutritious portable snack. Since most airlines don’t even give you a tiny bag of pretzels, I made these for Tom’s business trip and I think they just might be the perfect carry-on plane food.
Related: Banana Chocolate Granola Bars
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Published by mel on September 23, 2008 in breakfast, entree, recipe and sides & bites.
If asked to choose my favorite condiment, I may just have to go with hot sauce. Though mustard — especially the spicy, grainy kind of mustard — would be a very close second. When you’ve got the right hot sauce, it can add subtle and delicious flavor, as well as heat. When you’ve got the wrong kind of hot sauce, it can taste vinegar-y or so overpoweringly spicy that you can’t taste anything else.
This homemade hot sauce has 4 ingredients: dried chiles de arbol, a touch of honey, a dash of apple cider vinegar and water. The chiles de arbol are spicy and smokey and give this hot sauce a unique flavor that has some of the chipotle’s smokiness, but isn’t as overpowering.
And if asked to choose my favorite dish to dress with hot sauce, it would be eggs. Without a doubt, eggs and hot sauce are best friends. Last night, I made corn tostadas with refried beans and cheese, baked until crisp then topped with fried eggs, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Delicious and wholesome, it was a great way to kick off the week with a little spice.
Apologies for the ugly picture. I had the wrong lens on my camera and was too hungry to notice.
Continue reading ‘Easiest Homemade Hot Sauce’
Published by mel on July 18, 2008 in breakfast, dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
I love love love granola. Crunchy and nutty with bits of dried fruit. It’s amazing. Recently, I bought some Udi’s Original Granola and have been slightly obsessed with it ever since. The secret is cashews and banana chips. You know those crisp, sweetened banana chips that are usually in the nut section of the grocery store? I’m talking about those. They’re amazing in granola. They’re amazing paired with toasted cashews.
Udi’s was my inspiration for these homemade granola bars. Honestly, I always thought granola bars would be a bit of a pain in the — um, yeah — to make. But they’re really not. It took me under 30 minutes start to finish and the hardest part was chopping the cashews (and washing the dishes). Simply toast some nuts, boil some syrup, mix everything together in a big bowl and pour them into a baking dish. They’re just as easy as rice krispy treats, only infinitely more healthful and satisfying.
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Published by mel on July 7, 2008 in breakfast, dessert, entree, recipe and sides & bites.
The 4th of July just might be my favorite holiday. Especially when it lands on a Friday and the rain clouds stay away. We wake up early, pack the food, the coolers and the Bocce set and head to the beach. We set up 3 tents, tons of chairs and a buffet for our friends and family. We open our first beer before noon and we eat empanadas, roast pork and tamales with our toes in the sand all day. The barge with fireworks makes it’s way over to our beach, parks right in front of our party and we drink champagne while they burst over our heads. A perfect day.
I bring the empanadas, which means that I turn my kitchen into an empanada factory the eve of 4th. This year I managed to churn out 80 empanadas in 3 varieties - Guava and Cream Cheese; Sausage, Roasted Red Pepper and Feta; Ham, Cheddar and Green Apple. They were all gone by 3pm, which means that next year I’ll somehow have to make more. I think my favorite was the ham, cheddar and green apple, though the guava and cream cheese were the first to disappear.
Just like arroz con pollo empanadas differ regionally. Cubans generally deep fry their empanadas, creating a flaky, bubbly crust. While these are quite delicious, I just don’t deep dry at home. Too messy. I baked them in batches of 20 - 30 and they emerged golden and delicious.
Empanadas are fairly easy to make and great for large crowds. They’re also hand-held and portable which make them perfect for a BBQ or beach picnic. And they were just perfect for my perfect 4th of July.
Continue reading ‘empanadas three ways’
Published by mel on April 3, 2008 in breakfast, recipe and sides & bites.
I posted a grown-up grilled cheese last month that made for a wonderful dinner. There’s really nothing as versatile and virtually indestructible as the grilled cheese sandwich. Infinite fillings! Dipping sauces! Soups! Experimenting is the best part.
I especially like a grilled cheese breakfast. Sunday morning, I made a version with cheddar, basil and apricot jam. Sweet and herbal, they were a perfect match for both Tom’s sweet tooth and my salty one.
