Doubly Virtuous...

It's that time of year again.  Shopping for school clothes,  temper tantrums over getting up early once more, begging and pleading "please don't make me go", etc...  and that is just the teachers.

Granola is hardly a revolutionary breakfast, but it is a great way to start your day & when turned into bars it's a hand-held portable breakfast which can come in very handy when you've hit "snooze" one too many times.

Now, before you roll your eyes at the mere mention of granola, let me preface it by saying you do not have to be a Birkenstock wearing, tree hugging, peace-lovin' hippie clad in tie dye to appreciate it. 
(Just because I happen to be a few of those things has nothing to do with it...)

It's that perfect mixture of oats/almonds/coconut toasting in the oven & the scent of it lingering in the kitchen that really gets me excited for what's about to happen.  Then, it becomes a bit of a treasure hunt.  I've stated before how I buy things, put them away and then stumble upon them when I'm looking for something else...  well, this is where that comes in handy.

Most of us have some sort of dried fruit tucked away in a pantry and in the baking cabinet there are always lovely additions lurking in there somewhere.   I happened to have some of these ingredients already on hand so I threw them into the mix and others I actually had to go out for. (the OATS!)

The list of ingredients is a suggestion.  I used a ton of dried fruit because I had it.    The recipe is very flexible, you can add in or take out whatever you like.  If you have kids,  get them involved with making this.  They are more likely to eat something if they've had a hand in it...  literally.   They can help measure the ingredients, mix the granola, etc.

Making your own granola ensures that it has exactly what you want in it and a fraction of the sugar that the store-bought variety contains.  Sprinkled over a bowl of Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey on top,  it is breakfast perfection.


Granola

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (can be made GF, make sure the label says gluten-free)
• 1 1/2 cups coconut
• 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, small dice
• 1/2 cup dried figs, small dice
• 1/2 cup pitted dates, small dice
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, almonds, coconut and salt in a large bowl.   Add oil, then honey to a 1 cup measure and pour over mixture.  Oil will prevent honey from sticking and it will all pour out easily.   Stir to evenly coat oat mixture.

Bake, stirring once, for approximately 25 - 30 minutes until mixture is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool, stir occasionally or it will become a solid mass.
(I learned this the hard way the first time I made granola, so I'll save you the heartache)

Once mixture is cooled, combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir to thoroughly combine and store in an airtight container.


Granola Bars

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter + extra for baking dish
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 cups granola

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Coat bottom of an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.  Butter parchment paper inside baking dish & set aside.

Melt butter, mix in honey and brown sugar. 
In a large bowl, combine granola & melted butter mixture.  Stir to combine.

Pour mixture into prepared pan & with wet fingers press down firmly on granola.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, cool completely and let set for 3 hours before cutting into squares.  I usually let mine set up overnight before I cut them, but if you can't wait make sure they are completely cooled before cutting them or they will fall apart.

On the Lanai...

I have this nonsensical love of the Golden Girls, to the extent that I kind of want to be them when I grow up.  Not any one of them in particular (although Blanche certainly had lots of fun), but more of an amalgamation of them.  

Dorothy's intelligence and dry wit, Rose's willingness to always see the good in people, Sophia's crass humor and we've already covered Blanche's obvious contribution to the mix.

I can fully appreciate sitting around the kitchen table with an entire (yes, an ENTIRE) cheesecake to work out life's woes with your best pals, but my fascination is the lanai...  Just the word makes you relax a bit , doesn't it?  (go ahead, say it aloud...  I'll wait)

I remember hearing that word as a fourteen year old kid watching this show and not even knowing what it was, but liking sound of it. 
Eventually, when I pieced together what a "lanai" actually was, I thought to myself  "oh yeah, that's for me"...

As the afternoon sun starts to set, turning the sky a beautiful blush pink, the palm trees sway in the warm coastal breeze and I am sitting out on the lanai with a crisp white wine and a few friends.

Nothing could be further from my current reality, but this is what I envision as my "someday".    When the crowded streets, honking car horns, screeching brakes of city buses and  shrieking sirens get to me,  I close my eyes and go here.

In my "someday", I set out trays of little nibbles for my friends and I to pick upon while we sip our wine and solve the world's problems...  before we head back inside to give that cheesecake a proper send off.


Tartine
A tartine is an open faced sandwich.  A single slice of bread, toasted and topped with whatever suits you.  It can be sweet or savory, eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.  It is great for when friends pop over, because you can top it with anything you have in the house.
Cheese, meat, thinly sliced vegetables & eggs are all common toppings and most of us generally have these hanging around the kitchen which makes this a snap to put together.

• Country or Sourdough bread, sliced (nothing too porous)
• 2 Bosc pears, peeled & cored
• 1/2 bottle (750 ml) red wine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 piece cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled & thinly sliced
• 3 oz. gorgonzola dolce
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 1 oz. sliced almonds, toasted
• sprinkling of thyme leaves

1. Combine wine, cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorn, ginger, sugar & pears in a medium saucepot.

2. Bring to a simmer and cook pears for about 15 - 20 minutes.   Let cool completely in liquid.
    (the longer they sit, the darker they will get)
3. Once pears are cooled completely, remove from poaching liquid.  Strain and put liquid back on heat to reduce down until thick and syrupy. 

