happelsauce

What is it about granola that makes it greater than the sum of its parts? Rolled oats + nuts + dried fruit + honey = a mouthful of magic. Really. I don’t think I’m exaggerating here. Granola is satisfaction. And, as it turns out, it’s a snap to make. I recommend you forego buying it from the grocery store, in the bulk bins or from the cereal aisle, and start making your own. I have three good reasons:

1.) Making homemade granola is easy and vastly more cost-effective. (Okay, that’s two reasons in one, right off the bat!)

2.) You control the ingredients. Don’t like raisins? Fine. Don’t use them. Prefer pistachios over almonds? Perfect. Swap ‘em in.

3.) Baking granola will make your kitchen smell delicious.

Now, I’m not claiming to be a granola guru, but I have experimented with more than a couple recipes over the past few months. I was initially drawn to those containing a variety of different spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. And,  I liked the idea of using applesauce in lieu of oil for a healthiercrunchier granola. But, it turned out that the medley of spices only jumbled my taste buds, and I almost lost a tooth from the applesauce crunch.

The good news is that I think I’ve finally found that the secret to great granola, and it is arguably (or so I’ve been told) also the secret to a great life. Keep it simple. Okay, shhhhh. Remember, it’s a secret.

The runaway recipe winner is adapted from Ina Garten‘s Barefoot Contessa at Home. No spices, no applesauce, just pure granola goodness. Ina’s original recipe is for a Fruit Crunch Sundae with shredded coconut and slivered almonds. I’ve tinkered with it to suit my taste buds – omitting the coconut, adding dried cranberries and roasted flax seed, and subbing dry roasted pistachios for the almonds. Feel free to try different fruits and nuts to make your favorite flavor combination.

I love this granola with plain yogurt, sliced fruit, and a dash of cinnamon. Or, for the perfect blend of cereal shapes, I mix it with Heritage Flakes cereal,  Trader Joe’s Organic High Fiber O’s and rice milk. Or I just eat it with a spoon, straight off the cookie sheet while it’s still cooling because it tastes like oatmeal cookies. Maybe even better.

Good Morning Granola

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

Makes about 8 breakfast bowl fulls

3 cups quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats

1 cup dry roasted pistachios (shelled)

1 cup sweetened cranberries

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

4-6 tablespoons good honey

pinch of salt

Sprinkling of roasted flax seed, to taste (I love the Golden Roasted Flax Seed from Trader Joe’s)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Toss the oats, pistachios, cranberries, oil, and honey together in a large bowl until they are completely combined. Pour onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. (Be sure not to over bake! The cranberries burn easily.)

• Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once. Sprinkle with roasted flax seed and stir again.

• Serve with yogurt or milk and seasonal fruit.

• Store in an air-tight container – tupperware or large ziploc bag.

Only recently have I discovered the wonder of the fig. True, I ate Fig Newtons when I was a kid, breaking off the cakey edges first and then popping the seedysweet middle in my mouth. A few years ago, I discovered fig spread. I would put a dollop of it in my greek yogurt with a dash of cinnamon for breakfast. But fresh figs eluded me until about a year ago. I think I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since, because I now eat them ALL the time. I equate summertime in California with an abundance of figs dangling from trees, begging to be plucked. I’m in denial that it’s officially fall and soon figs will be almost impossible to come by until early next summer.

I’m taking this opportunity to encourage one last figtastic affair with a recipe adapted from The New York Times. It was originally published in the end of September – “Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton.” It was accompanied by a mouth-watering photo. I saved the article with the intention of baking it soon, very soon.

A month passed by and I still hadn’t tried it. Then, on a wind-whipped and stormy Saturday night in late October, I met my friend Sarah (travel companion on the French Riviera, creator of this blog’s namesake, and cross-country pen pal extraordinaire) at her apartment in Brooklyn. Neither of us wanted to brave the torrential downpour going on outside, so we opted to get cozy with delivery and a movie. I opened Sarah’s three-ring binder full of local restaurant menus and in the front pocket, like some sort of sign from the fig fairy, was the very same fig tart recipe I’d saved. So, we had no choice but to head out for ingredients and wine and make the thing come alive!

We returned from our grocery gathering mission drenchedwithsquishysocks and with a few ingredient variations. Most significant of all, there was no puff pastry to be found in a two mile radius. I swear. So, we opted for whole-wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. (A healthier option, certainly.) And, we swapped out the Stilton cheese for a log of chevre. Ohh, and a splash of red wine found its way into the milk and egg mixture. (In other words, Sarah’s first glass of wine went straight to her head. She got tipsy and proceeded to spill the contents of her second glass onto the counter, with a healthy dash landing in the mixing bowl.) We rolled with it. Nixed the sherry vinegar (it’s made from wine, after all) and opted for the unanticipated splash of red wine instead. I’m happy to report that all ingredient swaps worked beautifully.

