Granola: a Multipurpose Whole Grain

I like to serve granola with yogurt and a variety of sliced fruits for a light dinner or with milk for breakfast. I used to buy it boxed, but all the brands I looked into were high in fat and refined sugars. I haven't tried the Kashi granolas yet, but even brands that advertise being healthy often contain things that I don't want to intake into my body or feed to my family. So I make my own most Saturday mornings. It technically keeps all week, but I find myself making more because it's a popular meal or snack in my house. For my recipe, I include the sorts of nuts, fruits, and spices that my family likes, but you can change it up as much as you like.



Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

On a greased cookie sheet with raised edges, toast 4 cups of rolled oats in the oven. They don't change color much, but they get fragrant and turn a little tan. When they are fragrant, add a 1/2 cup sliced almonds and 1/2 cup chopped cashews. Continue toasting for about five minutes. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and a nice grating of nutmeg to the oat/nut mixture. Stir it in well before adding 1/2 a cup of brown rice syrup (or honey). Mix the syrup in until all the oats are slightly sticky and the sweetener is evenly distributed. Cook for ten minutes. Stir the oats and cook for ten more minutes. The granola will not feel granola like when you remove it from the oven. The oats will be more crunchy than if they hadn't been cooked, but the rice syrup will harden as it cools. It's important for in to cool on the pan in order to get nice clusters. When you remove it from the oven, you may wish to stir in 1 cup chopped dried fruit (I like pears, apricots, and cranberries). Do this before the granola hardens or just stir it into the clusters later.When removing the granola from the pan if you've got a "fish scrapper" (the sort that's no good for fish, but wonderful for everything else) this worked wonders getting the granola off in clusters. otherwise a spatula or even a metal spoon works ok.

Changing Habits, part 2

Whole wheat pasta. What ominous sounding words those are! From the name to the odd color glimpsed on the shelf of the store, there are so many things influencing customers against this mild, tender, easy to eat whole grain. It cooks two minutes longer than ordinary pasta and doesn't go well with white sauces, but we shouldn't be eating white sauces anyway. One of my friends begged me to try it and I did, buying it grudgingly, sure that it would be uneatable. I over-cooked it. I haven't over-cooked pasta since I learned to cook. Aldente has always been that important to me. But I was convinced that it would be tough and grainy feeling. I was so wrong. I tossed it in a tomato pepper sauce and topped it with basil and could hardly tell the difference. I was even more surprised when the kids ate it up! Underneath that red sauce, the slight difference in color wasn't a big deal. I was absolutely shocked. This is really worth a try. Whole wheat pasta comes in all shapes and sizes now in most supermarkets, so try it in all the different ways that you cook other pastas. Always pair it with bold flavors and it will never let you down. It's great in Asian style pasta salads with soy sauce and steamed vegetables or pasta casseroles with tomato sauces work or spaghetti and tofu meatballs.

Changing Habits, part 1

With three lactose-sensitive kids, my family drinks a lot of 100% fruit juice. Not just orange juice at breakfast, but also throughout the day and at lunch and dinner. When Julia got her first cavity, it was a big shock and I realized how awful this habit was. So we started drinking juice only at meals and then moved to only at one meal per day. Now it's cut almost entirely from our diets. At first, we didn't know what to drink, but the answer was fairly obvious. Soy milk has become a larger part of our diets and is a favorite at breakfast and with snacks. This has a lot of protein, calcium and vitamins, but also contains calories and fat. Our brand has 110 calories and 3.5 grams of fat per cup, so I like to limit it at about three cups a day (breakfast, 10 o'clock, and 3 o'clock) which certainly isn't enough hydration for a whole day. Some of us like hot tea sans honey or sugar which is another good option. The best innovation, however, in this process was when we began chilling water in those old juice pitchers with lime, lemon, or even orange slices. The fruit-infused water is much less sugary than juice, doesn't have the calories of milk, and is very satisfying on a hot summer day. It's been a convenient way to change our lifestyle and be sure of staying hydrated all summer long.

Ginger Lime Marinated Tofu

This is tofu for people who don't like tofu and tofu heaven for those who do. It's better than takeout or that marinated tofu in stores. You've just got to try it!

Whisk together
juice and zest of two limes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice syrup (or honey)

Add in
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch of ginger root, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 scallions, minced

Slice 1 block Extra Firm Tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices. In a wide dish with sides (such as a casserole dish) spread out the tofu and pour marinade over it. Let marinate in fridge for thirty minutes, then turn tofu over and allow to marinate additional thirty minutes. Preheat a nonstick frying pan with a little oil and garlic. Drain tofu and accompanying aromatics, then stir fry. In a sauce pan reduce marinade to pour over steamed rice (brown works) or noodles (whole wheat linguine is excellent). This makes an excellent lunch in my five meal a day plan. It's high in protein and (with the rice or pasta) fiber which means long lasting energy through the day.