Almond Ginger Granola with Blueberries

Do you ever go through food phases? I totally went through a granola phase for awhile. Then all of a sudden one day that ended and I haven't made a single batch of granola for about a year... until now.

It's not that I traded in my tasty homemade batches for convenient store bought versions. I just stopped eating and/or craving it for some reason. Then one beautiful late August weekend we decided to go camping with some friends of ours and they just so happened to bring along a nice large batch of granola. It was beyond delicious and I found myself shoveling handfuls into my mouth and wondering why (and how) I had gone so long without.

Fast forward to last week and I finally managed to get a recipe from my friend, which resulted in me making a large batch of the stuff on Monday, so that I'd have something healthy and delicious to snack on while flying to the east coast. In fact, I'm probably munching on some right now as your reading this and it's good, very good : )

I've made lots of changes to the original recipe and many of the changes are actually ones my friend made too. Substituting the peanut butter and peanuts for almond butter and raw almonds was the main change. I love that the ratio of nuts to oats makes this a great snacking granola, but definitely serve it with yogurt or milk too. I'm bringing it along on the plane, but I'm curious, what kinds of snacks do you travel with?

Almond Ginger Granola with Blueberries
inspired by the kitchn
about 8 cups granola

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups whole raw almonds
1/2 cup hulled raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup almond butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup dried blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.

In a small saucepan, warm the honey until very runny. & nbsp; Turn off the heat, stir in the almond butter and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture. Pour in the oil, and stir thoroughly until everything gets wet.

Spread the oat mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, stirring twice while baking. Transfer the granola to a large bowl and add the dried blueberries, tossing to combine. Store at room temperature tightly covered.

Lemon-Herb Seasoned Popcorn

I have mixed feelings about popcorn. I'm honestly not really a big fan of it (gasp!), but Scott absolutely loves the stuff. I'll eat a handful of it every once in awhile, usually if we're watching a movie (for nostalgic purpose) and always on the savory side. I really dislike sweet popcorn and don't even get me started on the stale cheese, butter, and carmel corn that come pre-packaged on the shelves around the holidays, I'll pass, thank you very much. I really want to like it, especially since it can be a healthy and quick snack, but it just never settles right in my stomach and I end up feeling a little sick sometimes even if I just eat that one handful.

So why am I posting a popcorn recipe you may wonder? Well, I've been getting really into making my own spice blends lately and thought this one I whipped up would fun to share because it's so & nbsp;versatile & nbsp;and can be used on things other than popcorn too. Also, & nbsp;I've joined in on The Food Matters Project put on by Kate of Cookie+Kate and Sarah from 20 Something Cupcakes & nbsp;and seasoned popcorn was the recipe Kate choose for this week. You can read more about the project on their about page & nbsp;and anyone can join in or follow along as we cook our way through & nbsp;The Food Matters Cookbook by & nbsp;Mark Bittman.

Now back to the popcorn. We have never owned a microwave and we are totally fine with that because even if we did own one, we would never use it. This means that popcorn has always been cooked right on the stove top & nbsp;in a hot, lidded pot with a bit of oil. Seeing that I don't really eat popcorn, Scott has always been the popcorn popper and he's pretty darn good at it. He does it all without measuring and manages to never burn it. So while he made the popcorn I got the spice blend ready and before we(he) knew it, it was snack time.

Lemon-Herb Seasoned Popcorn
For the full recipe please visit Cookie+Kate & nbsp;and to view all recipes visit The Food Matters Project

The seasoning salt is the perfect thing to sprinkle over roasted veggies, but if you mix it with a little olive oil and a clove of minced garlic it becomes a great dipping sauce for bread, add in a bit of lemon juice and it makes a great spiced up salad dressing. This is why I'm loving spice blends so much, because you can spin off it so many new directions.

lemon-herb seasoning salt & nbsp;
1/4 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

popcorn
2-3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 cup popping corn
2 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil for serving, optional
lemon-herb seasoning salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the seasoning salt in a small bowl or container. Store tightly covered for approximately 2-3 months. Makes about 1/3 cup.

