I'm worth it...

I was going to pick up something quick for my dinner while I was at the grocery store today. I'm solo this week and I've cooked a lovely risotto and some bangin' cream of chicken soup with cheese tortellini. Mmm. I thought cooking another nice meal for just myself would simply take too long.

And the moment I had that thought, I kicked myself. (Well, since the leg's still weak, it wasn't much of a kick, but I deserved it.) As I kicked myself, I reminded myself, that I'm worth it. I'm worth taking the time to cook something just for me. So I made a huge tossed salad with spring greens, and a lovely crab marinara. Had a nice glass of wine even.

I've spent my life as a caregiver. My brothers when I was growing up, my family, my grandmother, my neighbor...  I think it's easy for caregivers to forget to give themselves time as well. Taking a moment to cook myself a lovely dinner. Taking a moment to read a book. Taking a bunch of moments going back to school. Heading to the studio. Those moments...well, I'm worth them. Yes, I may forget sometimes. I think we all do. But it's worth reminding ourselves.

Maybe during this shortest month, we should all take a moment to do something for ourselves. Whether it's cooking, or claying, or reading...

Take a moment. You're worth it!

Holly

PS Here's my newest series:

OUT NOW: Crib Notes

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Preorder: A Special Kind of Different

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Preorder: Homecoming
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The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Suddenly a Father will be out in September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!

REBOOT Granola—Cooks and Books #3 with author, Holly Jacobs

Granola again.

I posted this a while back, but had more requests yesterday. I burned my first batch.  #ThingsCanBurnAtTwoHundredDegrees. (I thought I turned off the oven...and obviously didn't.) The second batch turned out fine.  I used local honey from Fred's Fine Fowl. Anyway, here you go again. This recipe is very adaptable.  I used pecans yesterday and some locally sourced honey.  And coconut.  I've been using that a lot in recent batches.  So experiment...and make sure you turn off the oven.

Original Posts

I keep getting requests for this recipe…well, any recipe from me is a rather broad description.  This one in particular can take all kinds of tweaking toward your own personal taste.  I'm including the version I make most often here and some of the easy substitutes.

Anyway, I'm putting it here so it's easy to find in the future!

Holly's Easy Granola

1/2 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup…real maple syrup)
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
6 cups oats (I've been using a Bob's Mill multi grain cereal for part of the oats lately & love their thicker cut oats)
1 cup of soy flour & whole wheat flour (I vary the amounts and have never found a problem)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 TB or more cinnamon
1 cup or more nuts (walnuts, pecans and almonds are my favors…I've been doing more nuts of late)
Place in two greased 9x13 pans and bake about 2 hours at 250, stirring every twenty minutes or so.
I frequently do an hour or so, turn the oven off and leave the granola in it as it cools.  Later in the day I come back and do the other hour or so. 
When I serve it for breakfast, I do a quarter cup or so with about the same amount of yogurt and then fresh fruit or raisins.

Hope you enjoy the recipe reboot!

Holly

Following the recipe?

 I was making macaroni and cheese the other night and my youngest pulled out her recipe book and took notes.  Notes are about the best my kids can hope for because I'll confess, I'm not a recipe follower.  That's not to say I don't like recipes.  I so do!  I have a growing collection of cookbooks and love to browse through them.  But most of the time, I don't follow the recipes precisely.

For instance, I had some ripe bananas a few years back.  I thought about making banana bread, but it didn't really thrill me, so I played with a banana bread recipe and came up with a banana/blueberry, whole grain muffin.  I added lots of cinnamon and walnuts.  They've become a family favorite.

I bought a wonderful cookbook, Artisan Breads in Five Minutes or Less.  Again, I loved it.  But frequently, a whole loaf was a bit too much for a meal.  I found a cast iron biscuit pan at a house sale.  It was brand new and had never been used.  I seasoned it, and tried dropping the basic dough from the book in and making rolls.  Perfect!  I could make anywhere from two to more than a dozen. (I bought a second pan because I liked the first one so much!)

I'll confess,a less-than following the recipe form of cooking has its good days and it's not so great days.  But I really do love experimenting, and when something turns out good, it turns out real good!  I'll confess, sometimes, experiments fail, but that's why there's cereal in the cupboard!

So, here's my banana/blueberry muffin recipe.  I started with the banana bread recipe in Whole Foods for the Whole Family and then I tweaked it.  And here's what I came up with.





RECIPE:

1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t cinnamon
1/3 C oil
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 C mashed banana
1/4 C hot water
1/2 C walnuts
1 C blueberries (frozen, fresh or dried)

Mix wet ingredients, add dry and mix.  Add solids (nuts, berries).

350 for about 15-20 minutes.

You'll see these muffins in A Valley Ridge Wedding: You Are Invited...  Mattie, known to her family as Waltzing Mathilda (yes, I sang the song a lot as I worked), is working at Park Perks, the local coffee shop.  She adds a bakery section and these muffins are a hit.  She's someone who doesn't always follow the rules.  It's a little thing, but I love that some of her independent spirit comes out in her cooking at the coffee shop.

Mattie's spent years wandering the US, but when the chips are down, she throws her own life aside and hurries home to help a friend.  I imagine Mattie's someone who doesn't follow a recipe exactly.  Frankly, I'm pretty sure she considers them a loose guideline...rather like me! Go figure!  LOL

Now, if you look at this recipe and think the muffins look good except for the ____ (nuts, berries, bananas...) then switch it up and try out some variation of the recipe.  If you do, let me know how it turns out.

Happy Cooking...and Reading!

Holly