Vanilla Almond Granola

2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs vanilla extract

I preheated the oven to 300F and lined a baking sheet with my silicone baking mat.

Then in a bowl I put the oats, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Measure and mix the maple syrup, coconut oil, almond extract and vanilla in to a separate bowl and pour over the dry oat mixture. Make sure all the oats are coated well and moistened.

Using a spatula spread the mixture onto the prepared pan and put into the oven, stirring every 15 minutes for 45 minutes. The granola should cool completely before you put it into a container.

It will keep in the cupboard up to 3 weeks or the freezer up to 3 months. Enjoy.

This came from Sally's baking addiction.

Raspberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

6 cups rhubarb, finely chopped
1cup raspberries
4 cups sugar
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 3 oz. pkg. raspberry Jello

Mix rhubarb, raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan. Stir on low heat until juice forms,  then heat to boiling. When the mixture is at full boil, cook for 15 minutes.Then dissolve gelatin into mixture.

Put into hot jars that have been washed in soapy water and then rinsed. Seal with lid and ring, then cool and place into freezer.

You can also make this with strawberries by substituting strawberries for the raspberries and strawberry gelatin for the raspberry gelatin.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder (optional)
1/4 cup butter
1 to 1 ¼ cup warm water

• Combine dry ingredients in bowl. Work in the butter or oil. Add enough water to make soft, pliable dough.
• Knead lightly on floured surface. Divide into 16 balls. Let stand, covered 15 - 20 minutes.
• Roll into thin circles between sheets of parchment paper.
• Cook on non-greased, heavy skillet or griddle at medium-high temperature until brown specks appear on cooking side (about 10 seconds). Flip and cook other side.
• Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Gifts from the Kitchen

I taught a class once on fun and easy gifts from the kitchen. My ideas were already made like making Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and putting them in a new dustpan. I attached a poem to the dustpan that went like this: I baked a batch of cookies and dropped them on the floor. I quickly scooped them up and rushed them to your door. One fun idea I found is to make mixes in a jar and give them as gifts. Here are a few to try.

Hot Chocolate Mix

3 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
dash of salt
Sift the ingredients into a large bowl. Pack the mix into an airtight container.

Attach this to the jar:

Hot Chocolate
Serves 1
4 Tbs. Hot Chocolate Mix
8 ounces boiling water
Marshmallows or whipped cream

Double Fudge Brownie Mix
Dense and fudgy, these are the best brownies in the world.
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa (not Dutch process)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Attach this to the jar:
Double Fudge Brownies
Makes 24
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs 1 package Double-Fudge Brownie Mix
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12 by 9 inch pan. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the Double-Fudge Brownie Mix and continue to beat the mixture until it is smooth. Spread the mixture into the greased pan, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Snickerdoodle Cookies
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar
In a large bowl, combine the ingredients with a whisk. Store the mix in an airtight container.

Attach this to the jar:
Snickerdoodles
Makes about 5 dozen cookies
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 package Snickerdoodle Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until light; add the eggs and beat on low speed until the mixture is smooth. Add the Snickerdoodle Mix and continue to beat on low speed until the dough begins to form. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar blend. Arrange on ungreased baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 16 to 19 minutes or until light tan. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Yogurt in an Electric Skillet

Yogurt is easy and inexpensive to make yourself and homemade yogurt can be sweetened with fresh fruit or even your own homemade jam just to your taste. 

1 quart of 2% or skim milk 

1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk 

3 Tbs. plain yogurt (with cultures), room temperature 

Put 1 cup of milk in small bowl, add dry milk, and stir until dissolved. Rinse a 2-quart saucepan with water to help prevent the milk from sticking and pour in remaining 3 cups of milk and dissolved dry milk. Mix well. Heat milk over low heat to 200 degrees F. Remove from heat and cool to 108 degrees F. Remove protein film from the top of the milk. In a small bowl stir yogurt until creamy. Mix about 1/3 cup of warm milk into yogurt. Blend until smooth. Stir yogurt-milk mixture into remaining milk. Mix well. Pour into 4 10-oz custard cups. Cover each with plastic wrap and arrange evenly in electric skillet. Pour warm water one-inch deep around custard cups, adjust lid onto skillet, and turn thermostat to lowest heat that turns light on. Let yogurt remain undisturbed 4 to 6 hours or until set. Remove and refrigerate.

Whole Grains

Whole grains include rice, white, corn, oats, barley, quinoa, sorghum, spelt, rye, and popcorn when these foods are eaten in their whole state. Disease fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants abound in whole grains and they are a better source of these key nutrients than fruits and vegetables. Some valuable antioxidants in whole grains that are not found in fruits and vegetables are B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, and fiber.

There is clear medical evidence that whole grains reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Whole grains also can lower cholesterol levels. People who eat three servings a day have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease by 25 to 36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormone related cancers by 10 to 40%. The health benefits of eating whole grains are tremendous.

