Old Blog, New Tricks

I'm changing things up again. I recently got tired of the title of this blog, and I've also been annoyed by having two blogs. That's just silly. So from now on, I'm going to be using my travel blog, gabriellestravels.blogspot.com, as my only blog.

But you're not traveling!!! you say.

Why no, I'm not. But my friend from work convinced me that I can expand the meaning of "Gabrielle's Travels" to be travels through life...clever, eh? And it makes things a lot easier too. I exported all of the posts from this blog to that blog, and now everything is combined into one big happy blog. So however you follow this blog or whatever you use to remind you to read it, change the address to gabriellestravels.blogspot.com instead. And thanks for reading! :)

Homemade Granola

Today, thank heavens, was not one of those days (like yesterday) when it is so bitterly cold that the moment you step outside in your five layers of clothing, you feel like you're wearing nothing at all. (Coldest temperatures in NYC in years?...) No, today temperatures climbed into the balmy high 30s. Nevertheless, it snowed all morning, big fluffy flakes, the kind that make you want to do nothing but look out the window all day. And turn on the oven, watch Oprah, and bake something.

Which is exactly what I did.

Granola 
(Adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe in The Food Matters Cookbook)

Makes about 9 cups
Time: 30 minutes

• 5 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
• 1 cup each of chopped almonds, chopped walnuts, and sunflower seeds
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Dash salt
• 3/4 cup lavender earl grey-infused honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins
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• 1. Heat the oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts and seeds, spice, sweetner, and extract; sprinkle with a little pinch of salt. Toss well to thoroughly distribute the ingredients. Spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or longer (I did 35), stirring occasionally. The granola should brown evenly; the darker it gets without burning, the crunchier it will be. 
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• 2. Remove the pan from the oven and add the raisins. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, stirring now and then, until the granola reaches room temperature. Serve, or store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.
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Lavender Earl Grey-Infused Honey

I love honey; who doesn't? I was crazy about those honey straws you find at natural food stores when I was a kid, and I even bought little jars of chestnut honey and strawberry honey made at the base of Mt. Etna when I was in Sicily. But I'd never actually attempted to alter honey or add anything to it, until I saw this recipe from the Alice's Tea Cup cookbook, that just looked too simple and too delicious not to try.  

Lavender Earl Grey-Infused Honey

        1 heaping teaspoon Lavender Earl Grey tea leaves

        1 cup honey

1. Steep the tea leaves in 1/4 cup boiling-hot water for 3 minutes. Strain the tea.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the honey and 2 tablespoons of the tea, and stir until well mixed.

3. Store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to use - it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Voilà, fancy shmancy honey! Instead of using a mixing bowl, I combined the tea and honey in a tupperware container so that I could just snap on the lid and put it in the fridge. The taste of the tea in the honey was very mild but still distinguishable. Coming tomorrow (hopefully) - granola made with this honey!

Turkey Chili and Whole Grain Flatbread

Last night for dinner I made Turkey Chili from the Alice's Tea Cup Cookbook, along with the Easy Whole Grain Flatbread from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook. I wish my food photography were better - I hope these pictures actually make the food look as delicious as it was! The chili was very hearty and perfect for another cold winter night, and was delicious today as leftovers. The bread, unfortunately, disappeared within minutes, so no leftovers, but it was so easy that I'll probably make it again soon. Click on the links below each photo for the recipes!

Recipe for Easy Whole Grain Flatbread

Recipe for Turkey Chili

Baby Hats, part 2

Last November I knitted these baby hats for our friends' twin babies, Miles and Madeline, who were born in December 2009. They were premies, so the hats didn't fit when they were born, but now that they're a year old they fit perfectly. Now if only they didn't like to take them off their heads the second after you put them on!...

Hearty Spinach and Chickpea Soup

Made this for dinner a few nights ago, very easy and healthy, and the perfect soup for a coooold winter night!

Recipe for Hearty Spinach and Chickpea Soup

Alice's Tea Cup cookbook

My latest present to myself...get ready for yummy food pictures, soon to come!