The Best Granola Ever

There seems to be some buzz about my granola lately, so I suppose I'll share my recipe, although if I was smart, I'd sell the rights to it or sell the product itself. I could make a killing. In fact, I may just do that...but not for you guys. You, the faithful few readers, you get it for free. :)

Best Granola Ever

Dry Ingredients:
5 cups old fashioned oats (not the quick cooking kind)
2 cups almonds (I use natural, no salt, whole almonds)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (again, natural, no salt, shelled seeds)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (same deal)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
a sprinkle of ground cloves (a little goes a long way)

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. Karo syrup

Later Additions:
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix all wet ingredients. Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring well until all is evenly mixed.

Grease two or three 9x13 or larger cake pans. Spread mixture evenly in a thin layer in each pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and rotating the pans in the oven. Note: I stop the timer when I take the pans out and stir and switch around the pans, so total time for baking may end up longer than 45 minutes. Watch granola closely during the last 5-10 minutes as it can go from beautifully golden to burnt very quickly.

When granola is perfectly golden, remove from oven and allow to cool in pans. Continue stirring every 10 minutes or so to keep it from clumping into one huge bar. Once cool, add the dried fruit. Store in air tight baggies or containers.

Feel free to add different combinations of seeds, grains, nuts, and fruits (dried apples are good, dried tropical fruits could be interesting...) to make your granola your own.

Enjoy!

Killing Myself

No, it's not what you think. I have absolutely zero suicidal tendencies, and the thought has honestly never come close to crossing my mind. But apparently, I'm still working on killing myself.

I went to the doctor about a month ago...a new doctor....for the annual womanly check up. And everything went really well, except for this one little thing. Previous doctors had always commented on this one little thing, but no one had ever stopped to me to say they were worried about it: high blood pressure. It seems so insignificant really. The words "high blood pressure" aren't particularly frightening...not like "heart attack" or "cancer," so I've always just played it off. Oh, it's always been that high...probably nothing to worry about.

But this new doctor stopped me in my tracks last month. She suggested a change that I could make that was pretty small and would save me some money by getting off a perscription that I actually didn't really need anymore. She said that that would probably fix it, told me to come back in a month, and we'd talk more then.

Today was a month later, and as promised I swung in over lunch and got my reading taking. Again, it was the same sort of hypertentious high as it had been before. I wasn't even scheduled to see the doctor, just a nurse, but sure enough, the doctor wanted to see me. She came in with a crumpled up face and told me she wasn't very happy with me. "This is not good," was repeated more than once.

After more talking, it pretty much came down to: figure out how to eat better and live better because right now you're killing yourself (maybe in not so many words...), and come back in a month.

Let's face the facts here. I live my life like an obese person. I know that. I eat bad for me foods including primarily pre-packaged, chemically treated, frozen, boxed, cupped, or otherwise instant food varieties because it's faster and easier than making real foods. I don't work out enough (sometimes not at all). And I don't give much regard to anything healthy. Did I just eat half that brick of cream cheese by myself? Wow, the whole frozen pizza is gone. How many cookies until it's considered gluttonous? But with this new ultimatum: eat health or risk an early death, it has me once again rethinking things.

I can't imagine what weight news like cancer or disease would carry after hearing this little, seemingly insignificant news of hypertention. I feel completely paranoid today, considering everything that I put in my mouth as a possible poison that will lead to my ever-shortening lifespan. Will I have a heart attack when my grandkids are too young to remember me?

So, I have to find a way out. I have to seek out a solution. Food shouldn't be that hard. It becomes eating to live a good and healthy life not just eating to satisfy me right now. This will not be an easy road to travel. I will, undoubtedly break down and want to eat that large pizza or every cookie in the package, but I will...I must try something new. Pray for me on this journey, because no one knows better that I just how weak I am. Cheers to a new lifestyle! Who wants to come with me?

Fun in the Kitchen

In place of a blind-date-road-trip that I thought was going to take place today, I decided to clean my house and then undo most of that with some fun in the kitchen.

For the first time ever, I tried my hand at homemade pasta. It wasn't too tough, a cup or so of flour, three eggs, and a tablespoon of olive oil. But it was sure messy! After mixing the ingredients in the recommended manner (on the counter...which I wouldn't necessarily recommend), you then have to let it sit and, then roll it out thin, cut it all up, and let it rest again. And the sauce? A creamy parmesan cinnamon acorn squash sauce. Oh yeah, I did that.

It was one of those recipes that I figured I would either love or hate. Here's what's in it:
Squash (the recipe called for pumpkin...whatever)
butter
half and half
onions
garlic
cinnamon
parmesan cheese

Weird right? Yeah, that's what I thought, but it actually tastes great! Kind of savory and creamy, but it needs a little something. I'm eating it right now trying to figure out what that other thing might be. Perhaps some salt...I'll let you know.

Things Don't Bake if the Oven Ain't On

Wise Proverb for the Day:

When trying to make a pasta bake, one should always turn on the oven first. Without the first step, not much progress will be made.

MUD Creek Coffee

So, this one threw me for a loop. Today I started my morning in a small town called Stockbridge, with a population of 600 or so. As usual, I was just a few minutes early, so I decided to explore the town a bit to see what there was to offer. About two blocks from the school I saw a peculiar sign on the ground that said, “MUD Creek Coffee Drive-Up Open.” Now, the concept of drive-up coffee shops is not a new one to me, but for a small town, it is nearly unheard of.

After I visited with one very nice student at Stockbridge, I decided to check out the MUD Creek first-hand. To my surprise, this was no ordinary old-timer’s-small-town-hole-in-the-ground. It was an actual coffee shop…with personality, atmosphere, acoustic and alternative music, WiFi, and frankly delicious coffee. It had the feel of a downtown, big city shop. The walls were dark and warm, the lights were dim, and there was a variety of seating options: booths, tables, cozy loungers by a fireplace. Weird. I ordered their seasonal special, a 20 oz. pumpkin pie latte and a pastry.

I took it to go, and as I drove, I nearly stopped on the side of the road at the first taste. What a latte! It was strong but not the least bit bitter, sweet, but not too sweet, thick, creamy, and that perfect hot-but-not-too-hot temperature. I would highly recommend that anyone in the Stockbridge area to check this place out. In fact, I’m marking it on the map as a serious spot to return to (just of the coffee shop).

This shop inspired me, once again, to start thinking about starting a coffee shop of my own someday. MUD Creek was a perfect example of what I would do with a small-town shop.

On a completely unrelated note, you know what I’ve been thinking a lot about lately? Broadband. That’s right, broadband internet. You know, that kind of internet you can access from a hole, a pond, etc. (for those of you who have seen the TV commercials). How nice it would be to be able to check my email, update calendars, and look up things like phone numbers from the front seat of my car. Until then, its evening work and a lot of copy and paste action.

Morning Glory Coffee and Conversation

Oh West Bend…

I had to pick the hottest grandparent spot in the whole town. Morning Glory looks from the outside like a quiet, cozy shop to sit and get some work done, but not so much. There wasn’t much atmosphere, except the music was nice. Low jazz tuned hummed in the background of 25 or so hard-of-hearing chatters.

No credit cards were accepted….I have to write a check? Hmmm. No high speed internet….and of course I took the time to start up my computer and then proceed to sit there like an idiot wondering what to do without being connected.

Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed in my find and won’t plan to make a repeat visit. The smell of old-person perfume masked the aroma of the coffee that I smelled outside. But I’m in luck. There are several other places around the area that look better. Maybe tomorrow I’ll venture to the St. Somewhere downtown West Bend, or maybe hit up a little place in one of the tiny towns around here. I’ll keep you posted.

The Luna

Coffee is perhaps the most amazing beverage ever invented. So, this year on the road, I decided that I must visit many more coffee shops that I had last year. And with big chunks of afternoons free on many days and a major corporation paying for it all, why not?

My first stop on the tour de shops is the Luna in De Pere, Wisconsin. De Pere is currently under a slight stage of construction (what's with Wisconsin and roundabouts anyway? I'll save that one for another day...) making it a little difficult to find the place downtown.

The atmosphere here is great. There is a wide variety of art on the well-worn rough brick walls. A bar area to sit at as well as tables, chairs, and lounge furniture. One wall has a vibrant mural sprawled across it, and a lot of their menus are hand-written in bright chalk...very cute. Music was perfectly mellow, too. They sell a variety of coffees, teas, t-shirts, and gifts.

The barista recommended the iced honey latte when I asked and it was pretty good. (I have yet to refine my coffee taste descriptions for the general population.....I'll be sure to work on that. Overall I have nothing to complain about.

So, if you're looking for a good place to stop for coffee in De Pere, Wisconsin, check out the Luna. I'll give it a four out of five for overall coolness.

Ground Potatoes and the Barefoot Mailman

Last week began the first week of many travels for the year. I started off my trails by heading to Iowa, a new concept, for those of you following my travel tails from last year. Iowa, over all was relatively uneventful, but there was one good story to come of it:

Traveling in Iowa can make a girl very hungry. Around lunchtime I found myself in the fun little town of Tripoli, Iowa. Now, if you've eve been to Tripoli, you are fully aware of the dining options available to a hungry person: a Casey's and a local grocery store. Not wanting to seem unusual in my out-of-town-ness, I stopped in at the gas station for quick entry and exit. They had three dried up pieces of pizza and some other fried assortments of things. I grabbed a bag of chips, a bottled soda, and some potato wedges that were about the only thing that didn't look like they would kill me. Actually, they looked pretty darn good. Not only were they potato wedges, but they were wedges covered in cheese and bacon. Mmmm. I get out to the car and unlock the door. As I'm sliding into the vehicle with all the grace of a drunken ostrich, the potatoes began to slip with the paper boat that they were housed in. I saw them going, but what's an uncoordinated girl to do? So I just watched them. Lap....car door....ground....Crap.

For a few seconds, I debated what to do. Do I leave them on the ground? They are, after all, on the ground, cheese side down, no good to anyone anymore as a decent meal. But it is a small town. They'll know the strange girl in the blue car dropped them and went lunchless. So, I quickly picked them all up, making sure to do the look-around-hoping-nobody-noticed-thing as I did it. I drove away sulking, knowing the potatoes now sitting back in their boat on the floor of my car were in an uneatable state. I found a nice little area park with lots of trees and a little stream running through it is a perfect spot to eat my chips-and-soda lunch.

But something was overwhelming my senses, making my mouth water and my mind wander. Man those potatoes smelled sooooo good. It was uncontrollable. I kept looking at them out of the corner of my eye....desiring to enjoy them. I reasoned with myself, "You cannot possibly eat those. They were on the ground...at a gas station. They could kill you. They are gross." "Yes, but they could not all have possibly hit the ground...and wouldn't all the dirt and deadly chemicals have stayed on the ground with the sticky cheese?" My split personalities decided that it would be ok to try just one...one that for sure did not actually hit the ground. Mistake. They tasted better than they smelled. Absolutely divine.

Needless to say, for those of you who know me well, they were gone in about five minutes. The mental battle of whether or not to eat them raged on with every bite, but they sure did end up gone.

Oh, and the barefoot mailman, you ask? Well, shortly after lunch, I went to the high school in Tripoli, and a huge panel van pulls up behind my car...you know the type, more rust than paint, scary shaggy-haired man behind the wheel...Well, he got out, grabbed piles of newspapers and a mail bag an proceeded to the school entrance. It wasn't until he was almost there that I noticed he was wearing no shoes, cut-off acid-wash jean-shorts, and his USPS uniform shirt mostly unbuttoned. The whole scene screamed, "WELCOME TO IOWA!"

Feeling a Little Savage

One of my favorite types of dining, a fairly new concept, is the carside-to-go of a few smart and delicious restaurants. This travel season, I have had more carside meals than ever before. Typically, I have had decent luck with the services, however, there have been a few mishaps. Once, a few weeks back, I ordered from an Applebee's, but after I placed my order, I couldn't find the place. I was almost a half an hour late, and my food was beyond just cooled off. But tonight was the worst luck of all when it comes to this usually amazing service.

The food: delicious; the service: prompt; the silverware: ? Well, there wasn't any. Now, perhaps I was expected to request them, but I don't recall ever having to do this before. So, I didn't ask for any while on the phone. And I didn't check for any until back safely in my hotel room. After realizing the mistake, I had a few different options: go all the way back to Applebee's...well, that was out right away; go down to the front desk or the hotel lounge and ask for some...well, this one was definitely feasible, but the food was so hot and smelled amazing....so nah; eat. This option won me over because I was so darn hungry, and once you get a whiff of sirloin, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli. I couldn't wait any longer.

Ok, so it was a little savage to say the least. But what's a hungry girl to do? I sure did scoop individual fingers full of mashed potatoes from plastic dish to drooling lips. And I sure did pick up that entire nine ounce stake, dripping with natural juices, and ate it without setting it back down once. It was, needless to say, a delicious but messy meal.

Moral of the story: ask for silverware, but if you forget, improvise.