I traveled by car to California for meetings and gatherings with friends. I returned a week ago but my computer got 'left behind', very mysterious as it was found in a place I never was, but I will not question how this all works for my laptop was returned yesterday via UPS and I am connected again. I am once more posting things I have recently made. The granola is cooking as I type, the pilaf I first tasted at Chris and Stephen's on Lopez Island three weeks ago and I tried my best to duplicate it at the beginning of this week.
TOASTED GRANOLA
Granola is a personal thing. Good granola is the best of breakfasts and with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit on top is just about perfect. If you prefer almonds to pecans or are anti-coconut or this is not sweet enough, the personal part comes in, changing it to your taste. When I find my good friend Janie’s granola recipe I will submit it. It is the best I have ever tasted and a big part of that is that Janie does everything, and especially cooking, with love. The recipe below is a great all around gluten free granola (if you are sensitive make sure the oats are labeled “not processed with wheat equipment or in a wheat facility.”)
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup canola or other light oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats – old fashioned, non-instant are the best
2 cups chopped pecans
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup dried cranberries (Trader Joes has a kind that are moist, treated with cranberry seed oil)
1 cup shredded coconut (can be sweetened or unsweetened)
Preheat oven to 300. In a small bowl thoroughly mix the first seven ingredients with a whisk. In a large bowl combine and mix all the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until everything is combined and moist. This is best done with clean hands but it is up to the cook. When mixed, pour onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper (one 12x18 inch or two 10x14 inch). Spread to an even depth and bake for 45-60 minutes, turning the toasting granola every 15 minutes (you need to watch granola carefully, because of the sugar and oil it has a tendency to over brown especially in my 24 year old oven which sometimes thinks it is a blast furnace). Allow to cool on the baking sheets. Store, if possible, in large glass jars or containers with lids that close tightly. This makes between 8 and 10 cups of granola depending on what you chose to add.
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I spent a few days 300 miles north of Portland visiting Chris and Stephen Carter on Lopez Island. Lopez is drop dead gorgeous and Chris is the one of the best cooks I know. She and Stephen have lived all over the world and are international eaters. Italy, Romania, Guatemala, Austria, China and Uzbekistan are just a few places they have taken their puppet theatre. My last night there Chris prepared a wonderful pilaf similar to the one below. Chris is a vegetarian and if you would like to try the meat version it is included at the bottom. We are so lucky to be able to eat so globally.
UZBEKISTAN PILAF RICE
INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, finely sliced (slice from north to south pole, longitudinally, not like onion rings, latitudinally)
2 medium carrots, julienned or finely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cups of water, vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups of rice, basmati, rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cardamom
2 teaspoons salt (or less depending on how salty the broth is or whether you are using water)
½ cup raisins
½ cup toasted almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Sauté the onions and carrots over medium-high heat in a large pot until they are softened. Add the rice and cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of liquid and cook over medium-high heat until liquid begins to simmer. Add the garlic, spices, raisins and almonds. Add rest of the liquid and stir. Simmer uncovered on medium low as the rice absorbs the liquid, about 30 minutes, do not stir. When rice is soft reduce heat to low, cover the pot and let the rice steam 15-20 more minutes, again not stirring until the rice is fluffy and no liquid is left. When serving this I add more raisins and toasted almonds to the top.
A non-vegetarian and a common Uzbekistan version is to add lamb to the pilaf. What I do is:
1-2 pounds lamb chops, cubed in 1 inch pieces, bones kept and added to cooking pot for flavor but discarded when adding to the pilaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of chicken broth
Brown the lamb in the olive oil in an ovenproof stainless steel or enamel Dutch oven with a lid (or a heat resistant pan covered with aluminum foil). Add the garlic, salt and the chicken broth, cover and place in a 300 degree preheated oven. Cook for 1–1½ hours or until the lamb cubes are very tender. Strain the lamb from the cooking juices and save both separately. When making the above pilaf recipe add the lamb cubes and use the cooking liquid in finishing the recipe. Very simple.
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