homemade granola bars.

Soy lethicin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, hydrogenated modified palm oil, sorbitol...BHT. Just a few of the ingredients in the Quaker granola bar I was eating just the other day. While my general opinion is "if you can't read it...you probably shouldn't eat it", it's almost impossible to avoid some of the additives and preservatives they put in food products these days. While it's very important to be aware of what you're eating and putting into your body, I believe it's all in moderation. There's no sense in worrying about the miniscule amounts of sorbitol in your granola bar...I'm pretty sure no one ever died from eating a Peanut Butter Dipps bar.

My moto...do what you can. Avoiding pre-packaged foods as much as possible is a good place to start. When you make things from scratch, you can control what goes into the food you're eating. Case in point...these delicious homemade granola bars! Quick, easy and...legible! This recipe is really just a mere suggestion. There's so many things you can do with this recipe...so many variations and flavours. Mixing in cocconut, pistashios, raisins, maple syrup...trying out different cereals...adding in butterscotch chips...peanut butter...anything goes! (within reason off course).


Homemade Granola Bars

- (1/2) cup of whole nuts - almonds, peanuts, walnuts, etc.
- (1/2) cups of chocolate chips or dried fruit, coarsely chopped (cranberries, cherries...)
- (1) cup of oatmeal of high fibre cereal (like Kashi GoLean)
- (1) cup of puffed rice cereal
- (1) tbsp butter
- (1/4) cup of brown sugar
- (1/3) cup of honey
- (1) tbsp vanilla extract
- (2) tbsp of wheat bran (optional)
- (1) pinch of salt


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8x8-inch pan with oil, butter or non-stick cooking spray.

Arrange the nuts on a sheet pan and toast for 10 minutes or until fragrant. Allow them to cool and then give them a rough chop.

Combine the chopped nuts, chocolate or fruit, and cereals in a heat-proof bowl. Use your fingers to separate the fruit if it clumps together. Note that adding the chocolate chips at this point will cause them to melt completely and give your bars an overall chocolatey consistency. If you'd prefer to have the chips mantain their structure, you can try to add them right before baking, after the sugar mixture has been added and had a chance to slightly cool. They may still melt slightly throughout the bars.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in a medium sauce pan and stir to moisten the brown sugar. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil, swirling the pan once or twice to make sure all the ingredients combine.

As soon as the sugar mixture comes to a full boil and the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from heat. This should take about 5 minutes.
Off the heat, stir in the vanilla, wheat bran (if you're adding it), and salt. Be careful because the sugar will bubble up. Immediately pour sugar syrup over the cereal mixture and use a heat-proof spatula to stir everything together. Make sure the nuts, chocolate or fruits, and cereals are evenly coated. Pour the cereal mixture into the pan and use the spatula or wet fingers to press the mixture into the pan as firmly as possible.

Bake 20 minutes for chewier bars or up to 30 minutes for crispier bars. Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan. Cut into approximately 8 to 10 bars, depending on the size your prefer, with a sharp knife.

 
I wrapped up all the bars individually in plastic wrap so they're good to go for a quick snack. The bars will keep for several weeks in an airtight container, or you can also freeze them and take them out as you need them.

Enjoy!

Lindsay

p soup.

I should start this blog post with a disclaimer...pea soup was not always my favourite. To be completely honest, I couldn't stand it! The look of that nasty pork hock sitting on the kitchen counter when my mom was about to start a fresh batch, the look of the murky water in the pot as the peas began to break down, and the smell! Not a very good way to start a blog about pea soup. I am pretty sure I have officially scared everyone reading from ever trying out this recipe.

But I can honestly say that I am now a fan. While the phrase "you'll learn to like it" never worked for my relationship with beer, it did with pea soup. I definitely think it's an acquired taste, much like other Dutch foods that come to mind...droppies (salted black licorice), pickled herring, and deer meat (which I have yet to become a fan of). Another disclaimer...that not all Dutch food is questionable. There are many Dutch treats such as Kroketten (Dutch croquettes), apple floppen (basically deep-fried apples) and Boeterkoek (translation..."butter" "cake") that are all guilty of increasing the size of my dearly named "inner-tube". For those of you wondering...it's that much loved extra bit of weight that us ladies seem to carry right under our belly buttons, wrapping all the way around...similar to a child's flotation device.

Back to my soup. Pea soup, specifically Dutch pea soup (as I can't speak for the French), is one of those types of soups that can serve NOT as an appetizer to a meal, but as the meal itself. It is so hearty and filling! There is much discrepancy among the Dutch on the proper consistency of a truly great pea soup. Some people like it runny, much like an ordinary broth soup, while others prefer it thick enough to double-time as a grout to fix those nasty cracks in your tiles. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of liquids in this recipe according to your preference.


Dutch Pea Soup (Snert)
        (Serves 6-8)
 
- (8) cups of water or broth (chicken or vegetable)
- (500) grams green split peas
- (1 or 2) hunks of pork hock (also known as ham hock or pork knuckles) (optional)
- (2) bay leaves
- (3) cloves
- (250) grams of smoked sausage such as kielbasa (optional)
- (1) cup of carrots, sliced
- (1/2) cup of onions, chopped
- (1) cup of celery, chopped
- (1) tsp of salt (if using water and not broth), otherwise just a pinch
- (1/2) tsp of pepper


Put 8 cups of water or broth in a large pot on the stove. Add in the split peas, the pork hock, the bay leaves and cloves and bring to a boil. 

Cover the pot and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour (or until the peas have cooked to a purée), stirring occassionally to make sure the peas don't stick to the bottom. You will see the broth slowly turn to a vibrant shade of green!

Remove the ham hock from the soup. This is sort of the tough part. As best as you can, remove the thick outer skin from hock and cut the pork meat into little chunks. Add the meat back to the soup along with the sausage and cut up vegetables.

Cook gently for 30 minutes. Remove and slice the sausage and then return it to the soup. At this point your soup should be ready to enjoy. Make sure to give it a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve immediately or feel free to do like I do and store in containers and freeze.