RECIPE: Nutty, Fruity Granola

They say "You are what you eat" ... and you know what that means: I'm nutty and fruity!!!



That being said, here's how I made my special granola...

I preheated the oven. I chopped some nuts. I got out every last mini dish I had in the kitchen... and I lined up all my ingredients.




The coconut flakes got toasted...



And set aside to cool, looking all toasty and scrumptious...



Next? I got the oat mixture into the oven after mixing together the oats, agave nectar, water, oil and sugar...













I spread it out on a baking sheet... and slid it into the hot oven. I closed the oven door and waited to smell the amazingness that is homemade granola.



The nuts and seeds? They got toasted in a little smidge of butter in a big ol' skillet. I melted a pat of butter (or maybe it was two) in a skillet over medium-low heat and cooked the raw taste out of the nuts.

Depending on how many nuts and seeds you have in that skillet (and the size of the nuts) this will take between 10-15 minutes.

I added the flax seed in the last 3-5 minutes... they are very tiny and don't need much cooking time...





I transferred the nuts and seeds to a large bowl to await the toasted oat mixture. Once they had cooled slightly (waiting was the hardest part) I added the oats, coconut and dried fruit to the nut/seed mixture.









It's so simple... you can do this too! ENJOY!!! But let me warn you, you might want to make sure you have enough of these ingredients to make a second batch... because it's so tempting that it will go faaaassst!!!

You might even want to make sure you have yogurt on hand so you can enjoy while the granola is still warm...




Or you can just put some in a little dish and carry it with you around the house, munching on it all along the way. That's what I did...


Just call me nutty (and fruity)!!!


Now... go make your own! And quit judging me...

Nutty, Fruity Granola
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups old-fashioned oats
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
¼ stick butter
¼ raw pecan halves, chopped
½ cup shelled pistachios, chopped
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup sunflower seeds (roasted/salted is ok)
2 tablespoons flax seed
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
Pinch kosher salt/black pepper
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ dried/chopped apricots

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet; toast until light brown. Stir occasionally; about 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In large bowl mix together oats, canola oil, agave nectar, sugar and water. Spread in thin layer on baking sheet. Bake until oats are golden brown, stirring occasionally; about 20-25 minutes (or to your personal liking). Set aside to cool.

In large skillet, over medium-low heat, melt butter in large skillet. Add chopped pecans and pistachios, pine nuts, sunflower/pine/pumpkin/flax seeds. Cook until nuts are golden, stirring occasionally (about 10-15 minutes). Sprinkle with pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, toss well. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In large bowl mix coconut, oats, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit. Store in airtight container. Consume within 1 week.

Serving suggestions: Serve granola over yogurt, with fresh fruit, etc.

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Another fav, another panini...

It's summer... and you know what that means. It means we have bruschetta. And bruschetta ingredients + summer = panini.

So this version of "bruschetta" will be in the form of a sandwich. To do so we need a panini pan, bread, basil pesto, tomato and mozzarella cheese.



I started off by heating up the panini pan and then buttering the bread.



And for the pesto? In my opinion, the best basil pesto comes in a jar from Trader Joe's. I would prefer to only use this pesto for the rest of my life. 'Nuf said... So I went ahead and slathered a good deal of basil pesto on the inside of one of the slices of bread...





Then I sliced the mozzarella and tomato into a few pieces...



And I started layering the sandwich together right on the hot panini pan...

Buttered side of bread face down
Cheese slices
Tomato slices
Last slice of bread, slathered with pesto (buttered side up)





My panini pan is the kind that has a cast iron lid that you place on top of the sandwich.



I placed the lid on top of the sandwich and pressed down... after a few minutes I turned the sandwich 90 degrees and let it continue to cook. Turning it will create that cross hatch mark on the bread that looks so yummy!



After a few minutes I turned the sandwich over and let it cook on the other side too. (Note - some electric panini pans conduct heat on both sides. In this case you wouldn't have to turn the sandwich over.)



When the sandwich is done cooking I remove it to a cutting board and let it rest for a minute or two... just to let the cheese cool down a bit.

And I'll tell you right now, the waiting is truly the hardest part...



This sandwich was served up with the rest of the tomato and some tomato basil soup... life is good!!!





enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Corn and Black Bean Salad

If you know me, you know how grumpy I get in the heat of the summer. However, THIS salad makes it all better! Seriously, it's all better now...

The salad tastes great, comes together quickly and can be made from items in your own garden (if you're into gardening, of course)... here's where I started.



Corn, black beans, sweet red pepper, red onion, cilantro, canola oil and some seasonings for the viniagrette.



I start by mixing together the viniagrette... lime juice, canola oil, onion powder, ground cumin, kosher salt/pepper and at the last minute I also decided to add some dried oregano.





Then I added the red onion to the viniagrette so it could sit for about 15 minutes. I prefer the red onions to be "pickled" a little... letting them sit in the viniagrette for a bit tames them down a bit, just to perfection. But it's here that I also added a few teaspoons of our favorite hot sauce.





After 15 minutes or so I added the corn, black beans, sweet red pepper ...







Oh yeah, and the cilantro... and then it sits for another 30 minutes or so...

This time we served it up with our "house grilled chicken"... yummy! Make this salad this summer ... your loved ones will love you more for it!




Corn and Black bean Salad
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
2 cups frozen corn
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 sweet red pepper, finely diced
½ red onion, finely diced
¼ cup cilantro, diced
2 limes, juiced
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch onion powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions
In a large bowl make vinaigrette by whisking together lime juice, hot sauce, oil and spices. Add red onion and mix well; set aside. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes.

Add corn kernels, black beans, red pepper and cilantro. Mix well. Allow to sit for another 30 minutes or so, for the tastes to marry. Salt/pepper to taste before serving.


enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Peach Sangria

Oh, how I love sangria!!! (why don't I make it more often?!)


And I'm glad you're here reading about it... because there's a few things you need to know about sangria... it's GOOD, GOOD, GOOD!!! Oh also, it's a great way to utilize excess fruit, the rest of the wine in a bottle that may not get consumed for a few days, and it can either be "red" or "white".


This is what I started with ... a pitcher, a dry white wine, peach schnapps, peaches and simple syrup (not pictured here).



First, pour the whole bottle of wine into the pitcher...



Next, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup peach schnapps... or another complimentary flavor like Grand Marnier...



Next peel your nice fresh peaches, cut them up and add them to the pitcher... I used 5 for this pitcher. (I could have also added diced mango or orange slices too... but there's always next time!)





And did I forget to tell you about the simple syrup?



I make my simple syrup extra sweet... with a ratio of 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water. Bring it to a boil, stir well until it becomes a clear liquid... and allow to cool for a bit before using.




When the simple syrup has cooled a bit you can add 1/4 to 1/2 cup simple syrup to the pitcher... to taste. I added 1/4 cup and it was just sweet enough for me...



And here's the last 2 things you need to know about sangria... 1) make it the day before you plan to partake. The flavors "marry" a bit more the longer they sit. And 2) The last glass poured out of this pitcher is the best drink of the whole deal. So serve your guests first... that's what a good hostess would do! RIGHT?!



Oh yeah, how could I forget... the last thing you need to know is that when I serve up my sangria I top the glass off with a few dashes of sparkly water, er fizzy water. It's just THAT much more refreshing...


How do YOU like sangria? Fizzy? Red? White?


enjoy your time in the kitchen...