The caramelized onion base was a bit of a revelation for me. I’m convinced it’s the best foundation upon which to place other pizza toppings. The figs were wonderful, but you could do potato or tomato or sausage or peppers or all of the above. Just make sure you take the time to saute the onions until they’re soft and brown.

We ended up eating the ENTIRE pizza. And it was good to the very last bite.

Fig and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Adapted from The New York Times

Serves 2-4 as a main course. (I’m tempted to say it serves 2, period, to make myself feel like less of a piglet. It’s a pizza. You know how much you handle.)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large white onions (1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 sprig rosemary, more for garnish

Pinch sugar

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

Flour for dusting

Whole-wheat pizza dough (enough for one pie, we used Trader Joe’s)

1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and cut in half lengthwise

1 log goat cheese, in small pieces

2 tablespoons pine nuts

Good-quality honey for drizzling, optional (We omitted, but would be a nice addition if you want a sweeter pie.)

• In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.

• In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Apply a thin layer of oil to an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough to a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet.

• Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over dough (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs, cut-side up, in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Gently fold over edges of pizza dough to form a lip and brush with egg mixture.

• Bake until pizza is golden and figs are a little oozy, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with rosemary needles and drizzled with honey, if desired.

I’m determined to land a job before the holidays set in. I don’t want to write a “Dear Santa” note begging the old man for employment. I’d like to bake him cookies and relish in the splendor of a few relaxing, cozy days before I return to my job to work like hell for something I believe in. I’ve had some time this past month to reflect on my job search and I’ve determined that more than anything, I’d like to work for an organization that promotes causes I’m passionate about. Yes, sustainable food, but there’s so much more out there. I don’t want to inflict constrictions on myself. The job market is bad enough.

Picture this. It’s Saturday morning. I roll out of bed, brew a strong cup of Earl Grey tea, smile at the sunshine, then sit down at the computer and am confronted with this article on the front page of The New York Times. Waaaa waaa. At least I’m not the only one.

As Henny said a couple of months ago, “Looks like I picked the absolute worst time to leave my job.” Maybe true. I replied, “If all else fails, I can head back to the farms.” And that’s certainly true. When I’m feeling utterly fed up with my job hunt, I daydream about WWOOFing in Mexico – speaking Spanish, mastering the art of making corn tortillas, taking a break from fieldwork while sipping a Negro Modelo in the shade. Perhaps it’s the daydreams that sustain me. The thing is, I’m honestly loving San Francisco. I want to make it work here. I really do.

In recent job news, I made it to round two for an Editor position with an online social entrepreneurship venture and had to submit a lengthy application. One of the components was writing a timely news summary item. I’ve deemed it Happelsauce worthy and included it below. I think I once claimed that rice krispie treats were good for me, but I only said it to make myself feel better for eating half the pan. How do these Kellogg’s executives come up with this stuff?

Snap, Crackle and Pop Goes Kellogg’s Immunity Claim

Thanks to San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Kellogg’s has announced that it will discontinue boxes of Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies and Frosted Krispies cereal that feature the eye-catching banner reading, “Now helps support your child’s IMMUNITY.”

For food industry giants, it seemingly all comes down to food science. The online Rice Krispies product homepage states that each Krispie “is made from a single grain of rice.” Okay, fine then. But click on the Product Details tab to learn that each grain of rice is blasted with first and foremost, sugar. Then glucose-fructose syrup, barley malt flavouring, and the list goes on. How could these little Krispies possibly boost immunity? Apparently, when the other ingredients include increased amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E. As Marion Nestle, nutrition professor, food activist and author, so eloquently put it, “Yes, these nutrients are involved in immunity, but I can’t think of a nutrient that isn’t involved in the immune system.”

Herrera, caught wind of Kellogg’s latest effort to slap health claims on their sugar-laden products sprayed with a variety of vitamins and minerals. On October 27th, he wrote a letter to the president and CEO of Kellogg’s expressing concern that their immunity claims were misleading. He mentioned parents increasing concern with the spread of the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) and suggested the importance of parents receiving “accurate information about what they can do to protect their children’s health.” One week after Herrera sent the letter, Kellogg’s decided to discontinue the claim.

All you Krispies fans out there, hold onto your box of Snap, Crackle and Pop with the immunity claim emblazoned across the front. It’s officially a collector’s item.