Cranberry Lemon Granola

People in the Pacific Northwest are supposed to be all “crunchy and granola,” right? So, technically speaking, I am fulfilling my stereotypical duties by making granola…?  Obviously the logic is there. I own flannel, bought into a CSA, own an embarrassing amount of Chaco shoes and more outdoor gear than I know what to do with. But still no crunchy granola…

I had wanted to make my own granola for a long time.  Heck, the first recipe ever posted on my blog was for homemade granola bars!  But as time went on, I still found myself without a jar full of some Ginger Cook Granola (I would totally market that by the way, it has a nice ring to it).  A few weeks ago, when I wasn’t feeling that well but still wanted to be in the kitchen, I decided to up and make it.  I had oats on hand, natural sweeteners, dried fruit, nuts and all things delicious.  I even had some citrus on hand to zest!

Now that I’ve made it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to buying granola from the store.  Not only was making it from scratch SO CHEAP (how DO they get off charging us $6 for a tiny bag in the stores?), but I had SO much and it didn’t take much time at all!  Throw together some ingredients, bake, cool down and watch yourself devour every last bit in a few days.  I mean, that’s what happened with me but I somehow came down with the death flu and it was the only thing I could manage to eat.  And eat it I did!

I think the next batch I made I want to have a little bit of a topical feel – toasted coconut, dried mango, dried pineapple and some macadamia nuts. Maybe? 

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Harry Potter is coming out next week.  So. Freaking. Excited.  I mean, I am reading, errrm listening to on tape, all the Harry Potter books in preparation.  I'd like to say I'm going to watch the movies too but seriously, I have a life people.  As I blog I'm on The Chamber of Secrets, somewhere around 11 minutes into chapter 15.  So if I randomly type an "alohamora!" or "but 'Arry!!!", please, don't be alarmed.

Even though I've been listening to HP non-stop, I've still been eating.  Can you think of anything better than listening to Stephen Fry while eating some tabbouleh?  I didn't think so.  I made this a week or so back soon after I received my first CSA box.  I had a bunch of new & fancy ingredients as well as a well stocked pantry.  Pouring through my surplus of cookbooks, I came about this recipe.

If you've ever gone to a hot bar with me at Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods, PCC…etc, you know I ALWAYS get tabbouleh. ALWAYS.  However, I had never made it at home before.  Nor have I ever bought Bulgar.  You'd think I would but no.  I don't always think ahead.  But when I saw that I had all the ingredients for a this recipe, I'm pretty sure I squealed with joy.

The ingredients are fairly adaptable, but I'd try and stick to the more traditional ingredients as much as possible.  I also increased the amount of parsley and lemon juice so if you aren't a fan of these, feel free to reduce the amount.