Grandma's Granola

This is my take on my maternal grandma's granola recipe.

Ingredients

4 cups uncooked rolled oats

1 cup raw wheat germ (I used oatbran instead)

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/4 cup sesame seeds (I used half black sesame seeds "hei zhi ma")

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup oil (I use coconut or avocado)

3/4 cup honey

2 cups dried fruit and nuts, mixed as desired (for this batch, I used craisins, dried apples, walnuts and pumpkin seeds); you could also use raisins, pecans, hazelnuts, almonts, dried apricots, dried cherries, sunflower seeds, cashews, dates, flax seeds, etc.

Preparation

Combine all dry ingredients. Mix oil and honey together in a sauce pan and warm on stove top until honey is thin. Stir into dry ingredients. Spread mixture evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I stir the granola halfway through baking (at 10 minutes). I also continue to stir it a couple times while it's cooling. 

Pumpkin Time!

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread (...and egg free)
-Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
3.5 cups all-purpose flour (or you can sub. whole wheat pastry flour!)
2 cups dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup oil (coconut or avocado)
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except for the flaked coconut and walnuts. Mix the ingredients until all the flour is mixed in . Then, fold in the walnuts and coconut.
Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake and 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cover the loaves with foil. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn onto a cooling rack.

courtesy of Kevin Ryan @ allrecipes.com

Potato Gratin

Every fall, I like to make this dish:
1.5 lbs. red potatoes cut into 1/8'' thick slices
1 cup red onion sliced thin
3 TBS. chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup veggie broth
2 tsp. oil
1/2 grated asiago cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 8x8'' baking dish with cooking spray (or a little oil). Arrange 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom of the pan. Top with 1/3 of the onion slices, 1 TBS. of the basil, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper. Repeat the layers again twice, using everything but the oil and broth.
Drizzle oil and broth over the potatoes. Cover, and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, and back for 25 minutes more.
Sprinkle the potatoes with the grated asiago cheese and back another 5 minutes or so until the cheese browns.