GRANOLA

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.  Rabindranath Tagore

Today I'm going to share a recipe that has become a favorite of our family. My daughter and son-in-law got this from a B&B they went to and it's been passed around to everyone in the family. It's healthy and soooo delicious!
                
                                                                    GRANOLA

                               
                                  
                  2 C. Regular Rolled Oats
                  4 1/4 C. Wheaties
                  1/3 Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
                  1 TBS Sesame Seeds
                  1/3 C. Sunflower Seeds
                  1/2 C. Chopped Pecans
                  1/2 C. Sliced Almonds

                  Mix all above ingredients in Roasting Pan.

                  1/3 C. Maple Syrup
                  1/3 C. Sunflower Oil
                   Few drops vanilla extract or almond

                  Mix syrup and oil in pan on stove until simmering. Then add drops of extract. Pour
                  over dry mixture and mix well.

                  Bake in preheated 250 degree oven. Bake 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.

                 Serve with berries and Stoneyfield Farm Organic Yogurt ( plain or vanilla ) ( non-fat or
                 low-fat )

                 


                 I make a batch almost weekly and store on my kitchen counter in a vintage glass container
                 next to my chalkboard Rooster.

                 Today I'm grateful for food that is healthy AND delicious.

AUTUMN

I fall
Originally uploaded by remography

The winds will blow
their own FRESHNESS into you
and the storms their ENERGY
while CARES WILL DROP AWAY from you
like the leaves of Autumn.     John Muir




I love Autumn! By the time autumn rolls around I'm ready to bring out the sweaters, drink hot cocoa, eat apple crisp, walk through the leaves, and get back on a regular schedule. And now that I've discovered this poem above, I'm visualizing "freshness", "energy", and "cares dropping away"! Ah, yes, Autumn is GREAT!

During this time of year I make apple crisp from Haralson apples. These apples are very tart and the best for baking and they only come out in mid to late October. So I only make them during this time of year. You can make them from YOUR favorite tart appple. Here's the recipe:

Apple Crisp

8 large apples sliced
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon and then mix with sliced apples.
Place apples in a 9x9 inch pan.

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter

Mix the rest of ingredients together and spoon onto apples.
Bake at 350 degress for 45 to 60 minutes.

Apple Crisp....YUMMM!

NOT YO' MAMA'S BANANA PUDDING

I found a great banana pudding recipe by Paula Deen and had to try it! Turned out to be a hit with the family so I thought I'd share it here.

NOT YO' MAMA'S BANANA PUDDING

INGREDIENTS:

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookie

6-8 bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1 ( 5 oz ) box instant French vanilla pudding

1 ( 8 oz ) package cream cheese, softened

1 ( 14 oz ) can sweetened condensed milk

1 ( 12 oz ) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

DIRECTIONS

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2 inch pan with 1 bag of cookies and layer with bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and  pudding mix and blend well using a handheld mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 12

Crisp Oatmeal Cookies

Here's a wonderful cookie recipe that I was given by a neighbor at a wedding shower, over 40 years ago!   I  used it often when my kids were growing up. Everyone loved these cookies and I felt a bit better knowing that there were some "healthy" ingredients in them like oatmeal, walnuts, and raisins. AND they're  easy to make! I always use my Grandma's big mixing bowl, a green Red Wing Pottery bowl. Since we lived close to where they made the pottery (  a little River town called Red Wing ) we had lots of it when I was growing up. Now it can be rather "pricey".  So here's the recipe... Try it! Your kids ( or grandkids) will love it!

Crisp Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups sugar
2 cups Quick Quaker Oats
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. each of cinnamon. salt, and soda
2 T. milk
1 cup raisins
2 eggs
1 cup melted shortening

Mix in order.
Let stand 10 min.
Place by tsp. on cookie sheet
Bake 10 minutes in 375 degree oven.
Cool
Eat   Yummmmmmm!

Sneak Peek       We're getting things ready for the big sale! We're cleaning, buffing, pressing, painting, sanding...you name it, we're doing it!  Here's a "sneak peek" of some things you'll see there. But, of course, they'll look a lot PRETTIER when you see them in all their glory in the Plummer House. That's one of my favorite parts... decorating and setting up vignettes! Hope to see you there!

And that's just the beginning...we'll have over 1,000 items for sale. And FREE GOURMET COFFEE as you shop! See you there!

Best Banana Bread

It's time to share another recipe. This is one I got from friend and Hob Nobber, Karen. She always brings a loaf of this to our sales. My husband liked it so much he asked for the recipe and I started making it. The only problem was that Karen forgot to write down one of the  ingredients which I didn't realize until the bread didn't turn out very well. I thought it was my oven at first but then when I went to make it again I looked a bit closer to what I was using for ingredients and something seemed to be missing and indeed it was... the baking soda. So now it  actually rises and  tastes the same as Karen's and it is soooo delicious! You have to try it! You will love it! It is YUMMY! Here's the recipe:

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 bananas ( mashed )
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( optional )

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix in dry ingredients. Fold in sour cream, bananas, and vanilla. Add nuts if desired.

Let stand in greased loaf pan for 10" before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours. May sprinkle with sugar before baking.  Enjoy!

They're Home!

Our daughter and son-in-law, Elissa and Jon, arrived home from China! Their nieces, Ashley and Brianna, greeted them with signs. The first thing they had to do was to go and have a Starbucks coffee, something they don't have in China.

I had their favorite granola ready for breakfast. Recipe on this blog. It's delicious and good for you too! And check out my vintage jar next to the chalkboard rooster. The jar sits on the counter and is always filled with the homemade granola cereal. The rooster displays messages like "Proudly brewing Starbucks coffee" or the menu for a meal, or a greeting like," Merry Christmas"

Granola

4 1/4 cups of Wheaties
2 cups of uncooked Oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 sesame seeds
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup oil

Mix first 6 ingredients in large roaster pan. Put oil and syrup in pan and boil 1 minute. Add to dry ingredients.
Bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes.
Serve with berries and fat free plain yogurt.