Granola is good for the soul!

I love granola bars. I don't usually buy them because I find them full of crap, to be honest.  I do have a soft spot for Country Harvest though, and Kashi because I like the ingredients, and calories (let's be honest). 

I am known for making everything from scratch. I adore breaking a recipe down and figuring out how to do everything from the beginning.  For example, I could buy pierogis but I ADORE making the dough and filling from scratch and then boiling the final product, smothering it in butter (I decided not to count calories for that recipe) and sitting down and devouring it.  There is something so satisfying about doing it from scratch and knowing that nothing was bought pre-made. 

I have tried many a recipe for granola bars, and none had turned out the way I really wanted. I wanted a crunch, maybe some chocolate, but in the end, I wanted to know where all the ingredients came from, and I am okay if the 'shelf' life of them is only a week or two because there are no preservatives. 

A dear childhood friend Karen, posted on Facebook that she had just made granola bars and that she couldn't stop eating them.  You see, Karen and I share a love of cheese, and let's face it, anyone who loves cheese as much as I do - well you can trust anything they bake or cook :)

So here is Karen's recipe, with a few modifications (it wouldn't be me if I didn't throw my own twist into it :))

Ingredients

2 cups quick oats 
½ cup packed brown sugar (or 1/3 cup, depending on desired sweetness)
¼ cup wheat germ or wheat bran
¼ cup coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
¾ tsp salt
½ cup honey
1 egg, beaten
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract 
½ tsp maple extract (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried fruit (optional)
Chocolate chips (optional)
Slivered almonds or nuts of your choice (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with PAM or grease with butter. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan, leaving about an inch and a half of empty space at one end.

And here are my tweaks:

- I toasted the oats and nuts 
- I used 1/2c Quinoa and 1/2c whole wheat flour
- Grapeseed oil instead of vegetable oil
- added sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cashews, pecans, almonds, walnuts AND chocolate chips (a few tbsp of each) 

- Added 3 tbsp of pure Ontario maple syrup
- added 1 tsp of almond extract

- omitted the maple extract because I didn't have it

- used 1 tsp of Moroccan pink sea salt

- added 2 tbsp of uncooked white quinoa

- added 2 tbsp of black chia seeds
- added 2 tbsp of flax seeds

I also made a second batch without the chocolate, and instead added chopped organic crystallized ginger and organic goji berries.

I put the entire batch in a tightly sealed container and put 'em in the freezer. I pull out what I want, when I want them. 

Enjoy and thanks so much Karen for this wonderful recipe!

Pin It now!

Coconut Quinoa Pancakes, Gluten-Free Option

Pleasure to meet you Quinoa flour. I bought you for the first time today, after I experienced you at brunch earlier.  I have to say, I'm quite impressed by your strength. Your flavour is light and dense and I very much enjoyed you in the coconut-quinoa pancake I devoured.  You were topped with a smear of cream cheese and warm saucy (not too saucy) blueberries. I even enjoyed your friend, maple syrup. Oh how delicious you all were together!


I liked you so much that I decided to re-create you for breakfast this morning.


I decided to dress you up with a little warm baked apples and cinnamon.... and then grace you with some lovely crushed pecans.  Oh don't worry, I didn't forget the cream cheese.  


I have a soft spot for double smoked bacon, so a slice of that made it to the plate to join in the edible fun. Everyone played so nicely together!


I didn't have a gluten-free alternative flour, so I used all-purpose. I plan on buying buckwheat or another alternative this weekend and giving it another go. 

Here's the recipe, Enjoy!

Coconut Quinoa Pancakes (Gluten-free option)

1 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
1 cup quinoa flour or quinoa flakes (see note above)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I prefer unsweetened)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for cooking
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Combine flour, quinoa flour, coconut, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk to work out all of the clumps.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and eggs until well combined.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking all the while until well combined. The batter will have texture because of the coconut (and quinoa flakes, if using), but should not have lumps.