Heat the oil, plus 2-3 corn kernels, in a large heavy pot with a lid over medium heat. Listen for the kernels to pop, then add in the rest and cover. While covered hold the pot over the heat and shake in a circular motion to let the oil coat the kernels. Set it back over the heat, but only for about 20 seconds so all the kernels have a chance to heat up. Then when they start popping hold the lid on tight and shake over the heat again until you hear the last of the kernels pop, about 5 minutes.

Place the popped popcorn in a serving bowl. If using butter or oil, melt it in the same pot you used to cook the popcorn. Pour over the popcorn and sprinkle with desired amount of the seasoning salt. Serve & nbsp;immediately.

Chipotle Delicata Squash Soup

I thought I'd sneak in one more Fallish type soup before winter officially settles in and heartier stews and chiles start taking their place. Rich, creamy squash soups kind of waver on that line of hearty and filling like a stew though anyways, so I'll probably still be making this one through winter until we run out of squash. Or get tried of it, which ever comes first.

I really love winter squash combined with chiles and all things spicy. I typically go for that flavor combination over squash that's been sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon, it's just too sweet for me. I had my mind set on using chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, a favorite of mine for when I want to add a distinct smoky flavor to things with a spicy kick to it too. It worked out perfectly, and the best part is how simple the recipe is and how few ingredients are needed. I love when that happens.

The soup is super creamy with just enough spice to it, where you know it's there, but your mouth isn't overwhelmed with heat. It's so rich and velvety and feels like there's cream in it, but that's the beauty of pureed squash.

I was originally going to make this using butternut squash, but when my csa box arrived and inside was a few delicata squash, plans changed. It happens, but I figured it would still turn out just as delicious. I'm sure most winter squash would work too, try butternut or kabocha. You should be able to find chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in any ethnic aisle of your grocery store. They come in a can and since there are always way more in there than I ever use in one recipe, I end up freezing the rest to use later. I also just found out you can keep them stored, tightly covered, in the fridge for about 3 months too.

Chipotle Delicata Squash Soup
serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 3/4 - 2 pounds delicata squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1/2-inch pieces
5 cups vegetable broth
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot add the oil and onion. Cook stirring frequently until the onion starts turning golden and caramelizing. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add the squash and vegetable broth and bring everything to a gentle boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the squash has softened. Stir in the chipotle chile, cumin, and salt. Cook for another 5 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender use it to puree the soup until completely smooth. Otherwise, use a blender and puree the soup in batches. Hot soup will explode out of a blender if filled too high, trust me. Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve hot with a handful of roasted squash seeds and a dollop of Greek yogurt or cashew cream if you're vegan.

Store any leftover soup tightly covered in the fridge for a couple days and re-warm before eating.

Shredded Brussels Sprout & Tangerine Salad

It's the end of & nbsp;February, which also means the official end of winter (although unfortunately maybe not winter weather), so today & nbsp;I'm sharing one last seasonal salad with you. I meant to get this recipe to you yesterday, but seeing as our usual morning csa delivery didn't arrive until around 6pm last night, the brussels sprouts I knew the box would contain, didn't arrive in time before I had a chance to prepare and photograph this salad.

All weekend I was thinking about these brussels sprouts and how & nbsp;I would savor them & nbsp;because & nbsp;I knew this would probably be the last bunch until next season. & nbsp;I thought a light salad, something that would ease its way into spring with a crisp freshness and touch of brightness, would be a good option. Something raw to enter a soon-to-be season of young fresh veggies, but still hanging onto the citrus of winter.

Truth be told, I also needed to think of a recipe I knew would be relatively quick to prepare. In the previous weeks I've been up to my ears in projects and exciting new things we're working on for our shop. I'm not usually a pro thirty minute meal or less kinda person, but I can appreciate a quick whole food recipe when I need one, especially when I can't stand to eat another sandwich or plate of leftovers.

I had picked up a bag of whole wheat Israeli couscous out of curiosity. I'd never cooked with this little bead shaped grain before and the fact that I saw it would take less than 15 minutes to cook, might also be why it made its way into my cart that day. I added it to the shredded brussels sprouts for some extra heft. My favorite part of this salad is when you get a sweet squirt of tangerine juice when taking a bite, also the unexpected but so delicious taste of basil.

