Homemade Granola

I swear those folks at The Kitchn can read my mind. Last night I made granola and this morning I was getting ready to post it when I noticed their article about breakfast. I usually make a quick breakfast in the morning and then take something to munch on during the morning at work. I only do this during the week days though because weekends are a free for all. A while ago I saw the recipe for granola with chocolate and the pictures were so pretty, I wanted to make some for myself!


Granola with Chocolate
(Adapted from Orangette via Fresh from the Oven)

3 c organic old fashioned oats
1/2 c slivered toasted almonds
2 tbsp granulated sugar
pinch of salt
6 tbsp mild honey
2 tbsp canola oil
5 bars 70% dark Belgian chocolate (available at Trader Joe's)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sugar, and salt. Stir well to blend

In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir well to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. When it is ready, remove the pan from the oven, stir well (to prevent it from cooling into a solid sheet) and cooled completely.

When cool, transfer the granola into a large bowl or a large plastic bag. Add the chocolate and stir (or shake if using a bag).

Store in an airtight container.

Greek-Style Quinoa Burgers

Yesterday I went for a hike. Then at night I went out and had a little too much Proseco. I am totally feeling the pain today, but I still managed to get up and walk to the Farmer's Market. It was a quick trip and I am totally glad I went, but now I feel like spending the rest of the day in bed. However, I am really hungry. I picked up a little greasy something at the market, but in order to make up for last night's lack of virtue I want to have something a little healthy for lunch. What's healthier than quinoa? Nothing!

Greek-Style Quinoa Burgers
(adapted from Everyday Food)

Makes 2 burgers

1/4 c rinsed organic quinoa
1/2 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
3 scallions, thinly sliced
8 oz organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp cumin
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 pita breads
1/2 Persian cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 c of water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes and set aside.

In a blender, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, half the scallions, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.*

Form mixture into two 3/4 inch patties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking. If too soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm. In a nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice and the remaining scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Serve burgers in a pita topped with cucumber and yogurt sauce.

*This was a labor of love for me. I strongly suggest using a food processor (I, unfortunately, do not have one). I ended up blending this mixture in batches and scooping out the blender each time. It was well worth it though, the flavor combination is FANTASTIC.

Venetian Rolled Pizza

I had the day off today!! Don't hate, I had to spend part of it taking my friends to the airport and running errands, but now the day and weekend are completely mine!! Last week's episode of "Everyday Italian" was about cooking for kids. I act like a kid a lot so of course the recipes appealed to me. Especially this one. I knew before I made it, that I wanted to add some kind of garlic flavor. I thought about doing a garlic paste that Jamie Oliver had used once, but then right there in Trader Joes, I found this lovely Garlic and Herb Pizza dough. WOWZA!! Like most recipes, I halved it, but I kinda wish I had made the whole thing. It's perfect for a casual get together with friends or to sit down and watch movies like I am probably going to do the rest of the day.

Venetian Rolled Pizza
(adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Flour for dusting
1/2 lb Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough (available at Trader Joes)
4 oz organic shredded mozzarella cheese
3 slices prosciutto
1/2 c organic baby spinach
1 tbsp organic olive oil
Kosher salt for seasoning

Position a rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough to about a 6 inch diameter circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the dough. Lay the prosciutto over the cheese in a single layer, folding over the ends if necessary. Sprinkle with spinach and top with the remaining cheese. Take one end of the circle and roll the dough up into a thin cylinder. Place the dough seam side down on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil sprinkle with salt. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Allow the pizza to cool for 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the pizza into 3/4 inch pieces and serve.

Barefoot Bloggers

I am super excited because this week I joined a group called Barefoot Bloggers! We will be making Ina Garten recipes twice a month and posting about them. This week's entry is Ina's Parmesan Chicken. I didn't make it because of time reasons, but it's pretty similar to this recipe I made a few weeks ago. Can't wait to see what next month's recipes are gonna be!




(Image from Barefoot Bloggers)

Chocolate Chip Blondies

For some reason, I had the urge to bake this week, but with the weather being insanely hot this past weekend I couldn't do much about that feeling. Now, with the weather cooled down to respectable temperatures and the nights being blissfully cool and air conditioning-free, I dug out this recipe, mostly because it was made entirely of things I already had in my kitchen!!

Chocolate Chip Blondies
(from Simply Recipes)

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 c tightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 c all-purpose flour
1/3 semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly butter an 8x8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture and whisk.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to the sugar mixture and mix it all together. Add the chocolate chips or any other mix ins you would prefer.

Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25* minutes until a fork comes out clean. Cut into squares and serve.

*Being the impatient baker that I am, I only cooked these for about 20 minutes and they came out a little soft, but...OMFG!

