Olive oil granola with coconut, cherries, golden raisins, pistachios and pecans

The weather is cooler and I actually feel like baking. Granola is such an easy thing to make and the smells of cinnamon and brown sugar baking in the oven will make your kitchen smell amazing - you just have to be a little diligent about watching it and stirring it up every so often. I managed to burn one tray - oops!  I had set the timer for 10 minutes, and this was probably the third time increment, had gone into my room to tidy up a bit and smelled the burnt sugar before the timer went off. I ran to the oven and checked, and the whole bottom of the bottom tray had burned black - so you just have to be on it because it can turn very quickly.

This granola is inspired by Early Bird Foods Jubilee granola with pistachios and dried cherries.  Their granolas are pretty good and have a good bit of salt, which I love.  I didn't have any pepitas or pumpkin seeds, which are great if you want to use them, but instead added golden raisins and pecans, since I love cherries and pecans together, as well as some flax seed to up the Omega-3s. I am obsessed with these large organic unsweetened coconut flakes from Let's Do Organic I found at Whole Foods - they are so good and I can't wait to put them into other dishes!

I like a lot of fruit as I make granola more for snacking than eating as a cereal, so if you like less fruit, you might start with a little less and add more as you go until you have the ratios you like.   I've also made granola with sunflower seeds, which I didn't have this time, but they are a nice addition too.With spices, I used cinnamon and a bit of cardamom, which I had just used in making pumpkin bread recently.  I like a good hint of salt in granola so this calls for 2-1/2 tsp. kosher salt.

So this recipe makes a lot - 13 cups or more - feel free to cut in half!  I bought a small 18 oz. container of oats and decided I'd rather just use the whole thing rather than forget I have half a container of oats somewhere in the back of my pantry.  If you want to make all of it, bring it to friends or family, or bring it in to work to share.

Piperade

I love piperade, a rustic Basque dish of onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil.  It's especially great with eggs poached right in it and makes a great brunch dish to entertain, or a nice dinner when you're by yourself and just want something delicious!  A more traditional version would call for thinly sliced onions and peppers but I prefer dicing everything - you can do what you prefer.  If you don't have good tomatoes or they're not in season anymore, you can still make a pretty great version with canned diced tomatoes.

Make a big pot and then use it for multiple things - over a pan-seared or grilled steak or pork chop or fish, or on its own with a little good bread, or cook a few eggs right into a pan of piperade for breakfast or brunch on the weekends.  This week, as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I received two samples of Nature's Pride OvenClassics, which made great toast with our eggs this morning (pictured above) - the first was the oatmeal bread and the other was the whole wheat bread. They both toasted up really nicely to dip into our runny yolks and had a nice firm texture.

Pumpkin bread

Fall is here and it is pumpkin season! We had some friends coming over for brunch this morning so I decided to bake some pumpkin bread with cinnamon, cloves, freshly grated nutmeg, and a pinch of cardamom.  The grated nutmeg gives it a nice little kick and the olive oil makes it pretty moist - and it smells so good while it's baking!

This recipe will produce a lot - I made a dozen muffins, a large loaf, a mini loaf, and filled a 9"x9" square dish/pan.  You can easily halve or cut down to a third, but all I had was a 29 oz. can of pumpkin and wanted to use it all rather than tossing it or storing it in the fridge where I would be guaranteed to forget about it and have to toss it later anyway. So, this recipe is built around a typical 29 oz. can of pumpkin - you might as well make a lot while you have the oven going right?  Bring in treats to work the next day or bring some to a friend.  Or, you can also wrap well in plastic wrap and then foil and then in a good freezer bag and freeze for later.

with chocolate chips

Feel free to add things in like chocolate chips or nuts or raisins - I filled the loaf pan and then cake/brownie pan, and then added chocolate chips for the muffins and the little mini-loaf.  My momma sometimes gets really into adding stuff and has added raisins, walnuts, crushed pineapple and chocolate chips - it's a little too much for me, but you can add a little bit of whatever inspires you.  If you're feeling a little crazy, you could make a simple cream cheese frosting to top it off!

Burnt bottom again!

And, if yours burns on the bottom like mine did, just carefully slice it off with a good bread knife and pop it back in your pan and no one will know the difference! :)   I think I have to fully accept that I will always burn the bottom of everything I bake in my stupid oven, but happy baking to you!

Vietnamese chicken curry - ca ri ga (see notes for vegetarian version)

Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program and Lactaid, I am posting my first ever video clip on A Little Bit Burnt and making a Vietnamese chicken curry, or ca ri ga, with Lactaid lactose-free milk. The video clip is a quick run through of making the curry - this post and recipe will have much more detail and notes on variations. This is a traditional Vietnamese curry made with chicken.  I have also included notes for making a vegetarian version.  You can also use turkey instead of chicken, or even a beef version by swapping out the chicken broth for beef broth, and beef for chicken.

The key to Vietnamese curry is the curry powder itself. You have to use a Vietnamese curry powder blend, which is different from a typical curry powder blend you're going to find in the spice section of a regular grocery store.  Vietnamese curry blends are a little hot, more savory than a typical Thai curry.  You might find the curry powder in a package like the picture here, in a jar, or there are also some curry pastes in a jar.  They will say "ca ri ni an do" which means Madras curry, though I don't think the blend is the same as a typical Madras curry - just look for a curry blend that is written in Vietnamese and you should get the right flavors.  Some of the curry powder blends have whole bay leaves in the jar.  You can also sometimes find Vietnamese curry pastes in a jar. 

Ca ri ga, or Vietnamese chicken curry, is more of a soupy chicken stew rather than a thick curry.  Some people like a stronger, richer coconut flavor, but my mother always made it with a mixture of regular skim milk and coconut milk, partly to cut down on the fat but also so the coconut flavor isn't so strong.  It's often served with a nice, crusty baguette or french bread, or over rice noodles.  At family parties, my mom often just leaves the pot on the stove and offers both rice noodles and bread, and everyone can just serve themselves.  You could serve it with rice but it's not typical.  If you have a Vietnamese bakery in your area, try picking up bread from there, but if you can't find any, a nice french baguette or loaf works just fine.