Cinnamon Sugar:
2 cups sugar
5 Tablespoons cinnamon
Stir sugar and cinnamon together until completely mixed. Store up to 6 months in a clean spice jar with a shaker top.
Ideas: Shake cinnamon sugar over just about any food when your sweet tooth acts up; oatmeal, toast, dusted over whipped cream, in coffee--these are just for starters. Try it also in tea, for french toast, on puddings, on ice cream, on yogurt, over jelly and dusted over any fruit pie, especially pumpkin.
The next interesting brew is very much like the liquid we call vanilla and yet it is special. It isn't as potent, but it is smooth and vanilla-flavored.
Vanilla Bean Extract:
1/2 cup brandy
3 or vanilla beans
Chop vanilla beans into small pieces, being careful not to lose any of the bean or the little black seeds. Drop the pieces into a clean jar and cover with the brandy. Cover with a tight fitting lid and keep in a dark place, shaking every third day or so. Extract will be ready in about two weeks.
A touch more brandy can be added if the beans still seem potent. Mixture can be added to indefinitely. Use just you would regular vanilla extract, but taste to make sure the brandy flavor is not too strong.
Creamed Wheat Cereal:
3 cups uncooked cracked bulgur wheat
1/2 cup wheat germ
Grind wheat by placing 1/4 cup at a time in the blender or food processor. Process until the wheat is powdered. Store powder in an airtight container on the pantry shelf, or in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 6 months.
To use: Combine 3 1/2 tablespoons of powdered wheat with 1 1/2 cups cold milk in a saucepan. Add a dash of salt and quickly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes; remove from heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Hint: To save time in the morning, measure the cereal, milk, and salt into the pan as you are doing your evening chores. Leave the mixture in the refrigerator overnight; in the morning cook for 5 minutes on the stove, or 2 minutes in the microwave.
Variations: Serve this and other cooked cereals with a dot of butter, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and light cream for a very rich treat (or) sprinkle chopped apple, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons apple cider on the cereal.
Homemade Familia:
Familia is a Swiss version of granola, with the emphasis on fruits and nuts. It is somewhat softer tasting than granola, and you can serve it the Swiss way, by mixing with milk, yogurt, or juice into the cereal and letting it absorb the liquid before eating (or) the American way, by pouring the milk over the cereal, add bit of sugar and voila! breakfast is served.
Try making up a bowl to test each way and see which one you like best. You can also vary the ingredients to suit what you or your family prefers to eat, as long as the proportion of liquid to dry ingredients remains constant.
6 cups instant or quick oatmeal
2 cups of any combination of the following: shredded wheat, whole wheat flakes, or millet flakes
2 cups wheat germ
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped almonds or hazelnuts
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped dried fruits: apples, bananas or pears
2 cups raisins
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
To obtain the proper consistency of this cereal, you must use a food processor or the quick chopping action of your blender. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat and wheat germ. Run the grains through your food processor in 1 cup batches for just a few seconds. Return processed grains to the bowl and stir thoroughly to mix.
Combine the nuts, dried fruit and dry milk. Run through the food processor in 1 cup batches until thoroughly chopped but not overly mushy. Continue adding the processed fruits and nuts to the bowl. Add spoonfuls of wheat germ or oats if this mixture feels too sticky in the processor.
When all the ingredients are processed, mix them lightly. Store in a covered jar or canister in the refrigerator for up to 2 months, or in a tightly closed container on the pantry shelf if the weather is not too hot or humid. Do not freeze.
Variations: To try this cereal the Swiss way, mix 1 cup of familia with one of the following:
1 pint cold milk
1 cup yogurt
1 cup orange or apple juice
Stir well and let soak for 10 minutes. Then serve with:
fresh sliced fruit
grated apples
honey
fresh cream or milk
Granola:
This is the best kind of recipe to let a child help with in the kitchen, as long as the cooking stages are supervised by an adult. It's fun to mix and mix the dry ingredients and then mix and mix the oil and honey into them. It is also educational to let a child see what good things can go into a breakfast cereal.
4 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup wheat germ
Any combination of the following ingredients to make a total of 4 more cups:
Chopped nuts or sesame seeds
Sunflower seed kernels or pumpkin seeds
Dried fruit: raisins, apples, bananas, apricots or dates
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup vegetable oil or butter
1/2 to 1 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir thoroughly to mix. Heat the oil and honey slowly until they just begin to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir oil-honey mixture into the dry ingredients, making sure to coat all the dry ingredients well.
Turn the mixture out into an oiled shallow baking pan and pat down well. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
It's a good idea to check the granola every so often being careful the top doesn't over brown.
Stir carefully during the baking process.
When completely cooled, store in a tightly covered jar or canister. If the weather is very warm or humid, keep in the refrigerator; otherwise, this granola will keep for about a month on the pantry shelf. Do not freeze.
Variations:This recipe can be used as the basis for a crunchy, fruit candy by mixing the cereal with a bit of honey, forming into balls, rolling in vanilla sugar and refrigerating.
It also makes an excellent topping for your homemade ice cream,
pudding or yogurt.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment