Uncle Jerry’s granola

My uncle Jerry, AKA Gerald F. Brommer,  is a well-known watercolor artist whose sense of artistry also shines in his granola recipe which I’ve been enjoying for years.  It’s simple and delicious and I know he wouldn’t mind if I passed it on to you, too.  It also makes great Christmas gifts.   I have friends and family members who hope each year to find a gift bag of it in their basket or stocking.

Enjoy!!

Jerry’s Granola

7 c. whole oats
1 generous c. each sunflower seeds, cashews, chopped almonds, chopped pecans
1 c. honey
1 stick butter  (1/2 c.)

Bring honey and butter to a boil.  Combine everything else in a large bowl.  Pour honey & butter over the rest and mix well.  Divide into 2 11 X 16 pans.  Bake at 325 until nicely browned.  Watch and stir every 10 minutes or so.  If you want to add raisins or other fruit, add only for a few minutes in the oven or after you take the granola out.

Notes:

• I often use 8 or 9 cups of oats.
• The recipe can be made vegan by using Earth Balance or a similar vegan butter but with no loss of taste.  If you’re a vegan who doesn’t eat honey, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.  🙂

They’ll be giving thanks for this food!

If you’re gluten-intolerant, have celiac disease or are vegan or vegetarian, the holidays can be particularly difficult, especially if you’re the only one in your family or group in that category.  This year we’re spending Thanksgiving with friends, one of whom is gluten-intolerant.  Since our usual entree is homemade ravioli (here’s the recipe but the pictures have mysteriously disappeared…https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/cooking-classes-and-ravioli/with walnut sauce) with walnut sauce (also picture-less…https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/after-youve-made-ravioli-make-the-ravioli/), that won’t fly, unless I make gluten-free pasta, which I may do.  So when I saw the Seasonal Fall Flavors cooking class being offered at Mustard Seed Market and Cafe in Solon, Ohio, (http://www.mustardseedmarket.com/index.html), I signed up right away, figuring I might find some great-tasting recipes with which to impress everyone.

Summertime and the eatin’ is easy

It’s difficult to want to do much cooking in summer, sometimes because it’s too hot and sometimes simply because everything is so luscious on its own.  But whether you decide to cook or not cook, mealtimes are good times during the summer.

Food for the heat (and a bonus scone recipe)

It’s a rainy evening (thankfully) and my fancy turns to food.  But in the heat, not too much sounds good.  Don’t despair! There are plenty of healthy and simple choices even when it’s hot…and for tea on a hot afternoon, or for dessert, chocolate cherry whole wheat scones.  Join us!

A little something

Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o’clock in the morning…Winnie the  Pooh, by A.A. Milne.

Oatmeal–it’s what’s for breakfast

I previously posted one of my favorite breakfast recipes (Whole Grain Pancake Mix by Julie Hasson, https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/peter-please-its-pancakes/) ) but since there are seven days in week, you need some other breakfast choices, so I thought another favorite might be welcome.

A few recipes

I’m not an innovative cook, I just find good recipes. But occasionally I come up with something that tastes good and is easy. Here’s my latest tiny contribution to the world of food and to making your life just a little bit easier. Enjoy!

Janet’s Easy Lunch Bowl

Chickpeas
Artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Avocado, diced

Put chickpeas in the bottom of a bowl. Put the artichokes pieces on top of the chickpeas. Top with avocado pieces. I told you it was easy. But it tastes good and is fast and nutritious as well.

You may use plain artichoke hearts, marinated artichoke hearts (in which case, you can use some of the marinade as a dressing) or some of the artichoke tapenade from Trader Joe’s. It’s not really called tapenade, but I don’t remember offhand what it is called. It’s basically chopped up, marinated artichokes, from the taste of it and a very tasty taste it is, too. Anyway, any of these work well. If you use plain artichoke hearts, you might like some sort of marinade. Or you might not.

When I made our bowls today, I added some chopped scallions/green onions. Yum! This works well on top of salad greens, too. Feel free to innovate from here.

Here’s another delicious appetizer, dessert or tapa recipe, based on a tapa we had once at an excellent (and excellently priced) tapas restaurant in Naperville, Illinois, Macarena Tapas, http://www.macarenatapasnaperville.com/.
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My Best Date Ever
Ingredients:

Dates, chèvre, bacon or prosciutto, honey

1. Remove the pits from the dates.
2. Stuff each date with chèvre.
3. Wrap with bacon or prosciutto
4. Broil (turning if necessary) until bacon is cooked or prosciutto is crisp.
5. Plate and drizzle with honey.

Perfect as an appetizer, dessert or tapa.
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Finally, cucumber slices topped with olive tapenade are excellent. To gussy them up a bit, top with a toasted walnut piece.

Vegan on the interstate

For just over a year, I’ve been eating, while not strictly vegan, especially since honey’s considered not-vegan, at least mostly vegan. Overall, it hasn’t been that difficult, definitely not as hard as when our younger daughter was eating gluten-free. But to eat vegan or even vegetarian while on the road is very difficult unless you bring your own food. It’s even hard to eat healthily or to find any vegetables other than in a salad but vegan/vegetarian is almost impossible. Plaza eating facilities tend not to offer veggies or even much fruit, so I pack my own food, either purchased or from home.

For “fast food”, sometimes I stop in downtown Cleveland at Aladdin’s Middle East bakery for some of their amazing bean salad, steadfastly avoiding the gyro sandwiches. Subway’s veggie patty is pretty good, even cold and I have them pile on lots of veggies. Today, we had a couple of Trader Joe’s Super Spinach salads and for snacking, I like ABC Trek mix, also from TJ’s, a tasty, healthy mixture of raw almonds and dried fruit. With tea brewed before leaving and some dark chocolate, I’m all set for a healthy eating experience.