Articles of Impeachment Granola

There's nothing like sitting in front of the TV for days watching impeachment hearings to give you a hankering for some crunchy, nutty granola. 

Thanks to the stuff that comes across my Facebook feed, today I "discovered" Nekisia Davis' Olive Oil & Maple Granola which, as the post states, is a variation of  Early Bird Foods' best-selling Farmhand's Choice Granola. I didn't have the exact ingredients listed in Nekisia's Granola, but I did have a good supply of similar ingredients in my cupboard. You will, too, if you like to bake as much as I do.

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup hulled sunflower seeds, roasted, no salt

1 cup roughly chopped almonds

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

course salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 300 F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Enjoy the wonderful aroma wafting through the house as it bakes.

Remove the granola from the oven. Add some raisins, dates, or other dried fruit like cranberries, apricots, pineapple, etc. Let cool before you dig into it.

Eat by the handful, enjoy with milk, yogurt, whatever.

Store in an airtight container when completely cooled.

Enjoy!

La Belle France

I did it again. I succumbed to the lure of France.

My son and I just returned from the department of Dordogne: a beautiful region in Southwestern France. For me, there is nothing better than this. Anything else in life pales in comparison.

In Dordogne, we were completely surrounded by beauty - the gorgeous medieval architecture, contemporary homes constructed with the stone of the region; incredible views; spending hours at the table enjoying the fabulous food: foie gras, truffles, local cheeses - Rocamadour - a cabecou cheese (our favorite), walnuts, and of course, the local wine. We visited Vin de Domme located in Florimon-Gaumier, and had a wonderful presentation by a nice fellow who spoke English. The Pays de Domme appellation comes from cooperative growers with vineyards above the river Ceou that runs through the Lot and Dordogne departments of Southwestern France. We tasted through the line - reds and roses of cabernet franc, merlot, and malbec; and whites of chardonnay and semillon.

We stayed in Sarlat at Le Hameau des Sentiers - a picturesque hamlet with houses and apartments. Here is the view and a walk around the property.

To find a restaurant, we looked at reviews and asked for recommendations from locals. But the best dining experiences we had were in restaurants that we just happened upon. One of them was at a hotel/restaurant called La Trielle - our first meal in Dordogne. We sat on a charming patio overlooking a brook. There were only a few other people dining here and it was very quiet (just the way I like it!) and comfortable. The amuse bouche was a veloute, wonderfully rich and delicious. A simply perfect taste - a preview of delights to come.

La Trielle - Hotel and Restaurant in Vitrac

The main course. Soft, sumptuous, melt in your mouth braised beef.  Definitely worthy of snap chat.

Another wonderful meal was in the charming village of Beynac. First, we enjoyed a steep walk to the top of the village, taking pictures along the way.

                  

After all that exercise, we rewarded ourselves at this restaurant toward the bottom of the hill.

La Terrasse des Chateaux, a beautiful outdoor dining experience overlooking the Dordogne River

The Dordogne

With hats available to shield the rays

I met the chef after this meal and told him that I'd write a review. Here's what I contributed to TripAdvisor:

La Terrasse des Chateaux - Wonderful food, fabulous view

Our last restaurant during our Dordogne vacation was awesome. Wonderful périgourdine cuisine. The terrace overlooks the river. The food was delicious, portions unusually generous and very much appreciated. We selected the reasonably-priced menu €24 - Rocamadour salad - rocamadour cheese on toast, with walnuts, balsamic vinegar; salmon with potatoes and vegetables - absolutely perfectly cooked salmon - warm pink interior, potatoes that melt in your mouth - outstanding! Dessert was delicious - cheesecake with cherries very tasty, the walnut “pie” also good. Excellent selection of wines by the glass (€4).... rose crisp and refreshing, beers also excellent. Everything was wonderfully presented, savory, and satisfying. Quiet, casual, atmosphere, outside dining. This was the second of two places that we just happened upon which turned out to be perfect. The other was Hotel Restaurant La Trielle, Vitrac - traditional, quiet, ancient.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1079321-d13966248-r666382439-La_terrasse_des_chateaux-Beynac_et_Cazenac_Dordogne_Nouvelle_Aquitaine.html#

If you visit Dordogne and your life thereafter seems pathetic, you can't say I didn't warn you.

Superbowl Sunday - a day of cooking, baking, eating and watching

Blueberry Muffins

It's nice to have a whole day dedicated to being home. I wanted to make something for breakfast and something for dinner so that we could have it during the work week when I'm too tired to cook.

I had store-bought wild blueberries in the freezer and finally had the time to do something with them.

This is an old recipe that I got from a friend.

Blueberry Muffins

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ c. butter

3 eggs - separated

½ c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. blueberries

sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside.

Sift dry ingredients.

Cream butter and sugar, add egg yolks, and beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add blueberries. If using fresh blueberries, sprinkle with flour to prevent berries from sinking to the bottom. Fold in beaten egg whites.

Grease and flour cupcake pan or use paper liners.

