The recipe I came across in my new Farm Chicks in the Kitchen cookbook brought a completely new spin to our granola tastebuds.  I perused the ingredients: unsweetened coconut, pecans, crunchy peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon.  Just the change of pace we needed to refresh our yogurt bowls.

I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s going in the regular granola rotation.

Crunchy Granola
from the The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

• 6 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the granola: Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Bake the granola: Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and spread the mixture in the pan.  Bake until browned-about 50 minutes-stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes: The granola comes together quickly.  The cooking time takes patience but it’s the best way to get the granola evenly toasted and yet not burned.  I’ve had the best luck finding unsweetened coconut at Whole Foods.  I don’t recommend storing it in the freezer between uses, it’s very hard to separate a cup of coconut from a white frozen block.  Try the fridge instead.

I promised a few friends that I would post the pumpkin butter recipe mentioned in this post.  It’s our first year of pumpkin butter and it’s already a favorite, destined to be a fall tradition.  While the rest of the family enjoyed their pumpkin butter on pancakes(pumpkin, of course), I tried my portion on some plain oatmeal cooked on the stove.  Instant, delicious success.  So today I served it up in mugs with the oatmeal, pumpkin butter, and topped with toasted walnuts.  Fall goodness!

Pumpkin Butter
from the Book of Days, Autumn 1

2 cups puree(from one pie pumpkin or 1 can)
3/4 cups white sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a small pot and put on stove over medium heat.

2. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until the pumpkin butter is thick, like pudding. Ladle into clean canning jar.  There will be some that won’t fit in the jar, but we’re pretty sure you’ll find a good use for it! It’s great on waffles, muffins, toast, and spoons.

If you’d life to make a few extra batches, you can freeze them, as long as you leave a half an inch or so at the top of the jar so that the butter has more room to expand as it freezes.

Finally an october sweet corn that I can really enjoy, not the horrible stuff called candy corn. Blech.

Our family loves a big bowl of popcorn fresh off the stove, but until today, we’ve never made Kettle Corn.  The inspiration came from a treasure I discovered earlier this week.  It’s called the Book of Days, and it’s a monthly downloadable book full of seasonal activities, recipes, and discoveries for families.  I love everything about this whimsical, artistic, inspiring book. Two nights ago we tried the pumpkin butter recipe, deliciously topping off our pancake dinner.

From the Writer and Illustrator:

“Our goal with the Book of Days is that any family, with just a few minutes to spare, can do something fun and meaningful together. Our hope is that those few minutes will lead to lots of exploring, creating and following your curiosity together.”

And, yes, we do have plans to get to the other less, ahem, food related activities very soon!

The kids and I just finished the entire bowl of kettle corn.  The perfect snack for a cloudy autumn day, with a view of falling leaves.

Do be careful making this with your kids, my 7 year old and I both got zapped with hot, popping kernels during first few steps.

Kettle Corn

from the Books of Days, Autumn Book 1

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unpopped kernels
• large pot with lid
• salt shaker

DIRECTIONS

1.Heat the oil and three or four kernels of popcorn in a large pot over medium heat.

2.Once all the kernels pop, stir in the sugar and wait until it dissolves. Then stir in all the popcorn.

3.Cover the pot and let sit as you count to five.  Then raise the pot up and shake as you count to five.  Once the popping has slowed to once every 2-3 seconds, remove pot from heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has fully stopped.

4.Pour into a large bowl, and sprinkle with salt.  Stir the popcorn as it cools so that it doesn’t form clumps.

• 1 crisp autumn breeze
• 1 cup orange and yellow leaves(maple, preferably)
• 1 warm wool sweater, not too hot
• 3 children jumping in leaves
• 1 trip to the farmer’s market
• cinnamon to taste

Hmm, but how to serve that pie?  Well, we made one tonight that captures the feel of my whimsical fall pie.  We found it in our new favorite baking book, Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  Already smitten with butternut squash, we felt more than willing to give this less common(okay, I’ve never heard of anything like it) pie a try.  We knew by the ingredients-the squash, pears, dried cranberries, orange zest-that it was going to be good.  But until we took the first bite………

Oh, sorry, I was still thinking about that first bite.

This pie is a beautiful thing.  I see the future of this pie on our table next fall, and then the fall after that, and then the fall after that….

Depths of Fall Butternut Squash Pie
recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

• Pie Dough from book or store bought crust(such as pillsbury)
• 1  1/4 pounds(2 cups) cubed(1 inch), peeled butternut squash
• 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup moist, plump dried fruit, such as cranberries, raisins, or finely chopped diced apple or pears
• 1/2 cup(packed) light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Grated zest of 1/2 orange
• 2 tbs fresh orange juice
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 2 tbs plain dry bread crumbs
• sugar, for dusting

To make piecrust-Follow directions in book, use your own recipe for double crust pie, or thaw store bought.

Getting Ready to Bake-

• Position rack in lower third of oven.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pre-cook the squash in a microwave or steamer until almost cooked through. Pat it dry and toss into a large bowl.

• Add the remaining ingredients.

• Then turn them gently with a large rubber spatula (and a four year old if you’ve got one) to blend.
• Let the filling sit for 5 min. or so to give the sugar time to melt, then gently mix again.

• Coat the pie plate with a little bit of butter or margarine and place the ingredients into the pie plate. Then level it out and set it aside.

• Lay your pie crust over the top, trim and pinch into shape. Then make four slits with a sharp knife on the top. We used a cookie cutter for a more creative touch on ours.

• Then lightly brush the pie crust with water and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and juices from the pie bubble up through the slits in the center of the pie. Note: If the edges of your crust begin to brown before the pie is ready, cover the edges with foil leaving the center/top uncovered. This will prevent it from browning more and allow the rest of the pie to finish cooking.

• Serve with a little scoop of cinnamon ice cream and watch it disappear!

Notes: You might have noticed our version only used a top crust instead of a double.  We really liked it with the single, the crust didn’t overpower the amazing flavor of the filling.  Not finding an orange in the fridge, we used orange juice from the carton and skipped the zest.  Though the zest will be great next time, this worked in a pinch and no one refused their pie because of it.  If you don’t have an orange, but do have the rest of the ingredients, make the pie!

To make this pie dairy free, use a crust that is made with shortening, use dairy free margarine or cooking spray to coat the pan, and serve with dairy free ice cream.

I found this recipe in a new cookbook.  Besides the obvious draw of being a soup, it also called for both sweet and white potatoes, which were sitting together in our csa basket as I flipped through the cookbook.  The combination of vegetables and flavors was new to me but I’m happy to report, a zinging success.  An excellent first fall dish of the season and not just loved by my own stomach, but by a handful of voices around the table shouting, “Let’s add this to the fall menu!”

Chicken, Potato, and Black Bean Soup
serves 6

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 4 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium-size sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups chicken cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 2 tsps dried oregano
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 2 tbs seeded and diced green chiles(optional)
• 15 ounce can black beans, undrained
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• Sour cream and taco chips

1. Bring broth and water to boil in a soup pot; add potatoes and boil ten minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and cook until it turns opaque. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring a few times, until vegetables are soft.  Add oregano, cumin, cayenne, sage, and green chiles.  Stir to combine and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer.
3. Add mixture from skillet into soup with boiling potatoes. Reduce heat to medium and add black beans including liquid in the can.  Simmer soup until potatoes are tender.  If soup get too thick, you can add another 1 to 2 cups brother later to cooking time.
4. When potatoes are done, stir in lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with sour cream and taco chips.

Notes: Next time I won’t use two pans.  I can’t see any reason not to go ahead and do step 2 in the soup pot, and then add the broth, water, and potatoes and continue on with the recipe.  I also think you can cook the onions and herbs right when the chicken starts cooking, not after.  I skipped the celery, green chiles, and cayenne(we have mild palates at our house), but next time I’ll throw in a can of green chiles.  I also added more cumin and sage to enhance the flavor.  The rest of the fam enjoyed the sour cream, but I didn’t miss it in my dairy free bowl.  We topped our soup with Trader Joe’s Vegetable and Flaxseed Tortilla chips-great color and taste.  Don’t skip the lime juice.

