Visions of Thanksgiving

Bread crumbs for the stuffing

Chopped celery, again for stuffing

Onion (again, for the stuffing) and hand-picked NC apples for pie

Apples, lovingly sliced by my mother

Green beans, for from-scratch green bean casserole

Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole

Whole wheat pie crust

My plate

Cranberry sauce w/ orange zest

Apple pie w/ pecan topping

Pecan Raisin Granola

Ahh, homemade granola. Pretty easy to make and SO tasty! I finally got my act together last night and made a batch. I took inspiration from Esther Shank's recipe in Mennonite Country-Style Recipes. But, as usual, I didn't have or didn't care for all of the ingredients listed in her recipe, so I changed things up a bit.

Pecan Raisin Granola
yield: about 5 cups

1. Into a large bowl, measure 4 cups of oats. I am die hard in my love of old fashioned rolled oats. I think they put wimpy quick oats to shame. Old fashioned oats have presence; they don't melt into mush upon leaving their canister. Nonetheless, use whatever oats you have on hand or prefer.
2. Next, add between 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans as you like. 
3. Shank's original recipe calls for wheat germ, which I am fresh out of. So, I found some slivered almonds, chopped them up finely, and tossed about 1/2 a cup of them into my bowl. 
4. Add 3/4 cup raisins to the bowl. Dried cranberries would also be good here. 
5. In a separate smaller bowl, combine 1 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup oil (such as vegetable or canola), 1/3 cup water, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (or a little more, if you like!), 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 tbsp. real vanilla extract. (Vanilla extract seems to be the magic ingredient that takes this granola into the next level of goodness. Two tablespoons seems like a lot of vanilla, but no skimping...it will make the granola oh so wonderful!)  Mix all ingredients together until well blended. 
6. Pour liquid mixture over oat mixture. Stir to coat
7. Spread mixture onto your largest baking pan--you don't want any granola goodness falling overboard! Distribute evenly across pan. 
8. Bake at 275 degrees for one hour total. Use a timer to remind yourself to get up off the sofa and stir the granola every fifteen minutes (total of three times) during the baking process.
9. Serve with milk, yogurt, or even ice cream. Yum! 
10. Store cooled granola in pantry, fridge, or even freezer for long-term storage. 

too much angel hair? no problem!

By way of introduction, I am Amanda. I grew up in central North Carolina. I write now from metro Atlanta, in Georgia. I grow and cook in the South. Right now, my garden hosts collard greens, my pantry is home to homemade applesauce, and my fridge is slightly overflowing with logs of butter and dozen eggs.

A recent cooking goal of mine has been to have less leftover waste. So, for dinner last night, I worked out a quick and pretty tasty way to use up the extra whole wheat angel hair pasta from a few days before. (Disclaimer: I am not a cook of precision or measurements.) This recipe was inspired by a nutritionist friend.


Pasta with Beets, Spinach, & Feta
yield: about three servings

1. Remove left over pasta from fridge to warm up (I had four cups of whole wheat angel hair, more or less...). Or prepare fresh if you didn't accidentally cook double the amount you needed on Thursday night. 
2. Chop fresh beets finely (I used one large and one small). Put on small baking tray drizzle with olive oil, 2 tsps. should do it. Salt and pepper. Roast at 450ish F for 25 minutes. Cook more or less for softer or harder beets. 
3. Meantime, heat a stock pot to med-high. Melt a few tablespoons of butter, using more or less butter to create a more or less amazingly tasting dish. Quickly saute about three giant handfuls of fresh spinach. You could chop the spinach, but I was in a hurry and didn't. Things worked out fine for me. Saute only to wilting. Remove from heat, if necessary to wait for beets to finish cooking. 
4. Return stock pot to medium heat. Add pasta to spinach and heat through. Remove beets from oven and add to pot. 
5. Add a little more butter if you like. Yes, I am the sort of cook that bows to the Goddess of Butter. Salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Throw in as much crumbled feta as you like, and serve.

plantin'

A few weeks ago while relishing food and cooking blogs, the wild thought flittered past my consciousness--"what if I was doing this?"

Today I prepare the soil, carry some water, and put a little blog seed in the garden to grow.

And while I cram on computer and bloggin skills of the past ten years that I am lacking in (which are a LOT), I share this photo (above) from Thanksgiving 2009.

Here's to growin' & cookin'!