Get it done: SUPER SHINY AMAZING GRANOLA

I'm seriously always making granola now. I don't even use a recipe anymore. Junk in a bowl, make it wet, cook it. Done. It's that easy.

I did happen to write this particular concoction down, and it was pretty popular around here...  sooo I thought sharing is caring.

This granola will literally lift you up and take you flying ever so effortlessly through the clouds. It will do your laundry, pay your bills and find the missing socks for you. Forget meditation and warm lemon water... This stuff is amazing and so good for you, it's illegal.

SUPER POWERS GRANOLA

Preheat: 325 degrees

1 cup Oats
1 cup Quinoa Flakes
1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour
1/2 cup Hemp Seed Hearts
1/2 cup Hazelnut Meal
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1 cup Almonds
1 cup unsweetened Coconut flakes
1/4 Chia seeds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/4 Tbsp Truvia powder (Please feel free to substitute with 1/2 cup brown sugar or honey)
3/4 cup melted Coconut oil
1/3 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up really well.

Separate ingredients onto 2 large cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake and watch and turn. Bake and watch and turn. I set my timer for every 10 minutes and that seemed too little, then i tried 15 and that was too much. Basically when the edges of the mixture start to brown you need to mix and turn it again. After turning it 3 times, take it out and let it cool before placing in an airtight container.

Makes enough for 12 1/2 cup servings, But in my house it doesn't last that long.

IMPORTANT NOTE: my 11-year-old non granola eater eats this. Super weird. 

First and Foremost: QUINOA BUCKWHEAT POWER GRANOLA

GRANOLA POWER: First and Foremost

I know...  crappy weird picture with indescribably dirty granola container. I know. Frankly in person it just doesn't look that dirty. Mea Culpa.

Anyhoo, the granola is delicious and super good for you. But I've been making a lot of granola lately, So this is only the beginning. I need to get back on the blogging horse, and this sub-par picture is what I had today in the middle of endless snow pant donning, writing assignment and trying to meditate once and for all.

 

QUINOA BUCKWHEAT POWER GRANOLA

•  3 cups quinoa flakes
• 1 cup buckwheat groats
• 2 tbsp each ground flax, chia seeds and sesame seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup each pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, chopped almonds and chopped hazelnuts (or any combination of what you have on hand)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix the oil, honey and vanilla together. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the flakes and groats are well coated. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 baking tray. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

If you’d like to add dried fruit, you can do so at the end. I chose to add 1 cup of coconut flakes at the end. I love the crisp white curls in this otherwise monochromatic granola.

GORGEOUS: Hot Rosemary Cashews

These are a favorite of the teens in our town apparently. They were chatting them up in the car on the way to a babysitting gig.

I happened to have all the ingredients and whipped a batch up while i was cooking something else. 

Seriously.

 Thats how easy they are.

GORGEOUS: Hot Rosemary Cashews

1 1/2 pound cashews

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 tsp honey

2 tsp coarse salt

1 tbsp olive oil

On a cookie sheet, Cook cashews for 10 minutes until they turn a golden brown.

Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl

When the nuts are done... Toss them with the mixture, coating evenly.

Serve warm or let them cool and put in an airtight container!

BEAUTYS: Vegan Vegetable Dumplings/Eggrolls

WHOA! These were WAY simpler than expected. The filling is PACKED with protein, light, savory and generally delicious.Very palate friendly for picky kids, as the veg is not so VEGGGG!!!!! The super easy part helps too! 

As usual, I am tremendously surprised about how LITTLE effort it takes to make that same kind of food i usually buy frozen, only better. It just takes a TINY bit of forethought....AND it's cheaper.

Now i work, so adding all this cooking to my schedule isn't easy, But i have actually grown to love the process more. The MAKING of things, where i used to HATE recipe cooking and could only tolerate making my own (almost always) savory throw togethers.

...and I hate the dishes, But what are you gonna do? Everyone can't have a huge kitchen with much cabinet and counter space, an actual dishwasher and an oven that works 100% of the time. :)

****I won't go into the the fact that I ALSO tried to make GF dumpling wrappers...which were a miserable horrible soul degrading FAIL. Uncharacteristically, I didn't even take pictures because the scene ended up being so ugly. Luckily, i had extra wrappers on hand. I'm getting smarter about these things.

BEAUTYS: Vegan Veggie Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Savoy or green cabbage, chopped
1/2 small red or yellow onion chunks
1/2 cup crumbled firm tofu
1/2 cup celery lightly chopped
1 large carrot, lightly chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon Soy, Tamari or Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons oil for pan (i always use coconut)
sea salt
30 square dumpling wrappers (Find packaged ones near the tofu in the refrigerator section of your supermarket.) *** You'll see I used egg roll wrappers accidentally and all was well.

Optional for dipping:

3/4 cup tamari or soy sauce

1/4 rice wine vinegar (flavored if you like)

2 tbsp sesame or olive oil.

     -whisk together!

Pulse the onion, carrot, water chestnuts and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. On medium-high, heat these ingredients in large non-stick skillet and add the cabbage and pinch of salt.

Stir until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the tofu, peas and quinoa and continue cooking just until the peas are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Now...Line a few of the dumpling wrappers on a flat, dry surface and put 1-3 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center of each wrapper depending on if it is small or large (see pictures).  Carefully bring each of the edges together to form what resembles a little pyramid, making sure you press all the edges to form a good seal.

Don't forget to lay it out in a DIAMOND shape, points north and south

Fold #1.
If you are making smaller dumplings just bring the #1 fold ALL THE WAY up to the top and press edges firmly, firmly firmly.
I used a bit of egg wash to seal if you arent vegan, but you dont have to.

Fold # 2 & 3 for eggrolls.
Press edges after each fold,
 like you are trying to nicely wrap a package with sharp edges

There is a bit of a learning curve with the wrapping.
Don't worry...If you seal them well, it doesn't really matter if they are all EXACTLY the same does it?!

To Cook:

You have options.... 

1. Place the dumplings in a steamer for 4 minutes. No oil, no browning.

2. Do a combination of frying and steaming, by heating a bit of oil (again i would use Coconut or canola, and not easily burning Olive Oil) in a large nonstick skillet on HIGH heat. Lightly brown the dumplings for 2 minutes turning ONCE. Then add 1/2 cup of water and steam them for another 2 minutes with a top on. This is the method have done with much success in the past, but not what i did, which i regret....

3. Lay them out on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and brush with a bit of olive oil. Bake at 400 till golden brown. I tried this method, and had to turn them. They look gorgeous, but still have that slightly chewy middle. I would go for #2.... but do what you will.

**Gratefully adapted from G. Paltrows veggie vegan dumpling recipe.

DUH: Broiled Asparagus

Honestly.
   
I read some of these cookbooks and I go..."a recipe for TOAST?!?!? a recipe for a boiled egg?!?!?" (Yes, I'm talking to YOU Paltrow!)

This "recipe" falls into that category. So shoot me. I'm guilty. This is just too good, too easy to share. If it seems remedial to you, I get it.

and I will try and be a little more lenient with my censorious thoughts about Le Paltrow and the like from now on.

Absolutely delicious and flavorful on top of quinoa or rice for a simple meal, AND these travel really well for get togethers. i think people are generally overjoyed not to see another green salad on the buffet table.

TOO EASY2: Broiled Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
olive oil
garlic salt
lemon pepper

Line a cookie sheet with foil and add enough olive oil to lightly cover it. Put your asparagus spears(they should NOT be wet)and roll them in the olive oil to coat. Arrange so that they all have a bit of air in between each spear.

Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and lemon pepper.

NOTE: I use lemon pepper because REAL lemon tends to collect in the tips TOO MUCH and the balance just isn't as right as when you use the lemon pepper. If you use real lemon, squeeze on at the end of the cook time.

Broil for 4 minutes (or until the spear start to look sort of sparkly). Take kitchen tongs and gently reroll the spears again to even up the cooking.

Broil for another 2 minutes. *Don't take your eyes off them or you'll be sorry.

These will still be crunchy and fresh, and delightfully browned and gorgeous on the outside!

DOUBLE DOWN: Oat flour Banana Nut Loaves

Weird. 

These are perfectly good and tasty. However,Its taken me well over a week to blog about them. They don't have the WOW factor of CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST or....SESAME ALMOND COOKIES i guess (both of which are amazingly WOW and you can find in my index of recipes)I don't know. They just aren't ....sexy.

Let me back track...

I have an AMAZING gluten free BANANA BREAD recipe which i haven't made for the blog yet, But i wanted to give my oat flour a try, so went searching for recipes. I found this one.