This was another recipe that started out as something from The Food Matters Project, as you can see I'm not very good at following recipes, but at least I still used brussels sprouts! This weeks pick was by Marcia and to view a complete list of others who participated you can visit the website.

Shredded Brussels Sprout & amp; Tangerine Salad / serves 4

I really think any grain (quinoa, millet, barley, farro) would work here in place of the couscous. You can segment the tangerines if you like too, & nbsp;I kept it simple and didn't bother.

1/2 cup dry whole wheat Israeli couscous or 1 cup other cooked grain of choice
1/2 & nbsp;lb. brussels sprouts
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
handful of fresh basil, chiffonade (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
a couple big pinches salt, plus more to taste
3 tangerines
1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Bring a small saucepan filled with 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in couscous and cook at a simmer for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, using a & nbsp;mandolin & nbsp;or sharp knife, slice the brussels sprouts as thinly as you can and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add in the red onion, basil, and couscous and give everything a good toss.

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Pour over the brussels sprout mixture and toss until everything is thoroughly dressed, seasoning with salt to taste. Add in the tangerines, then just before serving, top with walnuts.

Pumpkin Hazelnut Bread

It's already a week into November and the little orange pie pumpkins I bought just before Halloween needed to be taken care of. Because I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with the puree, I decided to cut them in half, place them in a 9x13 baking dish with a small amount of water and bake them until their flesh became soft enough to scoop out. No salt, no oil, just a little water to get things steaming and soft.

I'm one of those people who is probably a little on the extreme side when it comes to wastefulness. I can't stand it when I have to toss something when it's gone bad. I insist to my husband that there is still at least a whole spoonful left in the peanut butter jar if you just scrape the sides. I reuse and re-purpose things the best that I can. So when it came time to scrape out these pumpkins, I was in there and getting every last bit. I saved the seeds and roasted them too. The only thing that went off to compost was the skin, but I was fine with that.

Have you ever roasted your own pie pumpkins? They have the most beautiful brightly colored orange flesh, nothing like what you get from a can. I'd recommend giving it a long go in a food processor to get all the strands fully chopped up and smooth. Nobody likes stringy things in their baked goods or soup.

I probably was able to get about 5-6 cups worth of pumpkin puree from just one pumpkin. I decided on making a batch of pumpkin ginger cookies first. They turned out alright. I remembered I'm not really a cakey type cookie person and whenever you use something like pumpkin puree, applesauce, or banana puree in any kind of cookie, they always end up on the cakey side. Then I saw a jar of hazelnuts and decided to try out a pumpkin bread with roasted hazelnuts. The resulting taste is strongly hazelnut with hints of spice, in a bread that's slightly sweet with a nice crumb. The only change I latter thought to make was adding a handful of shaved chocolate to the batter. I simply cannot resist hazelnuts and chocolate together.

You can definitely use 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree if you would like. *If you want to roast your own, cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the center, seeds and all. Place the two halves, cut side down, into a baking dish large enough to hold them. Pour in enough water to come up about 1/4-inch. Place in a preheated 350˚F oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until you can pierce the flesh easily with a knife. Time will vary depending on how large your pumpkins are. Cool, scoop out flesh and run through a food processor until completely smooth.

Pumpkin Hazelnut Bread
Adapted from Simply Recipes
makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, divided
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree *see above notes for making your own
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease or line with parchment a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Place 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in a food processor and process until ground into a flour. Don't blend too far or you will get hazelnut butter.

In a large bowl sift together the hazelnut flour, pastry flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, oil, and sugar. Add in the eggs and water, mixing well. Add the dry mixture to the wet, mixing until everything is just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons roughly chopped hazelnuts and pop in the oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan, then remove and cool on wire rack before cutting.

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Sunday night I received a call from my cousin Tom.

"Hey, what are you doing Wednesday night? I'm coming up for work and wanted to see if you'd like to plan on having dinner at grandpas while I'm in town."

I thought to myself, boy I have a busy week, "I'll check my schedule and get back to you."

Right after getting off the phone, a bit of my oldest grand daughter guilt set in. I crossed my fingers that I didn't have anything going on that night. We were free! I called him back the next day and we made arrangements for dinner.

Grandpa was making chicken and vegetables in the crock pot. Tom would make a salad and get some bread. I was left to come up with something to share that I could enjoy as well as everyone else. All I could think about was pasta.