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Published by mel on March 25, 2008 in breakfast, entree and recipe.
Monday nights are always late ones. I always do my weekly shopping after work and usually get home pretty late. That’s why Monday dinners must take 20 minutes or less, start to finish. That usually means we’re having eggs in one form or another. I wish I would have made this a bit sooner as it would have made a lovely Easter brunch dish, but I’m sure you all have leftover eggs from the weekend that need some cooking.
Leftover polenta, roasted asparagus, Manchego cheese and poached eggs are all neatly stacked for this simple meal. I love the play of textures between the coarse polenta, crisp asparagus and rich egg yolk.
While you could certainly use the polenta that comes in a tube if you’re pressed for time, real slow-cooked and coarse polenta is healthier and more interesting if you’ve got the time. I would also encourage you to experiment with the ingredients. I’m a firm believer that everything tastes better with an egg on top, so switch the asparagus for watercress, ham or sausage - whatever’s in your fridge will probably taste amazing topped by an egg.
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Published by mel on February 12, 2008 in breakfast and recipe.
I’ve always loved oatmeal. Even as a little kid, I would crave Quaker instant oatmeal (Maple Brown Sugar, please…though I did go through an Apple Cinnamon phase). I’d like to think that my tastes are more sophisticated now (ha!), but really I switched to steel cut oats for their nutritional value. These oats are full of fiber and are hearty enough to satisfy for hours. I used McCann’s Irish Oats (cooked according to instructions) and topped them with blueberries, pecans, fancy vanilla sugar crystals and a splash of buttermilk. A delicious start to my very busy Saturday.
Published by mel on January 24, 2008 in breakfast and recipe.
Half a Cibatta roll, a slice of Canadian Bacon, a poached egg, curry hot sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. A cup of coffee and the perfect way to wake up on Sunday.
Published by mel on August 28, 2007 in breakfast, recipe and sides & bites.
I tend to get bored with breakfasts, usually because I make the same thing every weekday morning for months at a time. Two years ago, it was smoothies. Every morning I’d throw some protein powder, yogurt, banana, frozen berries and soymilk into a blender. But cleaning that blender turned out to be more than I cared to handle in the morning. I moved on to cereal, but soon grew tired of that. Then it was oatmeal, which I ate every day until I could hardly bear to look at it. Now, I’m back on cereal. This time, with fresh berries and soymilk. Who knows how long it’ll last.
So when I saw these beautiful little muffins that contain hardly more sugar and fat than the cereal I usually eat, I couldn’t resist. I made the first batch with dried apricots and toasted walnuts. They were super delicious, filling and nutritious. AND I could make them start to finish in under 20 minutes. Not that I’ll be baking every morning, but they can certainly be made on a quiet weeknight or on Sunday afternoon. Anyhow, I’ve made them 3 times in the last 3 weeks. The little muffins break up the monotony of the cereal bowl and make me feel like I’m getting a treat mid-week.
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Published by mel on March 13, 2007 in breakfast, entree and recipe.
There’s nothing better than having breakfast for dinner. Or, dinner for breakfast. Honestly, what’s better than a cold slice of pizza at 7AM? Do we feel a bit rebellious eating waffles with syrup when we should be eating steamed fish and veggies? I don’t know, but yesterday when the meal I started making quickly went into the garbage (due to some funky sausages), breakfast was the only thing my growling tummy had the patience wait for. (Yes, I am aware that I should not be ending my sentence with a preposition, but there it is.)
Back to breakfast. I had been trying to make potato pancakes, but the attachment on the food processor wasn’t being very cooperative. Mondays are the worst. Seeing as I had already massacred the potatoes, I decided to make my version of patatas bravas, or Spanish-style home fries.
I finished chopping up the potatoes and an onion and threw them into a hot pan with some olive oil. After they had begun to brown, or stick, as the case may be, I added some tomato paste, water, salt, pepper and some read chili flakes. I covered the pot and let them simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the taters were tender.
In the meantime, I whipped up my frittata. In keeping with my Iberian theme, I used some Linguica sausage, along with some non-Iberian torn basil leaves and ricotta.
recipe after the jump.
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