A Morning in the Kitchen

I have spent almost the entire morning in the kitchen - I guess I just felt like baking today.

We began the morning with blender pancakes, you can get an idea of how to do those here. I have started adding more grains to the mix and have found that it doesn't effect the flavor. I have been using about 1/2 whole wheat, and then a mixture of brown rice, oats, corn, and some flax seed. If your blender isn't that strong you might want to put the milk and dry ingredients in your blender the night before and let them soak and then it should blend up nicely.

Then I made some cinnamon graham crackers which are really tasty. I haven't found any graham crackers in the store without corn syrup in them except at Trader Joe's (I have bought them there once and they were delicious, but I think they cost around $4 for a container). I have made graham crackers a couple of times before, but I was disappointed with the other recipes I tried. I think this one will become my standard.

Cinnamon Graham Crackers

4 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons honey
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat oil and sweetener together. Add egg and beat until smooth. In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Use low speed on mixer to beat flour mixture into wet mixture. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when pressed in your hand. If it's too dry, add a little water.

Press dough into 9 x 13-inch baking sheet. Score into squares a little over 2-inches. Prick each square several times with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool and then break into squares.

Yield: 24, recipe found here.

I thought that since the kitchen was already a mess, I might as well make some granola. My mom was making fun of me the other day because my kids like raw rolled oats for breakfast with milk and honey - she said something to the effect that it was similar to prison food, so I thought I better have some more cereal options for them!

Grand Slam Granola

• 6 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup agave
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, seeds, almonds, flour, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine butter, syrup, and extracts. Slowly pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, using a spatula to fold and evenly coat the dry mixture with the wet. Spread on 2 cookie sheets or shallow pans and bake. Turn granola every 15-20 minutes so it toasts evenly. Bake until granola is dry and golden (45-60 minutes). Store in airtight jar.

- I adapted this recipe from one by Cynthia Lair found here. I doubled the ingredients except for the butter and agave and found that it was enough liquid to coat. If you don't have agave you can use maple or honey in its place. This is the first time I have made granola with butter (instead of oil) and I love the flavor!

I have also got some bread in the oven - that recipe I will share soon! Hopefully I can get the dishes done some time before Jason gets home.