Make Your Own Granola

I finally made my own granola! And you know what, it was so easy. And totally worth it because you can control the sweetness and put in your favorite ingredients (many granola cereals have tons of sugar). AND, according to my personal food taster, it was better than any cereal we ever bought. OK, he is easily pleased, but seriously, it was good! The maple gives it a smoky flavor, and the sweetness was just right.

Only takes an hour, with just a few minutes of preparation:

Ingredients:

3 cups of Rolled Oats (I like the Jumbo ones)

1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped (or other nuts)

a handful raw sunflower seeds (or other seeds)

1/2 cup real maple syrup (or you could use honey - use more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 cup coconut oil (or other vegetable oil, but this is by far the healthiest)

1/2 cup dried fruits (i used golden raisins, goji berries and dried cherries)

Obviously you can really change this recipe around, depending on what you have in your kitchen. But here are the basics:

Mix the oats, chopped almonds (I chopped them myself, takes about 5 minutes) and seeds with oil and maple syrup until well coated. (Coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils, especially for cooking because it can withstand high temperatures.) Spread evenly on a big baking sheet/tray. Bake at 120-130 C for one hour. Toss it around with a spatula every 15-20 min to make sure it's evenly cooking. When it's out of the oven, add the dried fruit - and that's it!

We had it for breakfast with soy/rice milk or layered with yogurt+ricotta and homemade raspberry jam. It also makes a lovely, personalized gift.

Soon...gotta try granola bars.

Karkade

Karkade (aka Hibiscus or "flor de Jamaica") was used to make the drink of the Pharaohs of Egypt, and still a popular drink in the Middle East and North Africa (as well as Latin America) today.

They are those pretty red flowers that tropical fairies bathe in. The flowers have a sweet and tart taste when steeped in water. You can serve the tea hot or cold, but we prefer it cool and sweet. Hibiscus is also really good for you! It is caffeine free, rich in Vitmin C, and is known to help lower cholesterol, act as natural body refrigerant, aid in digestion, among other things...

Dried Hibiscus Flowers

The husband is in charge of making Karkade in our house. Here is his recipe:

Add 1 cup dried flowers to 1 liter (4 cups) water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Sweeten with honey to taste (it's naturally a bit sweet and tart; he puts about 3-4 soup spoons) Let it cool, then drain into a pitcher and put in the fridge. Perfect for a hot summer day...

Btw - husband is also looking for a few staple recipes to become good at - so if any one out there got some simple, "manly" recipes in mind (something other than goulash or sauteed potatoes), shout out!

Enjoy

Baked Seed Rounds

Funny name, I know. It's what I though when I found this recipe in a Health magazine. But, after tweaking it up a bit, it came out so delicious that I had to write it down before I forgot. They were called "seed rounds", it's something like a spicy baked falafel. Oh and the hubz loved it, which always makes me happy.

Ingredients:

1 can white beans or chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 big handful of fresh chopped cilantro

1 small hot pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, crushed

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp turmeric

1 egg

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (optional)

S&P

olive oil

Smash all the ingredients together in a big bowl with a hand blender. (add a bit of whole wheat flour if you think it's too gooey.) Form into 4 medium sized balls and lay in a baking dish drizzled with olive oil. Brush the tops with oil, and put into the oven on 200C, on the top rack, for about 15 min on each side (flip over when crusty and brown on one side).

Serve with a simple tomato sauce or greek yogurt and spinach, and green salad. I'm going to try this on my indoor lean-griller next time - it will be something like a bean burger.