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 August 5, 2008 in dessert, recipe and sides & bites.
Did you know that when red currants are baked they taste like candy? I swear! Just like candy. All red and sweet and sticky. If you’ve never tried red currants before, I think you should snatch some up and make this crisp. Wikipedia says that red currants are a bit sour and mostly used in jams and other cooked dishes. They’re definitely not conducive to snacking since they’re as tiny as a mini Altoid. But something happens when they’re baked and they just transform…into candy!
I paired them with some sweet nectarines and added bit of thyme as a contrast to the sweet crisp topping. I also used more salt than is usual, fancy fleur de sel to be exact, in the topping to really make the fruit pop. I loved how sweet, salty, sour and savory all combined to make this special summer dessert. I also loved how the scoop of Haagen Dazs Fleur de Sel Caramel ice cream we heaped on top made for the best dessert I’ve had in a long time.
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Published by mel on June 18, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
While I was away on a girls’ weekend in Maine, Tom was attending the annual Asparagus Festival in Western Michigan. Every year, Michiganders celebrate the harvest with a parade, plenty of beer-battered fried asparagus and the crowning of Miss Asparagus. Good times were had by all from what I hear, and I got a spanking new “I <3 Asparagus” T-shirt. Because I do in fact heart asparagus, Tom brought a couple pounds home. Even after 14 hours of travel, they arrived fresh and crisp.
So what to do with them? I decided on a risotto, and in my quest to try out risottos with all varieties of grains, I used steel cut oats. Yes, oatmeal. Savory oatmeal for dinner. I was a little weary at first, but it turned out pretty and delicious. Creamy, but not mushy. Tangy and decadent as its traditional counterpart, I love that I’ve added a new grain to the risotto roster.
Continue reading ‘oat risotto with shrimp, asparagus & pecorino’
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.
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