Pan-Seared Steak with Salsa Verde

I didn't grow up a steak person. In fact, the first time I ever had steak was when I was 13 years old and visiting Paris for the first time. I don't think I had it again until college. There was even a time a few years ago where I gave up all meat except for seafood for nearly two years! That ended when I realized I was getting intense cravings for bacon. Now I make no secret about my love for bacon. While I enjoy the occasional burger (hello Chaya!), I have never been a big steak eater. Last summer I found a recipe for an awesome marinated steak from Emeril (which I am sure I will be grilling up at some point this summer) but for this week I wanted to continue to explore the "Everyday Food For One". Most of these recipes have yielded about 2 servings for me, either because I have doubled them or the chicken or steak I have cooked with has been rather large for a weeknight dinner.

Pan-Seared Steak with Salsa Verde
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1/3 c Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp small capers, rinsed
1 tbsp minced shallot (about 1/2 of a large shallot)
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 Angus beef boneless Sirloin fillet (about 6 oz - but I think an actual serving is 4 oz)
4 oz Trader Joes mixed organic greens

For the salsa verde: In a small bowl, mix together parsley, capers, shallot, vinegar, mustard, and 1 tbsp water. Taste and season with salt (if necessary) and pepper and set aside.

In a small skillet, heat 2 tsp oil of medium-high heat. Season steak generously with salt and pepper. Cook turning once, until well browned. About 4 minutes on each side for medium well. Remove steak from pan and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring 1 inch salted water to a boil over high heat. Add greens and cook for about 4 minutes until tender. Drain and serve alongside steak and salsa.

Chickpea, Cherry Tomato, and Feta Salad

A couple of days ago I mentioned how much I am enjoying the "Everyday Food for One" portion of Everyday Food. This recipe looked so good and easy that I actually doubled it to have it for more than one lunch this week.

Chickpea, Cherry Tomato, and Feta Salad
(from Everyday Food)

1/2 c organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 c cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 c crumbled light feta
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp organic olive oil
juice from 2 lemons
2 tsp organic dried oregano
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve chilled.

New World Quinoa Salad

So by now you know my Sunday tradition is to go to the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market and then come home and cook for the week. It was hot as balls again today, but Raul and I still managed to make the trek. I am adoring quinoa and it is great for my weekday lunches. It's fast and you can use it in so many different ways. I also got caught up in a marathon of the fabulous BBC program "You Are What You Eat"so I knew my lunches for this week had to be good for me so Gillian wouldn't hop on a plane and come yell at me that I am killing myself with my diet. I wanted to eat this the second I finished making it, but I managed to restrain myself and only have a little spoonful. Initially I was a little worried that I wouldn't enjoy the combination of spices, but I loved them and I am adding this recipe to my quinoa repertoire.

New World Quinoa Salad
(adapted from Red Ramekin)

1/2 c organic quinoa, rinsed
1/2 c water
1/2 c organic, free-range chicken broth
3/4 small red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c frozen organic peas, thawed
1/4 c organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
juice from one lime
drizzle organic olive oil
cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan bring quinoa, chicken broth and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cook for 10-12 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool. At the same time saute red onion in olive oil over medium until it begins to caramelize, about ten minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute and set aside to cool.

Once quinoa and the onion mixture are cooled, mix together with black beans and peas until well combined. Add lime juice, olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Add cilantro and serve chilled.

Pineapple Black bean Salsa

This afternoon my friend Andrew came over to hang with me (and my air conditioning). I had leftover pineapple and black beans and we got the "good chips" from Bristol Farms so I decided to throw a quick salsa together.

Pineapple Black Bean Salsa

1/4 c fresh pineapple, diced
1/4 c black beans, rinsed
1/4 c diced red onion
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/4 c cilantro, roughly chopped
juice of one lime
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve chilled.

Andrew didn't want to like it (because of the jalapeno), but he LOVED IT!!

Lemonade

For those of you that don't know, I have a new love affair with the restaurant that is literally across the street from my apartment. I have made it a Saturday afternoon habit to stop by Lemonade for some salad and, well...some lemonade. Everything I have tried is fantastic, but my favorites include the snap pea and edamame salad, the Moroccan carrot salad, and the chicken and jicama salad. They also have a pretty delicious looking selection of sandwiches and hot items including one of the creamiest mac and cheeses I have ever had. The moment I tried the blueberry mint lemonade, I was hooked, but the boysenberry is really great too. They also have this mock ding-dong (or is it a ho-ho?) dessert that gets me excited. The staff is all friendly and helpful, you will often find the owners there with their kids (and all of their kids' friends) and they let you try anything before you commit to buying it (except for the sandwiches and desserts). Andrew and I went today and ran into a couple we saw last week (I was a little embarrassed at first because last week Andrew told them he wanted to steal their baby - but they didn't seem to remember), but it's good to see that I am not the only one enjoying this cool neighborhood hang.