4. Heat a well oiled pan or griddle over medium heat. Add batter in 1/4 cup scoops and cook until bubbles just begin to form around the edges. (Unlike most pancake batters, this will not bubble vigorously—you’re looking for just a couple of bubbles.) Flip and cook for another two minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately, with a drizzle of honey or warmed maple syrup.

Pin It now!

Stuff you squash!

Over the years I've grown fond of squash. It started with acorn squash years ago. I had never cooked it before, and one day saw a recipe for a PC Apple Maple sauce baked on acorn squash.  Intrigued, I went to the store bought the sauce and immediately recreated the very simple recipe. 


I've come a long way from relying on store bought sauces as the show stopper secret ingredient, but for some reason when it came to acorn squash I just couldn't seem to come up with any other way to cook it... until recently. 


Thanks to my Twitter and Facebook friend Mike Lieberman (Urban Organic Gardener), I have discovered an amazing way to nom-nom this really yummy squash.

Courtesy of Mike, I made this delish dish. After my first bite, I was hooked.  I made it twice that week.  I went on and on to friends about this sweet recipe I just discovered. Best of all, when you dig deep down in the veggie goodness, you hit warm gooey goat cheese. CHEESE people! 


For the recipe, click here.


I usually don't follow recipes, and staying true to that, I of course made some edits.
Here is what I did differently:
1. I used kale, it's what I had on hand.  I removed the leaves from the stem and chopped finely.
2. I didn't add tomatoes
3. Added chopped mushrooms and zucchini. I love their flavour and thought this would be a great addition to 'beef it up'.
4. Used A LOT of goat cheese.  I put some on the bottom, then the kale and veggie medley and topped it with more goat cheese Like Mike.  
5. Right out of the oven, I topped it off with some smoked sea salt, courtesy of my fellow foodie Ian Raine.  He makes some wicked home-smoked foodie treats. 


...and voila!

Those are organic pea shoots on the side.  They had a light cool flavour and added a pleasing texture and raw freshness to the dish.  You know, keeping it real.  


I hope you give this one a try.  This simple dish left me satisfied, full and really enjoying the finishing flavour on my palate.  It captured the sweet, the salty and a warm soft texture that is going in my good books fo sho.


Cheers!




Pin It now!

Round 2

So I'm back at blogging, but have decided to change gears a bit.  Round two is going to focus more on recipes.  Why?
I'm starting to feel like my Facebook page is food porn, and I really love having a central place to post recipes, share thoughts, and get inspired by others.

I hope you'll join me on this food journey that I'm about to take! Pin It now!

Heading to Stonegate Farmers' Market in Etobicoke today!

The Stonegate Farmers’ Market is a great place to shop for fresh,locally-grown food and meet your neighbours!  The Market is a joint effort overseen by the Stonegate Food Access Committee and managed by Stonegate CHC, in an attempt to bring fresh, local produce into the community. For a closer look at the Market click here. Pin It now!

Save Toronto's Farmers Markets!

Proposed increases to user fees threaten to have a devastating impact on Toronto’s vibrant, community-based farmers’ markets. It’s hard enough for farmers and small-scale food producers to earn a living already, and the benefits markets bring to our city are numerous, for health, community and the environment. Please show your support of Toronto farmers’ markets by signing this petition, and asking your friends and neighbours to do the same. Here’s the link:
www.ipetitions.com/petition/torontofarmersmarkets/ Pin It now!

Save Toronto's Farmers Markets!

Proposed increases to user fees threaten to have a devastating impact on Toronto’s vibrant, community-based farmers’ markets. It’s hard enough for farmers and small-scale food producers to earn a living already, and the benefits markets bring to our city are numerous, for health, community and the environment. Please show your support of Toronto farmers’ markets by signing this petition, and asking your friends and neighbours to do the same. Here’s the link:
www.ipetitions.com/petition/torontofarmersmarkets/ Pin It now!