Granola is Easy - The No Excuses Recipe

I could give you all of the ecological and cost-saving reasons for making your own granola, but let's face it, unless it tastes good it would not matter. Here's a tasty granola recipe with natural ingredients that's easy to make. It takes prep of 5 minutes and stores in a sealed container in a cool, dry place for 10-14 days. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with foil, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. This recipe is flexible so you can tailor it to your preferences.

2 cups Quaker Oats (not quick cooking or instant)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/3 cup raisins (or dried cranberries or cherries)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2-3 tbsp flaxseed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Mix the oats, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseed into a large mixing bowl. Microwave the oil and honey 30 seconds and then stir into the oat mixture until well distributed. Spread over the foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool when done and then break into pieces and store in an air tight container. I like to mix some granola into my yogurt for breakfast.

Note: When you bake the granola, the raisins get chewy like in oatmeal cookies. If you prefer the granola with raisins that are less chewy, just add them when storing the granola in the container instead of before baking.

Creativity and the abundance of summer squash and zucchini

I remember giggling while reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver's tale of moving back to the farm and trying to either raise/grow her family's food or buy it locally) and reading of families locking their doors against furtive, unwanted gifts of zucchini being received from neighbors whose harvests did a little too well. I have a new understanding of this phenomenon, having received quite a few summer squashes in our CSA boxes within the last two weeks. While I will undoubtably end up making zucchini bread, I have been trying to find other ways to use these vegetables. Here's my latest attempt:

Summer Squash Pasta

1 cup whole grain fusilli pasta
1 -2 cups zucchini, washed, and cut in half and then into thin semi-circles
1 -2 cups summer squash, washed, and cut in half and then into thin semi-circles
1 cup pea pods, washed and ends removed
1 cup Great Northern Beans, rinsed
Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional) for serving
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Cook the pasta per the package directions

Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or saute pan

Saute zucchini and summer squash 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add peas (I like to use the thinner ones as pea pods and have the fatter ones be shelled peas) and saute 1-2 more minutes

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Add great northern beans and heat through

Toss with Pasta. Add a little more olive oil if the dish is too dry. Add optional parmesan and serve. Feeds 2 people.

Wilco at the Royal Oak Music Theatre

My perennial dining companion and I went with two friends to see the Wilco concert at the Royal Oak Music Theatre last night. The show was amazing! There was no warm up band and Wilco played for 2 and 1/2 hours including two encores (totaling 7 encore songs). Great stuff. Most of the songs were from there last few albums - one that stood out that was from the AM/Being There era was I Got You (At the End of the Century) from Being There. Being There and AM were the albums I fell in love with after the break up of Uncle Tupelo but the newer songs shine and sparkle with almost a carnival background. The band is very tight and work hard on stage. I have seen them many times in different configurations but this may have been one of the best shows I've ever seen. See them in concert if you can. Visit Wilco at www.wilcoworld.net. To discover Uncle Tupelo, you may want to start here: http://www.rhapsody.com/uncle-tupelo. Some credit Uncle Tupelo for launching the "Progressive Torch and Twang" style of alternative country.

Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic, Tomato and Basil

Around the middle of July, I start accumulating tomatoes. I have been pulling Early Girls off the vine and eating any way I can - these tomatoes are spectacular. A beautiful red color, they are neither too big nor too seedy and have an amazing fresh tomato taste. I could eat them for days. Which is a good thing because I have about 15 tomatoes sitting in a row in my kitchen ready to be eaten. Here's a quick little recipe to use a few tomatoes and some basil to boot! One note, if you are using a tomato with more seeds than my Early Girl variety, you may want to seed the tomatoes when you take the skins off. Also, because I used angel hair pasta, I recommend getting all your ingredients together before putting the pasta in as it only takes a few minutes to cook. So get your pasta pot going with salted, boiling water before starting the sauce! Start another small pot of water boiling as well (this is for your tomatoes). This will feed 2-3 people.


1/2 pound angel hair pasta (or pasta of your choice)
4-5 tomatoes
1 clove garlic - minced (ok to mince with kosher salt)
1/3 cup basil leaves - rinsed and snipped with kitchen shears into smallish pieces
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese (optional)


With a paring knife, take the top of the core of each tomato out and cut a small cross in the base . Boil each tomato for about 1 minute and then put in a bowl of cold water. This will loosen the skin. Remove the skin and chop the tomatoes into a large dice and set aside.

Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan. Saute minced garlic for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until heated through.

Cook your angel hair pasta. Make sure to stir a few times to keep the strands separated. Drain and return to pot and mix with a few tbsp olive oil to keep the pasta a little separated. Stir in tomato mixture. Right before serving, stir in basil. Serve immediately, topped with grated parmesan if desired.

Veggie Medley - Great for using up veggies

I have a hard time not buying everything in sight at the Farmer's Market in Ann Arbor on Saturday mornings. Which means I am frequently trying to come up with tasty ways to use up lots of veggies in one dish. Here's a great summer side. You can switch it up to accommodate the veggies you have available. The proportions are suggestions. One note, cook the corn separately first if it's too early in the season for fresh corn and you have to use frozen.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1 small jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
4-5 mushrooms sliced thin
2 small zucchini, sliced thin (cut in half if the circles are too big)
1 cup corn
1 cup torn hearty green like kale
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper


Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add peppers, onion, mushrooms and zucchini and saute until softened. Add corn and heat through. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add kale and saute for 1-2 more minutes until brighter green and slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

My new favorite song

Band - Fanfarlo, Song - Harold T. Wilkins. Thanks NPR.

Woo hoo Inge!

Brandon Inge - Detroit Tiger and All Star! Great job!

Pesto with Garlic Scapes

10 -12 garlic scapes, roughly chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
leaves from one good sized bunch basil, rinsed and spun dry
1/4 cup spinach leaves or 2-3 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts plus some for serving
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated plus some for serving

1/2 pound cavatappi pasta cooked per package directions.

Using a food processor, pulse garlic scapes until chopped. Add olive oil and continue to process. Add basil and either spinach or parsley and continue to process. Add pine nuts and cheese. Process until well blended. If you need to thin out the pesto, add a little more olive oil.

Drain pasta and toss with pesto. Top with additional pine nuts and grated parmesan cheese.