The cookbook: The recipe came from Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Osten. I’ve read several books in this genre and even though they usually have good tips for cutting costs on the food bill, I haven’t found them to be a mecca of good recipes. Hence, my surprise when I found myself salivating as I flipped the the recipes in Osten’s book.  With a family of six and one income, I’m looking for ways to save money.  But we also like quality, fresh, flavorful, healthy food and usually those elements are sacrificed in cost-cutting books. But in Family Feasts, she uses fresh vegetables, non-processed foods, and the recipes read like ones found in my other cookbooks.  Atleast, I hope so, since this is the first recipe I’ve made.  (side note: I was chagrined to find the customary salmon and tuna chowder recipes, but I’m not going to let that hold me back from the 198 other recipes and cost-cutting information)

Why is this called lasagna you ask? Aimee, where are the noodles, where is the cheese-it doesn’t even look stacked like lasagna? All very relevant questions.  When I first had this dish at my friend Kristen’s house it was perfectly stacked in layers and presented in a nice square on my plate.  The square part didn’t work out quite so smoothly for me this first time, but it was absolutely delicious even if not geometrically pleasing!(update: now I know, it’s white rice that makes the nice square, we used brown rice)

The main elements of this dish are rice, beef, and fresh salsa.  When I called Kristen to get the recipe she yelled to her daugher, “How did I make that mexican lasagna dish?”  That’s right, it’s one of those kinds of recipe, a spur of the moment piece of genius with no definite measurements.  But I did my best to translate it into a recipe and I think it came out just as good, and the kids all had thirds.

Kristen’s Mexican Lasagna

• 4-6 cups rice(brown or white)
• 1 pound ground beef
• Chopped onion
• Chopped Pepper
• Cumin
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Fresh Cilantro(optional)
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese(optional)

1)If you are preparing your own fresh salsa with nature’s bounty, complete this step first.
2)Cook rice according to directions, adding in 1 cup(or more) salsa to the rice while it’s cooking.
3)Brown beef with peppers, onions, and cumin.  Add in beans, and salt and pepper to taste.
4)Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees, coat 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
5)Spread rice in baking dish, press with spoon. Next spread ground beef mixture over rice.  Finally, spoon fresh salsa across ground beef.  Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
6)Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, rinse and chop fresh cilantro.  Allow each person to top with cilantro and/or shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Fresh Salsa: Now is a great time to make fresh salsa and it’s not hard, the most time consuming part is chopping the tomatoes.  This is the recipe I used, leaving out the hot peppers.  If you can’t make your own salsa, look for something similiar at the store, especially at stores like Trader Joe’s and Harris Teeter.

Topping it off: Stick to fresh cilantro, it adds an extra layer of zing that just won’t happen with the dried substitute.  Additional fresh salsa with chips make a nice side.

Dairy-Free: I was delighted when I went to my friend’s house and this dish was dairy free without even intending to be.  It has plenty to offer without needing the cheese, but you go ahead and have as much as you like!

Make-ahead: Now that I’ve made this once, I would consider doing a few things the day before.  Cooking the rice and storing in the fridge.  Making the salsa and storing it as well.  Really you could probably assemble this whole dish the day before and have it ready to go for company the next night.  I think the taste was even the better the second night that we re-heated it.

With Matt’s talent for making homemade pasta combined with the fresh farm tomatoes, we’ve got the whole flavorful world in our hands.

We’ve been making this dish about once a week since the tomatoes began arriving. It captures the fresh feel of summer and you don’t have to peel the tomatoes like cooked fresh tomato sauce. This recipe is perfection with hand-made pasta but a fine-second with store bought. Last night, short on time, we used Trader Joe’s bow tie pasta and it was a nice compliment.

Raw Summer Tomato Sauce for Pasta
from Lidia’s Family Table by Lidia Matticchio

Makes 3 to 4 cups, enough to sauce 1 pound of dry pasta

• 2 pounds ripe summer tomatoes, preferably heirloom varieties in a mix of colors and shapes
• 3 to 4 plump garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 large basil leaves (about 3 tbs shredded)
• 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup or more grated Parmesan-reggiano or cubed fresh mozzarella (optional)

1.Rinse tomatoes and wipe dry. Over a large mixing bowl, cut tomatoes into 1 inch chunks (cherry tomatoes in half), removing the core and any hard parts. Drop them into bowl along with juices.
2.Smash the garlic cloves with a chef’s knife and chop into a fine paste. This is easier if you add some of the salt as you chop;mash the garlic bits with the flat side of the knife too. Scatter the garlic paste and rest of salt over the tomatoes and stir gently.
3.Pile the basil leaves and slice into thin strips. Strew these over the tomatoes, then the pepper flakes. Pour in the oil, stir, and fold, to coat the tomatoes and distribute the seasonings.
4.Cover the bow with plastic wrap and let it marinate at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Toss the marinated sauce with freshly cooked and drained pasta. Serve as it, or toss in 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiana.  For additional complexity, you could add 1 cup or more cubed fresh mozzarella.