Preserving Grains' Nutritional Value

Knowing how to store whole grains will be beneficial in keeping the nutritional value until you are ready to use them. Storing grains in a dry location is very important as also is using containers with tight fitting lids to keep the bugs out. Different grains require different methods of storage.

Oats should be kept in a dark location. Ideally if you live in a humid location this grain should be kept in the refrigerator. Oats will keep up to a year this way. Whole oat groats are most likely to become rancid so this is the best method of storage.

Pasta can be stored in your cupboards for months or longer if kept in air tight containers. Be careful about storing pasta in see through containers because it will lose B vitamins. It is better to keep them away from the light and sealed tight.

Cereal should be stored in a dry location. Make sure that you keep the inner bag tightly folded to keep out bugs or even better yet transfer the cereal to a tightly sealed storage container. Cereal that is refrigerated will keep longer in humid conditions.

Wheat germ will go rancid easily because of the fat content. Store opened wheat germ in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Fresh wheat germ should smell like toasted nuts, not musty. It will keep for about a year in the refrigerator if it is sealed tightly.

Whole wheat breads that do not have preservatives can be refrigerated but they will not stay fresh as long. The bread should be kept tightly closed in a plastic bag. Bread can also be frozen to preserve it longer.

Rice is also best stored in a cool dry place away from light and heat. Brown rice is more perishable than white rice. It keeps only about six months, longer if refrigerated.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Making your own mixes is one way to save time in the long run. A chocolate chip cookie mix like this is easy to store and just as easy to bake.

9 cups flour
4 tsp soda
2 tsp salt
3 cups brown sugar
3 cups sugar
4 cups shortening
2 packages (12 oz) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together all ingredients and store in tightly covered container. When you are ready to make cookies add 2 eggs to 2 cups of mix and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.

Basic Cheese

This recipe can be made with 1, 2 or 3 gallons of milk. I find the larger the batch, the better the cheese is.

1 gallon of whole milk (you can use whole milk, skimmed, powdered, instant, or a combination. If you use powdered or instant milk, mix it and then let it stand 24 hours before using. Also, with powdered or instant milk you need 1 cup of cream to 1 gallon of milk to have enough butterfat. Remember the more butterfat the more cheese you will get.
1/4 cup buttermilk per gallon
1 rennet tablet dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water (Make sure it is dissolved completely. Add it to the milk and stir well to make sure it is completely mixed in. Do not dissolve tablet until just ready to use. They will lose their strength if dissolved and you let it stand.

In a heavy pan heat milk and buttermilk to 90 degrees. Take it off the heat. Add rennet tablet and let the milk set undisturbed for approximately 1/2 hour (or until the curd is well formed. The curd will break away from the sides of the pan when tilted). Do not get excited ted if it takes longer even up to 6 or 8 hours. It will coagulate.

Take a long stainless steel knife and cut the curd in 1/2 inch strips one way and then turn the pan and cut the other way. (It will look like a checker board). Heat the mixture to 100 degrees while stirring with your hand, breaking curd apart.) Be careful at this point because the cheese won't stick together if it is heated too fast. Turn off the heat and let it stand undisturbed for 15 minutes, during which time the curds will sink.

Line a colander with 2 layers of cheese cloth. Strain the curds and whey. Press the curds to squeeze out the whey. Do not press hard enough to compress. Dump the curds into a large bowl and salt to taste (about 1 1/2 to 2 Tbs per gallon of milk.) Reline the colander with the same cheese cloth and put the curds in. Draw the four corners of the cheese cloth together and twist. Tie a string around it and place it on your breadboard in the sink. Place a plate on top of the cheese and put a gallon jug filled with water or some other weight on the plate. Let it stand about 12 hours. This will make a nice round piece of cheese. Caution: If the whey is left in the cheese it will mold.

Mayonnaise

Have you ever needed to make your own Mayonnaise because you suddenly found that you were out and didn't have time to run to the store. Here is a simple recipe that will do the trick.

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard, dry
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 or 2 eggs
1 cup oil

Place salt, mustard, lemon juice, 1 egg and a small amount of oil in blender container. Cover and process on high. Immediately begin to slowly pour oil into blender. If it doesn't thicken pour back into measuring cup. Put 1 egg in blender container and process again.

Whole Wheat Hot Cakes

When my children were little they woke to the nutty taste of these hot cakes drizzled with syrup or smothered with homemade raspberry or strawberry jam. These are very filling and keep you full until lunch. This recipe is from the book Wheat for Man.

1 1/2 cups of sifted whole wheat flour
1 Tbs. of baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
2 egg yolks
3 cups of whole milk
3 Tbs. oil
2 egg whites, beaten

Combine the ingredients in the order given, folding in beaten egg whites last. Bake on a lightly greased hot griddle.