My grandpa, the same one who taught me how to make these biscotti, was raised by an Italian mother and 2 Aunts who were always in the kitchen, always cooking. He's probably eaten some of the best pasta any Italian could ask for. The key to good Italian food, or any food if you ask me, is finding the freshest ingredients you can buy. I didn't have any time to make fresh pasta, but I collected herbs from the garden, picked up a large bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes and set out to make pasta the Italian way.

Roasting tomatoes and garlic soon filled the house with familiar smells. It's amazes me every time I make this how quickly such a tasty plate of pasta comes together and with so few ingredients. The longest part is the roasting of the tomatoes, but it's so worth the time.

Vine-ripened tomatoes have more juice than other varieties, but don't worry about it, most of the extra water will be left in the roasting pan. You can use most any other varieties if you prefer. Also, you may be thinking, shouldn't I cut them smaller, but the beauty of roasting them is that they become soft, so by the time you mix everything up they practically fall apart into bits of tomato for you. Serving this as soon as you finish making it will provide the best results and flavors. Omit the mozzarella for a vegan option, it's still just as tasty without.

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce
serves 6-8

2 lbs tomatoes (about 5-6 large tomatoes)
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
big pinch of re pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup mixed herbs, I used basil, Italian parsley, and oregano
3/4 lb linguini
1/2 cup Kalamata olives or other brine-cured olives, sliced
8 oz. mozzarella, cubed (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Core and slice tomatoes no more than 1/4-inch in thickness and place on a baking sheet taking care not to over lap; I needed two. Toss the garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper over the tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, and place in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, chop the herbs, and prepare the olives and mozzarella if using, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and reserve until tomatoes are done.

Toss the pasta with the roasted tomatoes and herbs, then stir in the olives and mozzarella and season with salt. Drizzle with more olive oil if needed and serve warm.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Hot soups were only vaguely on my mind before leaving to D.C. last week. Even though there was an obvious difference in the morning air, the day time temperatures were still reaching the low 70's. By the time I came back however the clouds had settled in, the misty cool air made me reach for a warm cozy sweater and soup was all I could think about.

In fact I've already made several this past week. The day of my return I opened up my first jar of summers tomatoes and made a big pot of tortilla soup. So good with fresh tortilla chips and a subtle reminder that summer was not too long ago. Then I turned to another favorite; lentil soup, which I don't think I will ever tire of, no matter how long our winter decides to be this year.

Last night I decided I wanted something I've never made before. I had chickpeas and spaghetti noodles, carrots and fresh radishes just pulled from the garden, so I settled on the idea of a chickpea noodle soup as a sort of vegetarian riff on chicken noodle soup. The ingredients are so few and usually ones most people stock in their kitchen. The only unfamiliar one may be the white miso. I love adding miso to soups, plus it has many good for you qualities too. The stuff seems to last forever and can really add depth to soups and dips, I encourage you to add it to your diet if you haven't already.

This had to be one of the quickest soups I've ever made. Seriously it takes about as long as it takes to cook the pasta noodles and you're already spooning out yourself a piping hot bowl. Radishes didn't actually go into this soup, but their vibrant green tops did! I love eating my veggies from root to leaf (as long as they're edible). The undersides of radish leaves have little pokeys, much like nettles, although these won't sting, but once you cook them down they go away, you just want to make sure to cut whatever greens you use into manageable sizes to eat.

Chickpea Noodle Soup
serves 4-6

8 cups water or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons white miso
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large carrots, sliced on the diagonal
12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti noodles, broken in half
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2-14oz. cans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch dark leafy greens such as kale, chard, or in my case radish top, cut to bite size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Place the water or broth into a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Scoop out about 1 cup of the water into a small bowl and stir in the miso until it's completely dissolved. This just helps make it easier to combine with the soup. Pour the miso and water back into the pot and stir in the salt, garlic powder, sliced carrots, noodles, and chickpeas.

Continue to cook for 8-12 minutes or until your noodles are al dente. Turn off the heat and stir in the leafy greens. They will begin to slowly wilt and cook from the heat of the broth. At this point taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve soup hot with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh ground black pepper.