Spiced Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Granola

Granola.

Not the most glamorous name for a food.  Just say it a few times out loud.  Maybe it's just me, but it's one of those words that just sound weird.  Like luggage, and fork and horse. 

Maybe I'm the weird one.  Yeah, that's probably a much more likely conclusion. 

Either way, this granola is incredible.  Growing up, granola never really appealed to me.  It was hard and boring and my jaw always got tired of chewing long before my belly was full.  As an adult, however, I love it!  It's fun to go to the health food store and peruse the wall of bulk bins looking for just the right granola for breakfast the next day.

Yes, this is fun to me...weird, I know.  Told ya.  

I also like to search through the wall of bulk spices.  As I've mentioned before, I don't buy spices in the spice aisle.  The bulk bins at the natural food stores are much more economical.  Instead of paying $10 for a tiny plastic jar of cardamom, you can get just the amount you need for the cost of a few pennies. 

After you read the recipe, you'll notice that I didn't use golden raisins.  I didn't have any, but the regular ones worked just as well.  My husband likes to just munch on this plain as a snack too.  My children even liked it...both of them...which is a miracle. 

Spiced Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Granola
From Oprah magazine

3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1 cup pistachios (optional)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, and salt.  Add oats, pecan, and pistachios (if using), and toss to coat.  Spread evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Stir in raisins and cranberries (if using), and continue baking until oats are just crisp, about 15 minutes more.  Stir one last time, then set aside to cool completely.  When hard, break into chunks and store in an airtight container.

Wedding Cake and Raspberry Cream

My sweet friend, Jennifer, was married this past weekend and requested months ago that I make a cake for her Moroccan themed wedding.  It was so much fun!  A little stressful...not gonna lie, but fun nonetheless. 

I always freak about about any cake I make.  There's always a point at least once during the process where I feel the panic rising in my chest and feel certain that it's not going to work and I'll let someone down.  After a couple calls to my baking genius friends and a couple deep breaths, I was talked off the ledge of throwing it all away and starting over. 

There was nothing particularly difficult about the cake.  They just wanted a chocolate cake with raspberry cream filling and a chocolate ganache frosting, plus a bunch of little cupcakes.  The cake itself had a honey, coffee and chocolate flavor.  It came out much more dense than I would have liked so I ended up brushing it all with a raspberry simple syrup, which helped with the consistency.  I probably won't make it again and therefore, won't share it with you here. 

The raspberry cream, however, was amazing!  I've used it before as both a filling and a frosting.  It's light, and fruity and makes everything better.  This weekend, I decided it would be great as a topping for french toast or Belgian waffles and tonight, I'm using it for a parfait. Honestly, though, it's good straight off the spoon.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of it, but just imagine a big bowl of pink fluffy delicousness. 

Raspberry Cream

6 ounces unsweetened frozen raspberries
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar

In a saucepan, cook the raspberries over medium low heat until they release their juices.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Puree in a blender, then strain the seeds out with a sieve.

Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.  Mix 1/3 cup of the puree with the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Fold in the whipped cream.

Warm Bean Salad with Salmon and Cauliflower

During my 'Tone and Zone' class at the gym earlier this morning, my instructor informed us to grab heavy weights because we'd be 'burning out' our biceps during the session.  As she spoke these words, she smiled...the whole time.

Though I smiled back at her, the hamster on the wheel inside my head was squealing 'We're going to do what to our biceps?!?!?!'  I bravely grabbed my heavy weights and prepared for the worst as I looked around the room.  To my dismay, I saw that most of the women in the class were older than me if not twice my age.  No excuses, Aubrey.

I took a deep breath while the drill instructor inside me head yelled 'C'mon, pansy, you can do this...you WILL do this.  Your classmates don't look scared and neither should you.  Burn those biceps, burn those biceps...burn those...'  I quieted his voice and silently prayed..."Dear sweet Lord, help me!"

Soon thereafter, I learned what it means to burn out my biceps.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Let's just say it's good thing I can rest my arms on the table right now and only have to use my fingers to type this blog post.  At the end of class, the instructor reminded us to drink lots of water and eat some protein for lunch. 

This salad is what I came up with based on leftovers and what I had on hand in the pantry.  I wasn't expecting much as I haven't been to the grocery store for a while, but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor and texture of the dish.  Another plus is that it came together in no time at all.

Now, please excuse me while I go ice my burned out biceps. 



Warm Bean Salad with Salmon and Cauliflower

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup cauliflower, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 can white beans (cannelini, navy), drained and rinsed

4-6 ounces cooked salmon, cut into small pieces*

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Saute the cauliflower for 4-5 minutes or until it begins to soften (we don't want mushy).  Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2-3 more minutes until the garlic starts to brown. 

Add the beans and cook for about a minute to warm the beans, then add the salmon and heat through. 



Remove the skillet from the heat and add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley.

Serve warm, though I'm sure this would taste great cold too. 

*You can use canned, drained salmon or be like me and use last nights leftovers.  I suspect his salad would still be tasty even without the salmon. 

Chocolate Peppermint Roll

We had our first snow a few days ago.  It didn't stay on the ground long, but for a few hours it was beautiful!  There's something about the first snow for me.  It nudges awake my holiday spirit and gets me in the mood for holiday planning. 

It's like this for me every year.  I start it off with a bang and by December 22nd, I'm panicking to get everything done.  I'm sure no one out there can relate at all to my plight.  Each year, I vow to get started early, make homemade treats and discover that perfect gift for all my loved ones. 

I can't remember the last time I sent out Christmas cards.  Ok, you caught me...I've never sent out Christmas cards.  I don't have a present wrapping station and I don't match the gift tags to the ribbons. 

It's amazing, however, that our holidays are always perfect despite the failure of my best laid plans. 

I suspect this chocolate peppermint roll will make it into the regular list of holiday treats.  That's the plan anyway.

Chocolate Peppermint Roll
From Hershey's Recipe Collection

4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder (original recipe is Hershey's brand)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
Peppermint Filling (recipe follows)
Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch jelly-roll pan with foil, generously grease foil. 
2.  Beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed in large bowl until soft peaks form; gradually add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.
3.  Beat egg yolks and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed in a medium bowl 3 minutes.  Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar; continue beating 2 minutes.  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to egg yolk mixture alternately with water, beating just until batter is smooth.  Using rubber spatula, gradually fold beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture until well blended.  Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
4.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly.  Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan; invert onto clean towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Carefully peel off foil.  Immediately roll cake in towel, starting from narrow end; place on wire rack to cool completely.
5.  Carefully unroll cake; remove towel.  Spread cake with Peppermint Filling, reroll cake.  Glaze with Chocolate Glaze.  Refrigerate until just before serving.  Cover and refrigerate leftover dessert. 

Serves 10-12

Peppermint Filling

1 cup whipping cream, cold
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup finely crushed hard peppermint candy or 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
Few drops red food color (optional)

Beat whipping cream with electric mixer on medium speed in medium bowl until slightly thickened.  Add powdered sugar and crushed peppermint candy or mint extract and food color, if desired.  Beat cream until stiff peaks form.

Chocolate Glaze

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (original recipe calls for Hershey's)
2 tablespoons water
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in small saucepan over very low heat; add cocoa and water, stirring until smooth and slightly thickened

Bananas Foster

My standard fall back for overripe bananas is of course, banana bread.  Here is another option for you.  I've made it twice now and it's been a crowd pleaser both times.  It comes together in about 5 minutes and is super easy!

Bananas Foster

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup egg nog (or heavy cream)
1/4 cup spiced rum
2/3 cup chopped pecans
3 bananas
dash of cinnamon

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the sugar and stir to combine.  Stir in the egg nog and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixtures are incorporated and bubbly.  Carefully pour in the rum.  At this point, you can either light it on fire and let it burn off the alcohol or you can just stir and cook for a few minutes to let it cook off.  I like to light it on fire because it's way more fun!

Stir in the pecans, bananas and cinnamon.  Serve right away on french toast or over ice cream.  You can refrigerate it if there are leftovers, but I can assure you...there won't be any leftovers. 

Honey's Home!

After a long year, Brad/Daddy/Hubby is home!  To be honest, he's been home for a month, we've just been busy reconnecting as a family and I haven't taken the time to share these photos here on My Oh My yet.  He went back to work last week so things are getting back to normal.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but I'll just say it is so fabulous to have him back with us where he belongs!

Pappardelle with Corn

What is pappardelle?

It's a type of pasta that comes in long thin strips like little rulers and last week, I was a woman on a mission trying to find me some. 

I drug my four year old literally all over town looking for it...we even went to the specialty international store.  Surely, somewhere in town carries it, but after 2 hours of searching, I took mercy on my child and bagged the search.

I'm sure I could have used another type of pasta, but I had my heart set on it.  After a call to mama, I decided to bring out the rolling pin and attempt to make papardelle myself. 

Despite the 6 months of boot camp classes I've been taking, my poor little shoulders just couldn't muster the strength and endurance to get the pasta dough as thin as it needed to be.  Though it turned out alright and was certainly edible, I think I'll either wait until I get a pasta maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid for Christmas or simply substitute a different kind of pasta next time. 

The flavor, however, was unreal.  This one's going in the permanent repertoire!  I will be making this again and again, with or without my precious papardelle. 



Pappardelle with Corn

Food Network Magazine-9_2011

Kosher Salt

2 ears corn, shucked

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cups grape tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup white wine

12 ounces pappardelle pasta

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for topping

Torn basil, for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the corn and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes.  Remove with tongs, reserving the boiling water.  Let the corn cool slightly, then cut off the kernels.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until the tomatoes soften, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.  Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle in the corn water as the label directs.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.  Add the chicken broth and corn kernels to the skillet and bring to a simmer.

Add the pasta to the skillet; add the scallions, parmesan, the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Toss to combine, adding the reserved cooking water as needed.  Season with salt and pepper.  Top with more parmesan and basil.

Serves 4