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xoxo,

wendell'smom

Little did I know when I decided to make the best granola I have ever had, that it would also double as a house cleaner. It's all in the details.

First, this is THE BEST granola I have ever had. Hands down. It's just that good. The Kitchn calls the original recipe "dangerously addictive." Yeah, it could get dangerous when you've got two people, and one handfuls worth left in the bowl.

Second, it's an excellent morning snack for any grazers out there. This actually cured my morning trip to the chocolate jar at work, and put a happy end to the feeing that my stomach would eat itself by the time lunch arrived.

As usual, I had ingredient amnesia and forgot that I didn't have about half the ingredients called for in this recipe. So, I improvised.

You can find the original recipe here.

I used:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup walnuts

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup banana chips

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. all spice

Prehead the oven to 300 degrees. Then, just dump everything in a bowl and mix it together. Pour it into an even layer on a baking sheet.

Try not to eat it all before it makes it into the oven. You'll bake it for a total of 45 minutes (or until golden brown), turning or stirring it up a bit every 10 minutes.

Now for the house cleaning magic:

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Now quick, load the dishwasher! Aaaand, it's time to flip the granola. Ok, now set it for another 10 minutes. Grab your laundry, run downstairs, and throw it in the washer! Granola flipping time again. 10 more minutes on the timer, and do a quick wipe down of any counter you can get to with vinegar/water spray. Now, turn that granola. By now, the house is smelling like your favorite holiday, and it's received a cursory cleaning, which is good enough in my book. Set the time for 15 minutes, and go read a book. You deserve it. Ding! Time to feast.

(just don't forget about the laundry like I did.)

As I didn't have dried apricots, I added raisins after it finished baking. I think apricots would have been a better choice.

I swear I'm not smushing him...(Elmyra, anyone?)

I'll save you $1.79 in less than 5 minutes (really, I timed myself). Want to know how?

Buy a bunch of bananas. (Estimated cost: $1.79)

Let said bananas spoil because you're too busy to remember to eat them.

THEN, peel and cut the bananas and place into freezer bags, like so:

Next time you want to make a smoothie and don't have fresh bananas, check your freezer! See, you just saved $1.79. Because you know those rotten bananas were going in the garbage can otherwise.

:)

Raincoats are for kids. Not cool, mom, not cool.

Straberry Basil Fruit Rollups

recipe curtesy of spabettie

Some people collect coins. Others collect small (therefore sensible) things like stamps, or baseball cards. We, on the other hand, collect restaurant equipment. Did I mention my kitchen is barely 40 square feet?

It started off innocently enough with a donut dropper, and has expanded to include a twenty quart mixer. Yes, you read that right. TWENTY quart mixer.

Actually, I'm not the real restaurant equipment hoarder in the family- oops, did I say hoarder? I meant collector! That'd be my baker half, Wendell's dad. But there was one piece of equipment that last November I decided I had to have...and once I set my mind to something, it's serious business. A 9 Tray Large Excalibur Dehydrator. This is not your grandma's dehydrator. Thanks to loved ones who indulged in our obsession as a holiday gift, we were soon proud owners of the mammoth (but very quiet and energy efficient, might I add) machine. We loaded it up with veggies, fruit, pancake mixes; determined to have turned over a whole new healthy leaf. This was it! The answer to our too busy, snack-loving, overly-tired lifestyle.

Oh, how naive we were.

One year later, we found a piece or two of those dried veggies still sitting on a tray inside the machine. (I know, ewwww, grosss!)

But when I saw spabettie's recipe for Strawberry Basil Fruit Rolls, my idealistic vision for a pantry overflowing with homemade dehydrated snacks was renewed.

The recipe suggests blending 2 quarts of fresh strawberries with a large bunch of basil leaves. I translated that into half a bag of frozen strawberries and about a tablespoon of dried basil. I threw it into the VitaMix (another used restaurant equipment find) and quickly found that I'd need some water to make this work. I added a little at a time until it transformed from slushie to smooth thick liquid consistency.

I poured it onto wax paper laid on the tray, and stuck it in the machine at 130 degrees.

Then, I read online to never, ever use wax paper in the dehydrator. Take two.

A few fake Silpat sheets later, we were good to go. Four hours later, we had the most delicious fresh, dehydrated (is that an oxymoron?) strawberry basil fruit rolls for an evening dessert.

Here's what I did:

6 oz. frozen strawberries
1 Tbsp. dried basil
water as needed

Blend in the vitamix till smooth. Pour onto the tray. If it's too thin (where you can see through the liquid), it'll dry brittle and won't be as tasty. Try to just pour it evenly and you'll be all set. CAREFULLY carry to the dehydrator, turn it to 130 degrees, and leave it in for about 4 hours. Enjoy!

Do you use a dehydrator? If so, what's your favorite recipe?