5 Grain Granola

I love granola but I tend to find storebought versions cloyingly sweet and quite expensive so I rarely buy them.  This easy to follow recipe allows you to control the sweetness and can be tailored with ingredients of your liking.

5 Grain Granola

1 Cup Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal Blend

1 Cup Bob's Red Mill Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

2 Tablespoons Flax Seeds

3/4 Cup Raw Chopped Pecans

3/4 Cup Raw Cashews Halves

1/8 Cup Coconut Oil (Melted)

1/8 Cup Vegan Butter (Melted)

1/3 Cup Maple Agave Blend Syrup

1 teaspoon Course Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine thoroughly.  Preheat oven to 250 Degrees F.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a large sheet tray.  Spread mixture evenly into a large "cookie" pressing it down slightly (see photo) on parchment and bake for about 1 hour or until it appears golden throughout.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on sheet tray before breaking into large nuggets and store in a tightly sealed glass vessel.

By allowing granola to cool in large "cookie" shape you will end up with plenty of large "clusters/gold nuggets" in your finished product.  To acheive this, do not mix granola around during cooking.  Don't worry if the edges are a little brown, they will be nutty and delicious when cooled.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Buns

Dough

1 1/4 cups vanilla soy milk (heat 1 minute in microwave, should be luke warm, not hot)

1/4 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar 

2 Tablespoons vegenaise (vegan mayo)

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 packet active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)

Filling

1/2 cup vegan butter (melted)

3/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

Simple Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoons vegan milk

1 teaspoon vegan butter

Dash of sea salt

-combine icing ingredients thoroughly and warm in saucepan or microwave for 30 seconds-

Add yeast and soy milk to bread machine.  Add remaining ingredients (add salt last) and set machine to dough cycle.  When cycle is complete, remove dough and place on large flour-dusted surface.  Roll out into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick.

Spread melted butter over entire surface.  Sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Carefully roll rectangle up into a jelly roll and pinch edges together.  Using a serrated knife, slice gently in to 2 inch circles.  Grease generously a large casserole dish with vegan shortening.  Set rolls in pan with 1/4 inch in between. You may need to do two batches.  

Cover dish with thin towel or saran wrap and allow to sit on counter for 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove cover and bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden.  Allow to cool slightly and then drizzle glaze over rolls in pan and serve warm.  Store unused portion in dish covered tightly on countertop.

Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potato Scones

Scone Dough

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup (precooked and mashed) sweet potato

1/4 cup vegan butter

2-4 Tablespoons vegan milk

Additional flour for dusting and rolling dough

Scone Filling

9 ounces fresh baby spinach

1 small sweet yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon oil 

1 teaspoon vegan butter

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Begin by making your dough. You can do this by hand or save some time and put that food processor to use.  Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse to combine.  Add potatoes and pulse a few more times.  Repeat step with butter pulsing until mixture is fully combined.  Add about 2-4 Tablespoons (1 at a time) of vegan milk and pulse a couple more times until soft dough forms.  DO NOT OVER MIX or you will have a very tough scone.  Remove dough, wrap in saran wrap and place in fridge while you prepare filling.

Finely chop onion, garlic and spinach (or use that food processor again). Saute mixture in oil and vegan butter until cooked through.  Add marjoram, salt and pepper to taste.  Turn off heat.  Feel free to add any other spices you like at this point.  For example dill and oregano are delicious.  Just make sure it is seasoned well.  Remove filling from pan and place in cheesecloth or in a fine mesh seive over a larger bowl.  Press mixture using back of spoon (or squeeze cheese cloth) to remove as much of liquid as possible.  Let mixture sit and cool slightly while you work on the dough.

Remove dough from fridge and turn out onto a floured surface.  Roll into a 8"x12" inch rectangle (about 1/4 inch thick).  Carefully spread spinach mixture on top. Fold two sides in (like french doors) and fold over so you form a loaf.  Slice into desired shapes (rustic triangles) and place on parchment paper or greased non-stick cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.  Store unused scones in fridge in airtight container and reheat in oven or toaster oven.  Enjoy!

Chia and Black Sesame Seed Granola

Ok folks, it is in the oven so you will have to stay tuned for this bad boy.  Fair warning to strict vegans or folks limiting sucrose intake, I used some wild honey in this batch along with molasses, agave, sugar and a lion's share of sea salt.  I looked up some recipes but could not pick one so I decided to follow my own palate and chef instincts and made this one up.  Stay tuned and happy summer 2013!  Peace and love, always, in all ways.

Update and recipe

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup raw unsalted whole Cashews

1/2 cup black Chia seeds

1/4 cup black Sesame seeds

1 Tablespoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

3/4 cup sweeteners of choice

1 cup melted vegan butter or oil of choice (coconut oil works well, or you can do half melted butter and half oil)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.  Toss all in large bowl until thoroughly coated.  Taste test for salty sweet ratio.  Final cooked product will taste less sweet than raw product.  Spread mixture on parchment paper on a large cookie sheet and press down using another peice of parchment or just use your hands.  Bake for 2 hours checking to ensure it reaches golden brown.  Turn off oven and leave as is in oven overnight (or for at least 4 hours) to cool completely.  The next morning place granola in airtight container.  Enjoy!

Top Notch Breakfast Potatoes

At some point I would be happy to break down most of the components which comprise this plate. However, not all because one of the crowning hot sauces is not my creation. It is called La Vic's Orange Sauce purchased from La Victoria Taqueria in San Jose, California. And it is fricking amazing. And it is VEGAN in spite of what tabloids you might encounter in your Google searches.

Unfortunately, they will NOT reveal their secret recipe. My husband who frequents their establishments has done his best to get the inside scoop on what is in there but they won't budge. They claim it has no nuts and only offered it contains 4 types of peppers. Other than that it is up to you to figure it out. I dare you.

I am pretty confident it has a large amount of some type of oil as it does separate when stored to some extent. Oh man is this sauce good. If you can handle the lingering heat. We can and we put this stuff on everything. You will too if you can get your mitts on some.

The plate pictured is made up of the following ingredients piled high:

Raw baby spinach.
Basic olive oil sauteed cubed russets with fresh thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Dollop of homemade salsa
Dollop of homemade sour cream made from cashews
Dusting of fresh cilantro
Generous drizzle of La Vic's Orange Sauce

Sounds complicated and fancy - it isn't. Go make yourself some and you can tackle the rest of your day with full, well belly vigor. See you soon - one day to TGIF. Baseball season in full swing! #sfgiantsfanforlife