Sunday, June 27, 2010

Time to catch up, and make granola

It has been a while since I posted anything here. I apologize. Just in case you are wondering what has been cooking in my kitchen - quite a lot. And outside of my kitchen too.

I started culinary school at the beginning of May - no actual cooking was involved but I learned a lot about safety, sanitation and menu design.  At the same time, I started learning how to make butter cream frosting for cupcakes at a local pasty shop.  Butter cream frosting flavored with fresh seasonal local goodness (like strawberries and rhubarb) is a beautiful thing.  Creamy yet light, and just sweet enough on the taste buds to transport you to wherever your gustatory memories may take you.  I really like the way this kind of frosting tastes.  And I am learning how to judge when a frosting is perfectly prepared, by the way it looks and the way it feels at the stir of a spatula.

On the home front, here are pictures of the granola I made minutes ago (while watching No Reservations episode on Indonesia.)  Granola is very easy to make at home.  You can tailor its ingredients to your preference, much like making a stir-fry.  If you have access to a co-op, you can buy all the ingredients in the bulk area at decent prices.  For the most recent batch, I used regular oats, coconut flakes, craisins, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, some Hope butter, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, brown sugar, local honey and a pinch of salt.  I mixed all the ingredients together, spread a thin layer on a cookie sheet and baked in the oven at 350F for about 10 minutes.  (You may want to turn the cookie sheet after 5 minutes and stir the mixture to ensure even browning.) 


I'm excited to have this granola around, especially now that it is berry season.  A bowl of granola with fresh strawberries or raspberries, and some milk or home-made yogurt (more on this in another post) is a breakfast of champion.

 
I hope you are enjoying the beginning of a bountiful harvest season!