Fill cups with a generous amount of batter. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan.

Next up:

Lasagna

This is a combination of 2 no-boil lasagna recipes. 

Lasagna

It has it all! Lots of meat, sauce, a combination of cheeses… and enough to feed about 15 people. Vary ingredients to your liking.

2 28 oz. cans ground, peeled tomatoes

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 16 oz. packages of lasagna noodles, uncooked (you probably won't use the entire 2 packages)

1 small onion, diced

olive oil

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 eggs, beaten

2 lbs. whole milk ricotta cheese

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 c. fresh parmesan cheese, grated

2 lbs. hamburger

freshly chopped parsley – about ¼ cup

fresh or dried basil, oregano - I used dried about 2 tsp. of oregano and 1 tsp. basil - use more if you have fresh herbs

1 tsp. herbes of provence

2 tsp. dried fennel

Salt & pepper to taste

1 ½ cup water

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until soft. Add the whole tomatoes, crushing them with a spoon. Add the ground peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, basil, oregano and herbes of provence. Heat over medium and stir occasionally.

In a skillet, add hamburger, about ½ tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper. Brown hamburger over medium high heat until done. Drain fat. Add dried fennel if desired.

Reserve ½ cup mozzarella and a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese and set aside. Mix together the beaten eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, and parsley.

I have this little Kitchen Aid chopper that sure comes in handy

Using a large pan – a roasting pan works well - spread 3 cups of sauce in bottom of pan. Add 6 lasagna noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of the egg/cheese mixture on top, sauce, and hamburger. Add 2 more layers, and end with noodles and sauce. Add about 1 and ½ cups of water around the edge of the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake at 425 F for 1 hour. Remove foil and add the reserved cheese on top. Return to oven for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 min.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, freshly grated parmesan, and a little basil on top. Serves 12 or more. 

Italian Bread

 “Using up the whole wheat flour” Italian Bread 

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or just use 5 ½ cups of all purpose flour)

1 package of dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 c. warm water

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Combine 3 cups of flour and the salt in a mixer bowl with a bread hook. Add half of the yeast mixture into the flour and salt mixture. Begin mixing, adding remaining flour and water, and keep mixing.

After it’s all mixed, remove and knead on floured bread board for 6-8 minutes. Pour into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Punch dough down. Knead again to get bubbles out. Divide in half. Form each into a loaf. Place it on a sheet greased or lined with parchment paper. Let rest until doubles in size (about ½ hour).

After loaves have risen, cut 4 shallow slits on each loaf.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

A walk on the wild side

This past year, I ventured into the Forks Over Knives Plan - the Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet.

It was doable. The only problem was that it took all the joy out of eating - all the joy out of life, which apparently has a lot to do with good eating.

I have a friend who runs a kitchen in a shelter. He says that they get alot of Bob's Red Mill Brand items donated. I can understand how that might happen. We had an entire shelf of good intentions left in the cupboard at the end of our run: Bob's Red Mill bulgur, barley, brown rice, red lentils, green lentils, wheat berries, quinoa, steel cut oats, you name it.

Six weeks of eating this way took me back to my 20's - the days of Diet for a Small Planet,  the Moosewood Cookbook, and food co-ops. This phase all started when one fall day I looked into the eyes of a cow at the Fryeburg Fair and said, "How could I possibly eat you?"

Three months after that, Thanksgiving happened and my vegetarian phase ended.

Eating the plant-based way involved a lot of preparation but not a lot of pleasure. I found myself going back to some of my old favorite recipes that, although meatless, had forbidden foods like butter, oil, and chicken stock.

One of the recipes I made was Curried Squash Soup which I originally got from the Boston Globe. I made this notation on the recipe: Gave recipe to Gus on the Yankee Kitchen October 20, 1994. 

Curried Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds) - peeled & cut into chunks
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 to 3 TB oil
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 medium onion, chopped
salt to taste
juice of a lime or lemon

Put the squash in a large pan with the broth and water. Simmer until tender about 15 to 20 minutes. While the squash is cooking, heat 2 TB of the oil in a small frying pan and stir in the curry powder and cinnamon. Add the chopped onion and saute for 4 minutes, adding the additional oil if necessary. Puree the squash and the curry-onion mixture in a food processor or blender in two batches and return to the pan. Reheat. Check seasoning and add salt and lemon or lime juice to taste.

I served the squash soup with Mengedrah - a Syrian dish with lentils and rice that my mother-in-law used to make.

Mengedrah 

1 c. rice
2 1/2 c. water
2 small onions chopped
1/4 c. oil
3 TB butter
1/2 c. lentils
salt to taste

In saucepan, combine lentils with 1 c. water. Cook on medium heat. When it comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add rice, 1 1/2 cups of water & salt. Bring mixture to boil. Cover & simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. You may find that you need to add more water during this time. Place butter on top of rice and cook an additional 10 minutes.

In separate pan, saute onions in oil until brown. Mix onions and oil with cooked rice and lentils.