Wednesday, June 20, 2012

DIY Granola

Granola is easy and oh-so-delicious to make. Adapt the recipe to use your favorite ingredients...

3 cup puffed rice cereal
3 cup rolled oats
1 cup raw pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds or nut of your choice
¼ cup raw hemp seeds or chia seeds
1 cup wheat germ (optional)
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1/2  - ¾ cup local honey, maple syrup, or rapadura sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or spice of your choice)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
grated zest of 1 orange (optional)

Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir wet ingredients together and combine all ingredients well.  Bake on 2 oiled baking sheets at 300º for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  It will crisp up when it cools.

After it cools you can stir in other ingredients like dried fruit (cherries, blueberries, coconut pieces...) or carob chips.

Makes about 7 cups.

Serve over seasonal fruit, and acai bowl,  yogurt (I like Straus whole milk plain), or eat it like cereal with your favorite milk.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Corn, Bean, Avo Salsa

I am very exctied that starting this summer, one of my favorite San Diego farmers, Suzie's Farm, is growing organic corn!  But I am still nostalgic for the most amazing corn I ever had (minutes from the field) from Reegers Farm, a family farm where I used to work in rural Pennsylvania.  What a gift to experience!   This farm made me real picky about my corn  - one of the farmers wouldn't eat the corn that was picked that morning for dinner that night; she could taste the difference.
I love fresh sweet corn and I'm so happy to get it fresh from the field again...

about a cup or 2 of beans of your choice (today I'm using an heirloom variety I picked up at the Hillcrest Farmers Market - anazasi is one of my favorites)
a couple ears of fresh corn, kernels cut of the cob (your chicken will love the fresh cob)
1 cup or so of mixed heirloom tomatoes - try green zebra and indigo rose (from the Schaners and Suzie's), chopped
1 avocado, chopped (from Schaner Farm)
a handfulof chopped cilantro (from Ripe North Park)
1/2 a red onion, diced (from the Schaners)
juice of 2 limes (also from the Schaners via the Little Italy farmers market)
drizzle of your favorite extra virgin olive oil (mine is from Ensenada)
2 or more cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced (from the Schaners)
1/2 jalapeño (from Suzie's), miced or another chile or chile powder, optional for a little heat
sea salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve up some summer in a bowl!

Eat with tortilla chips, as a tostada, in a burrito, on top for your favorite greens...