Notes: This is not the recipe to skip the fresh basil and used dried as substitute. Raid your neighbor’s garden or shell out the 3 bucks at the grocery store. We don’t add the cheese (since I am eating dairy free at the moment) but the rest of the family enjoys parmesan sprinkled on top.We have skipped the hot pepper flakes. The is good warm with the fresh pasta but it’s also good cold from the fridge the next day.

Enjoy a breakfast recipe that is actually healthy and delicious. Or served with ice cream, a soothing dessert.

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
From the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

1 cup steel cut oats
4 tbs unsalted butter
4 cups water
3 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup crystallized sugar(I substituted  1/4 tsp dried ginger)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 inch square baking dish.

Place steel cut oats and butter in a large bowl.  Bring the water to a boil, and pour over the oats. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, stir in the old fashioned oats, sugar, blueberries, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Stir into oat mixture. Transfer to prepared baking dish.

Bake, until center is set, 35 to 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve warm with milk or cream for breakfast, or warm with ice cream for a healthful dessert.

To prepare dairy-free: substitute dairy free margarine(such as fleischman’s unsalted margarine) or other dairy-free alternative and original almond or soy milk to replace cow’s milk.

Notes: This will fill a 9 inch pan to overflowing, we use a 9 x 13 instead.  Adding the egg mixture to the warmed batter can cause the eggs to cook which really turns my appetite to see bits of egg in my oatmeal.  I find that removing the lid on the oats after 20 minutes and allowing the soaked steal oats to cool down a bit helps prevent that problem.  I always have water still in my oats after the 20 minutes, that doesn’t affect the outcome of the recipe, just go ahead and mix in the other ingredients. We we’re able to reheat on low temp the next morning and it tasted just as delicious.

I’m a big fan of chocolate chips and I usually can’t say no to a cupful in banana bread or the current summer treat, zucchini bread.  But as much as we’ve enjoyed having zucchini bread with our fresh farm squash, I’ve been on the lookout for a less “super duper”(as my kids would say) recipe that isn’t quite so packed with sugar and chocolate.

As much as I love to cook and bake healthy when possible, I’ve never been able to embrace the method of substituting applesauce for oil.  The results have always been spongy or too pungent with apple.  But I gave it a try with this recipe, and I’m completely satisfied with this version of zucchini bread and haven’t experienced any sorrow over the missing chocolate.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups sugar(see note)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup walnuts(optional)

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a medium bowl sift together first 5 ingredients(flour through cinnamon).  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat well with an electric mixer(I used a whisk and it worked fine).  Stir in zucchini.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined(do not over mix).
3. Spray 2 regular loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick spray(bottom and sides).  Bake for approximately 50 minutes for 4 mini loafs or 65 to 75 minutes for 2 regular loaves(my oven cooks faster, and so my cooking time was about half the recommended time so watch carefully).  Cool slightly, run a knife around the edge of the pans to release bread from sides, and remove from pan.  Cool on wire rack.

Notes: If you grind your own flour, this recipe works great with both hard red and soft white, the latter being my current favorite.  I used 1  1/2 cups of sugar today and I think I could still come down another quarter cup and it would be plenty sweet. Today I was short on zucchini and finished off the amount with carrots instead and the result was the same.

Since the arrival of our newborn, I’ve been taking the dairy-free road.  Having walked this path once before with her older brother, I have a few recipes tucked away.  Particularly, recipes for chocolate goodness.

This chocolate cake is dairy free, but I think anyone would like it.  Besides,you can scare your family by getting the vinegar out and telling them you’re making chocolate cake!  Or, if you deliver meals often to friends, keep this as a recipe to pull out and surprise a dairy free friend.  She’ll be delighted to get something sweet she can actually eat!

I made this recipe into mini muffins for a bite-size chocolate treat.  Well, I also added in an extra tablespoon of cocoa for good measure!

Wacky Cake

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. oil
• 1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add vanilla, vinegar,
oil, and water. Blend well and pour into ungreased 9×11 pan. Bake 25-30
minutes. Or using a muffin tin with liners, bake into 12 cupcakes and bake
for 20 minutes. 

Note: I also used apple-cider vinegar instead of balsamic-either will work.   If the vinegar still worries you, trust a chocolate lover, it all turns out fine!