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Granola

February 2, 2010 in breakfast, cereal, recipes | No comments

Granola is one of the things I really like to make.  I made some recently and this particular version is so lovely that I thought I would share:

Recipe:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup oat bran

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup hulled sesame seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup pecan halves

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried currants

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp molasses

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (180 C).  Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir and stir until it is thoroughly mixed.  Put it in a roasting pan or large casserole dish and stick it in the oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes taking it out and stirring it every 5 minutes to make sure it bakes evenly.  Let cool thoroughly and store in an air tight container.

This recipe is very flexible, and I generally throw in what nuts and seeds are in the fridge.  The pecan halves are a particularly nice touch.

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Cranberry jam

January 10, 2010 in canning, jam, recipes | No comments

I made this cranberry jam recently:

It is quite lovely, and simple to make.  I got the recipe from Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, and as she says it really is very easy.

I think I may make some next year and give it away for Christmas as what could be more Christmasy than cranberry jam, and you don’t have to be sufficiently far sighted that you make your jam earlier in the year when other things are in season.

Here is my version of her recipe, which is this instance is really more of a method:

Cranberry jam

Ingredients:

Cranberries

Equal weight of sugar to the amount of cranberries you have

Water

Directions:

Cover the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot with water (I am not sure why anyone has thin bottomed pots as everyone tells one not to use them), pour in your cranberries and sugar.  Stir over medium heat until the berries burst and it really looks like jam.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal or make less and put in in the fridge and eat it sooner.

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Cauliflower Parsnip Soup

December 29, 2009 in recipes, soups | No comments

At lunch on Christmas this year I was feeling a little the worse for the rich food I was eating, so I made up this soup.

We all enjoyed it immensely, and here is the recipe:

Olive oil

2 small onions

1 potato

2 medium carrots

1 parsnip

1 head cauliflower

2 bay leaves

pinch dried rosemary

pinch saffron

salt

pepper

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups cooked navy beans (1 can rinsed and drained)

Dice the onion. Heat olive oil in soup pot and add onion to soften.  Continue chopping potato, carrots, parsnip, and cauliflower, adding them to the pot as you go and stirring occasionally.  Add bay leaves, rosemary, and saffron.  Continue sauteing vegetables for 10 minutes more.

Add stock (if you don’t have quite enough stock to cover the vegetables add some water too).  Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and puree.  Add beans.  Heat through.  Season to taste.

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