If you’ve read my post on homemade granola, you know that I love the whole process of mixing and matching dried fruit, nuts and sweeteners. When I make granola, it’s a bit of a process because I want it to have all my favorite dried fruit in it so I make huge amount which needs to be baked in batches . I didn’t have any breakfast at work the other day but my friend said she’d share her yogurt with me. She warned me that she didn’t have any toppings for it so we quickly jumped into the kitchen and within 5 minutes had made a quick and tasty muesli/granola/yogurt topping. We were so impressed with our creation that I just had to share it.
This only makes enough for an instant fix but who knows, maybe you’ll give up baking your granola altogether!
5-minute granola
yield: 2 portions
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procedure
Everyone is on the pumpkin train right now and I don’t mind it one bit. I love anything pumpkin or sweet potato, which usually involves a cocktail of warm spices like nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, but what I really love is when something is actually pumpkin or sweet potato flavored and not masked by fall spices. Back Forty makes a wonderful pumpkin hummus with no fall spices. A pool of olive oil settles on top and it’s garnished with a few toasted pumpkin seeds. I tried to make my own and I think came pretty close to their recipe. At first I was going to puree the squash with white beans but the flavor of the squash is so subtle I decided to leave them out so that the squash could have its moment. I had an acorn squash on hand but I’m sure this would work with a sweet potato or butternut squash or pumpkin.
The salted pepita brittle is a little bit of crunchy-salty-sweet on top, which I love. I’m not sure what Back Forty does to their pumpkin seeds but this quick little brittle is a nice treat on top, please don’t skip it!
squash hummus + salted pepita brittle
ingredients
procedure
Salted pepita brittle: To a small skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon raw pepitas; stir constantly until golden. Add 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of coarse salt. Stir until sugar is melted and completely coats pepitas. Quickly remove to a cutting board or wax paper and allow to cool. Once hardened, break up the pepitas and use as garnish.
*Do adjust seasoning as needed! These measurements are for a small acorn squash that was not very sweet. Sweet potatoes are much sweeter than acorn squash, so easy on the maple; they are also much more dense and may require more seasoning than this. Start with these measurements and work your way up.
Yesterday I prepared for hurricane Sandy by making a big batch of lentil soup. I don’t normally like lentil soup, not because of the lentils but because of the texture. They’re always thick, lumpy and usually have cumin in them, which I don’t love. So I made this lentil soup to please my taste, but I’m sure you’ll like it too. It’s brothy, not lumpy, it has chunks of carrots and tomato and I’ve flavored it with chipotle and smoked paprika. The other thing I like about it is that the lentils are whole and intact with a bit of bite to them, not mushy. I was inspired by Heidi Swanson’s lentil soup, which looks divine, but I made a few additions to make it just right for me.
smoky + chunky lentil soup
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I got this idea from The First Mess blog. She does a raw date and nut crumble over a raw almond cream fruit topping. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? The minute I saw the post, I knew I had to try it. I hadn’t been this excited about a recipe in a while, which is silly because it’s so simple – but oh-so-genius!
Like the original post implies, this is much like a disassembled Larabar – your favorite nuts pulsed with dates and some spices. This is delicious as is, but I OD’ed on Larabars a few years back and realized that the fat content was just too high for me and they tend to make me nauseous after a few bites. This too was lacking a bit of something to break up the fattiness of all the nuts so I thought pretzel dust! I tested it on a little spoonful and it was just what I was looking for.
The recipe makes a nice batch, about 2 cups, so save it in an airtight container in the fridge and use on fruit and yogurt, ice cream or even sprinkled on some toast. I know the photo above only has the crumble on the yogurt, but I ended up covering the fruit with about 1/2 cup of the crumble. Trust me, it’s delightful!
date, nut + pretzel dust crumble
ingredients
procedure
I’ve recently become obsessed with the cactus salad at Cafe El Portal, so I had to recreate it. In a way, I think I’ve ruined my obsession because now I won’t have this intense need to go have it every time I’m anywhere south of Houston St. I guess that’s a good thing though.
What’s driving me wild about this salad is the texture. The cactus leaf has a great snap to it and the simple lime dressing makes it refreshing and light. It’s very easy to make so I would recommend it as a salad to bring to a potluck. It’s different and the flavors are simple enough that everyone could like it. El Portal serves it in a bowl with corn chips and their amazing salsas on the side.
I’ve always been intimidated by cactus, therefore I’ve never cooked with it, but I watched a video on how to clean it and it’s pretty simple. Just use a large, sharp knife and scraped both sides until the splinters have been shaved off. For a video, watch here. Once cooked, the cactus leaf secretes a slimy substance much like okra does, so be sure to rinse under cold water after boiling.
cactus salad with queso fresco
ingredients
instructions