I like the recipe because it makes 2 loaves and I'm starting to feel like making a double batch of anything is good. I like to take things to work for my coworkers to try, since alot of us are on the 'HEALTHY' band wagon. Sometimes this backfires....But these were a hit. THE MEAT EATER preferred this recipe aver the other one I have. I was bowled over...But i'm allowed to be ambivalent sometimes no?

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Banana Nut Loaf 

6 very ripe bananas (medium-large)
2/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups Oat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 tbsp of ground flax seeds
3 tsp Light Agave (regular will work)
2 tbsp Chia seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans. 

In a large bowl mash bananas with a fork until they form a slightly chunky banana paste. Add melted Coconut Oil, Agave, Eggs and Vanilla.

In a separate, medium-sized bowl combine Oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, chia and flax. Whisk together until completely combined.

Add the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time, mixing until barely combined each time. After all of the dry ingredients have been added fold in the nuts.

Scrape batter into 2 prepared loaf pans and bake in 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into center of loaf. 

FAMILY TALLY: Kids preferred the banana marble bread from an earlier post. No surprise. Co-workers and MEAT EATER loved this. I think they came out just fine, just not overly excited about them.

WORK FOR IT: Cauliflower Pizza Crust (LOW CARB)

Before I launch into my tale, let me preface by saying there is an extremely delicious, low carb end to this story, lest you be put off by my next few paragraphs.

Like all things in life,this seemed endless overly complicated and stressful.... 

I did't think i was going to get through it.

I regretted even starting it.

1.I had already made several other 'regular' pizzas for the fam. They had moved on and were happily enjoying their saturday night while i slaved over this bad boy.

2.I have a very small kitchen which was already a complete wreck when i started. AND my busted oven was turning on and off the whole time, making things indescribably difficult. 

4.Plus, I was really hungry.

As I was making it I really thought, 

OK NO. This is too much.

Now, that I am on the other side of it, I think making a second one would be 1000x easier. I urge you to try it when you have time and energy to get through the virgin crust.

Plus it was absolutely delicious. EVERYONE went nuts for it. Trust me, it does NOT taste like some fakey vegetarian version of a food we adore. It's super! It's low carb!

I confess, I WILL make it again, knowing what i know now.

WORK FOR IT: Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust
makes 1 large crust

Ingredients:

4 cups raw cauliflower rice

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mozzarella 

1/2 cup cheddar

(Use whatever spices you think will work. I used...)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 t oregano 

1 t basil 

2 t chopped garlic

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400F, and start your crust.

To make the cauliflower "rice": pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor, until a rice-like texture is achieved. Ours came out even finer than rice and worked just wonderfully. It's just too easy.

Microwave the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, for 8 minutes, stirring to vent steam every 2 minutes. When it's done, Let it sit and cool, folding it over with a spoon every so often. I put it onto a flatter plate to allow more steam to come out.

Once you've cooled the "rice", transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel.  In the dishtowel, twist it up, then SQUEEZE all the excess moisture out! It should make the cauliflower into a sort of mashed potato like ball inside the towel. ALOT of extra water will be released, which is important! 

In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower ball, egg, cheeses and spices. Transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread/shape/flatten into a rectangular crust like thing. It WON'T feel like regular dough, but don't worry. (1/4 inch?...our was even thinner i think) Now,continue to blot the whole thing several times with paper towels when you are fashioning it into the crust. 

(Yes, it takes alot to get the moisture out, But if you don't do it, the crust will be soggy and not like a crust at all.)

Bake it until it starts to turn golden. Then, VERY IMPORTANT, CAREFULLY invert it onto a new cookie sheet by placing another parchment on top and flipping. It's not as hard as it seems, but be careful. Let's be honest, it's hot and not cooked completely yet. (If you made two smaller crusts this whole shindig would be easier....)

Peel the old parchment off the back and then bake the other side till it is also golden. You could even broil it a little to speed up the process! 

Take it out and  top it with whatever the heck you want! (Yes, we used pepperoni on half or it...But thats entirely optional -duh.)
BROIL the toppings everything is browned and melted the way you like. Let it cool for 5 or 10 minutes,If you want cut it perfectly, But we devoured it right away and it was just glorious.

I think making a double batch of this and freezing one seems like a delightful option.

FAMILY TALLY: A+++. SERIOUSLY.

I was inspired by this recipe and the comments that were made regarding it. http://detoxinista.com/2012/01/the-secret-to-perfect-cauliflower-pizza-crust/