4. Thinly slice pears and set aside.
5. Toast bread, top with gorgonzola, pears, honey, reduced poaching liquid and sliced almonds.

• prosciutto (about 3 slices per piece of bread)
• parmesan
• fig jam
• baby arugula

1. Toast bread, top with fig jam (homemade or store bought).

2. Arrange prosciutto on top of jam, add a sprinkling of baby arugula leaves and top with a smattering Parmesan curls.

Can't Stand the Heat...

Summer time is when I really enjoy salads.  The anemic tomatoes of winter are happily forgotten and replaced with gleaming, juicy, bright red beauties.  The delicious, but boring cucumbers can go on hiatus along with their carrot friends. 

The same ol' stuff that routinely finds its way into your salad can go by the wayside to make room for things like stone fruit! 

Sometimes we are on auto-pilot and occasionally get stuck in a bit of a rut. Considering all of the amazing things available to us in the summer, this is the time to branch out and mix it up.

Making a salad for dinner is a great option. The clean up is pretty minimal and the ingredients are merely a suggestion.  Use it as a jumping off point for an idea;  if you don't like an ingredient, swap it out for something you do like...

Perhaps the most important reason to go with a meal that takes about 10 minutes from start to finish:

Generally speaking, most of us are less inclined to spend hours in front of a stove during a 90+ degree heat wave.  The air is stagnant.  It just hangs there... completely still, while your tolerance for anyone within a 5 foot radius decreases exponentially by the minute.


Spinach Salad with Nectarines & Blue Cheese
serves 1 hungry girl

• 3 oz fresh baby spinach (a little more than half of a 5oz container)
• a handful of toasted, sliced almonds
• 5 -6 dried figs, sliced in half or quarters
• 1 ripe nectarine, pit removed & thinly sliced
• 2 oz blue cheese, broken into bite size pieces

Mis-en-place

There are only 5 ingredients in this salad, so make sure they are of the best quality you can get.  Spring for the good cheese, don't buy the stuff that is already crumbled.  It tastes like Styrofoam.  Make sure the nectarine is ripe & luscious, under ripe fruit doesn't have any flavor.

Normally when I make this salad, I add in crispy prosciutto.  Place a few paper-thin slices of prosciutto on a non-stick (Silpat) silicone baking sheet if you have one or parchment paper if you don't, put this on a rimmed baking (cookie) sheet and bake at 350 degrees until super crispy.

Fresh mozzarella works beautifully in this salad if you don't like blue cheese.  As with the blue cheese, get the good stuff, not the shredded cheese in a bag that you would throw on a pizza.

Fig Vinaigrette

• 1/2 shallot
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 tbsp fig balsamic vinegar (not the sweet, reduced balsamic glaze)
• 1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a blender (or with a stick blender) combine all ingredients EXCEPT oil.  Blend on medium speed until thoroughly combined, then lower speed and slowly drizzle in olive oil. 

(If you are fighting the urge to do your worst Bill Cosby impression, then clearly your dressing resembles chocolate pudding and you've taken your vinaigrette too far.  Thin it out with a splash of vinegar or a tbsp of water.)

Devour.



.

Gettin' Figgy With It...

I LOVE figs and lucky for me I live in a predominantly Italian neighborhood where fig trees are the preferred lawn ornament.  Now is the time when the branches are heavy with fruit, hanging low enough that plucking them from the tree does not prove to be very difficult.
(and don't think I haven't contemplated enlisting my friends for a little late-night recon mission to "obtain" said fruit)

Figs are in season from late summer through early fall, so if you happen upon them at the farmer's market or the grocery store,  get them while you still can.

I had never made fig jam before but I figured since I  love the fruit, the jam would be a sure hit (it was) and with this recipe,  canning season for me comes to a close.
While this is a sweet jam,  it can be used as a base for other add-ins...  caramelized red onions or bacon for example.  This can be turned into a topping for crostini with a little fresh goat cheese or perhaps on a half bagel, with some crispy crumbled bacon and then topped with a fried egg for breakfast?  (just brain-storming here...)

Finding a recipe for fig jam wasn't as easy as I thought it would be,  but I eventually stumbled upon one.  I used it as a guide,  but ended up changing a few things.  I rarely stick to an exact recipe unless it's baking,  those you really can't veer off too much or it could prove disastrous.

The recipe I found called for 6 cups of sugar & only 4 cups of figs.  I thought this was a bit much on the sugar so I adjusted it.  Jam should be sweet,  but it shouldn't cause a diabetic coma or send you to a dentist...


Fig Jam

• 4 pints figs, roughly chopped (about 28 - 30)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 tbsp low sugar pectin
• 8 half pint glass jars (with lids & bands)

1. Prepare water bath.  Heat jars and lids in simmering water.  Do not boil.
2. Cut stems off figs and roughly chop.  I used Black Mission figs here, but any variety of fig will do.

3.  Combine figs, lemon juice, water, butter & sugar in an 8 qt pot and bring to a rolling boil.
4.  Add pectin and continue hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

5.  Ladle hot jam into jars leaving 1/4 space. Wipe rim, put lid and band on. Do not over-tighten.

6.  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove jars and cool.

7.  Check for seal.  If you have one that did not seal properly, refrigerate and use within a month.



 Rosy- Hued Fig Jam