My Attempt at Granola

I stumbled upon this recipe when flipping through The Healthy College Cookbook at the store. I was excited to see this in there. I love granola...I love tossing some into my yogurt to add some texture into the mix. What I don't like about granola is buying at box of it and then proceeding to let it sit in the cupboard. It is true as stated in the book that it's a little pricey when collecting the ingredient for the first time. Dark corn syrup and molasses are not inexpensive, but they won't break the bank either. But with that said....I think that I will be buying my granola from now on. 

When looking over ingredients I saw pumpkin seeds on the list. I wasn't so sure about the pumpkin seeds, but I purchased them anyway to give it a try. Have you ever eaten a pumpkin seed? They aren't too bad...just a little salty. After mixed with all the ingredients I think the pumpkin seeds taste better, but you still get that salty after taste. Next time I believe I will be omitting the pumpkin seeds (if I make this again). The recipe is very easy to put together but there were a few things I want to improve upon/do differently next time (if there is a next time and besides omitting the pumpkin seeds). First is an ingredient swap. When I made my list I wrote everything down right....but when I got to the store and was looking over the nuts I ended up purchasing pecans instead of almonds. The only thing I can say is that I was tired (purchased after work). So I decided to try it with the pecans. The other change is the pan I used. I used a shallow baking pan, which it calls for, but my pan was too small. Next time I will use a cookie sheet so the mixture can be spread out a little bit more. Because the mixture layer was a little thick, I let it bake a little bit longer. And I'll admit I forgot to reset the time, got started on clean up and forgot about it. As a result some of the granola is extra toasty in the corners of the pan, in fact they are stuck to the pan. One of the best parts about cooking is learning what I can do differently next time to make a dish either better or more enjoyable.

Homemade Applesauce

When I was younger my Grandma Bert use to make the best applesauce. She had apple trees on her farm and I remember stumbling over fallen apples in yard when playing outside. I also remember when the Cool-Whip containers full of her delicious creation appeared in the refrigerator...they wouldn't last very long in there. It was so sweet, delicious and addicting! When I saw this recipe in The Healthy College Cookbook (which I recently picked up) I knew I wanted to try it out. Then my mom bought harvest apples from the farmer's market I was reminded of Grandma Bert's apple trees. I couldn't wait to get in the kitchen and get peeling! Now I know that I am no longer in college so why would I buy a book geared towards college students you may be asking yourself. I bought this book because of two factors: 1) most of the recipes include items mostly likely aready in the pantry and 2) most of the serving sizes are 4 or less. I'm not a big fan of leftovers and I'm usually cooking for myself or for Sonny and I. So there is my little justification on purchasing this particular cookbook, even though I didn't have to do that.

Back to the recipe at hand. I made two batches of this delicious recipe and it was very simple. I made a batch following the recipe by myself and later that night I made a quintuple batch with my mom. My mom pulled out her apple peeler/slicer/corer which made me wish I would have waited to start peeling and slicing because that apple peeler was pretty cool and fast. We cooked it up, which really was waiting for the apples to soften and then divided it up to be eaten. 

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of cinnamo in my applesauce, but I thought I'd give it a chance. Besides, Grandma use to always put it in her applesauce so why not in mine. When I tasted the applesauce I was taken back to my childhood, sitting at the table enjoying a spoonful of Grandma's applesacue...well something pretty close to it. I've already taken some to work for lunch and the rest was put in the freezer for enjoyment later. I am looking forward to pulling these out of the freezer to enjoy during the winter months. 

Starting Something New

The purpose behind this blog is simple: to share my experiences in cooking and knitting. Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy trying new things and sharing those creations with others. Since I can't cook or knit something for everyone I thought this would be a good outlet. Plus not all my friends and family live close to me. I want to share not only what I make in the kitchen or with my needles, but how they turned out. I will be the first to admit that I am not a writer, I am a teacher and a musician, but I look forward to docoumenting my experiences. We are all storytellers, and today I'm starting my tale one ingredient, one stitch at a time.