pantry raid

I'm definitely in holiday mode, not cooking mode. Truth be told, there's not a lot of baking or cooking going on when there's itineraries to think about, travel forums to peruse, and how to pack 35 days of clothing & toiletries into one small and light carry-on pack. We were lucky to find a super cheap flight to Frankfurt, so unfortunately we won't be flying or heading into London or the UK at all. But there's lots of other great countries to explore. Our super flexible and very rough journey will take us to: Frankfurt > Koblenz > Cologne > Luxembourg > Ghent > Bruges > Brussels > Antwerp > Amsterdam > cycling around Holland > Berlin > Vilnius > Kaunas before we fly back into Frankfurt and back home to Vancouver. Any more tips and suggestions about what to see/do/eat while in Europe are more than welcome!

We leave for Frankfurt on Sunday and I'm trying to only buy groceries one day at a time so that nothing goes to waste while we're on holiday. It's a sad day when my fridge holds only yogurt, coffee cream, beer, mustard, pickles, almond butter, maple syrup and miso paste. So when I wanted to make something for breakfast, I had to raid the cupboard for inspiration. I've made granola many times before using variations on the same recipe, but I decided to forgo the healthy-ish granola of my past and try for something a bit more treat-like this time around. While the results were sweeter than my regular granola, I'm sure this is still much better than the store-bought granolas found on the shelves of your local supermarket. It not only makes a good breakfast tossed with some yogurt and fresh fruit or turned into cereal in a bowl of skim milk, but it tastes good just eating it out of hand as a mid-afternoon snack. I think the next time I make this, I'll sub in just regular ol' peanut butter for the almond butter since peanut butter makes more of a flavour impact. Regardless of changes, this recipe is a keeper and a great start to a busy day.

vanilla almond granola
4 c old-fashioned oats
1 c sliced almonds
2 T flax seed
3 T brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/4 c honey
1 T almond butter
1 packet of vanilla sugar (or just 2 T of white sugar)
4 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat to 300°F. Mix the first 6 ingredients in large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Stir honey mixture until it just begins to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the almond butter and vanilla. Once the almond butter melts, pour the hot liquid over the oats and stir well until throughly mixed.

2. Spread granola on a large rectangular baking sheet or pan. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Break apart and store in an airtight container.

snack attack

I hope everyone had the most delightful of holidays and let's all ring in the new year with good cheer. Hello, 2007! Now before we all batten down the hatches with resolutions, let's continue the festive snacks just a bit longer. I came by this recipe from David Lebovitz via Not Martha and I can truly say that this is the best holiday snack ever. Sweet and salty and spicy! A treat that is easy to make and will make your guests love you even more. I made this for a Boxing Day snack for friends and it got rave reviews. I used only pretzels and a small amount of almonds since I was out of mixed nuts but if you've spent all your cash on booze and don't want to spring any more $$$ for fancy nuts, you can certainly buy a cheap bag of pretzels and still ring in the new year with a tasty snack. Tasty delicious!

spicy-sweet glazed pretzels and nuts
4 c combo of pretzels and raw (unroasted) nuts but keep the nuts separate so that you can roast them (step 1)
1 T butter, melted
3 T brown sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
3/4 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 T maple syrup
1 1/2 t kosher salt

1. Spread nuts (if using) evenly on a baking sheet. Bake them in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes or until toasty and fragrant. Pour roasted nuts into a large bowl and mix in pretzels.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and maple syrup. Pour this over the pretzel/nut mixture and mix well to coat. Sprinkle with salt.

3. Spread this mixture back onto a baking sheet and toast lightly for 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Or, if you're making this at one in the morning like I did, just turn off the oven and have them sit in the oven over night and it will all come out perfectly. Remove from oven and keep in a covered jar until ready to eat.

a nice evening for a date

During the summer I had an unabashed addiction to Larabars. Raw, natural and delicious, I was partial to the Cherry Pie, Chocolate Mint and the Chocolate Coconut bars but didn't want to spend all my hard-earned cash on those pricey treats. So instead I headed to the grocery store, bought a bag of dates and figured I'd make my own. Unfortunately, when I got home I realized that making Larabars would probably necessitate the use of a food processor (which I don't have) and I didn't feel like finely mincing up dates by hand. What can I say, I can be a lazy bugger at times. Instead, I put those dates away in the cupboard for a less labour intensive use. Weeks had gone by and I kept those dates on the brain. I began to think about making some traditional oatey date squares, or matrimonial cakes, as they are sometimes known as but I never remembered to ask my mom for her traditional recipe. Instead, I made these chewy, nutty squares that resemble a chewy blondie rather than a traditional date square. Not only do these use applesauce in place of butter, but along with a pot of hot tea, it helps to take the chill off a damp evening. It may not be raw or low fat (damn, those nuts!), but these bars are delicious. Yum.

chewy date-nut squares
1 1/4 c pitted dates, finely chopped
2 T rum
1 egg
1/4 c applesauce
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 c walnuts, chopped

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9-inch square pan.

2. In small bowl, mix dates and rum and set aside.In a large bowl beat egg until frothy. Add in applesauce and sugar and mix until pale. Beat in flour and baking powder just until blended. Stir in walnuts and rum-date mixture. Spread in pan.

3. Bake about 30 minutes, until edges are golden and the centre is firm to the touch. Cool in pan and then cut into squares.