homemade crunchy granola

Other granola recipes I've tried have been too sweet.
This one is perfect!

The original NY Times recipe is here, but I made some minor modifications and included my preferences in the recipe below.

6 cups Bob's Red Mill extra thick rolled oats
3 cups mixed raw nuts (I use cashew pieces, pecan pieces, sliced almonds)
1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash salt
1 cup wildflower honey (my preference; lighter honey also works)
1 1/2 cups chopped dried fruit (I use apricots, cherries)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, and honey. Place on sheet pan lightly brushed with oil and put in oven. Check every 10-15 minutes and stir. As it gets browner, check every 5 minutes and stir. It should brown evenly - the browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be. Mine baked for 1 hour.

2. Remove pan from oven and add dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring once in awhile until granola reaches room temperature. Store in refrigerator in a sealed container.


After 1 hour of baking and before adding the fruit.


This oatmeal is thicker than Quaker Old Fashioned Oats,
which may be why my granola takes longer to bake
than the 40 minutes in the original recipe.

A Powerful Mind

This morning I noticed a bruise underneath my big toenail. I don’t remember hitting my foot on anything, but all of a sudden my toe really started to hurt. Yep, it began to hurt after I saw the bruise.

I used to receive weekly acupuncture treatments, and some sensitive spots on my hands would hurt from the time the needle was inserted to when it was taken out. Oh, how I dreaded having my hands poked. One week, I was lying on the table while my hand ached from the needle and I bravely picked up my hand to look at it. There was no needle there! I realized my practitioner skipped that spot – so why was my hand hurting? Duh. It was all in my mind! Just like today, when my toe didn’t hurt until I saw it was bruised.

These experiences remind me how powerful our minds really are. And that, my friend, is empowering.

What is your mind telling you?

Remembering Mother

Today is my mother's birthday. She would have been 79. If she was here, I'd make her one of my from-scratch cakes. Growing up, it was my mother who inspired me to bake. She would be so proud of my baking skills. I would love to show her what I've learned.

You know that question about which 5 or 10 people you would have at your dinner table if you could choose anyone? I always list my mother first. There's so many questions I didn't get to ask her. And I bet there are many stories about her life that I'd love to hear. Plus, I think she'd fit right in with Princess Diana, Jesus, and Mother Theresa. Yep, they'd be at my dinner table, too.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

New Direction

I admit it, the second half of 2009 was hard. Really hard. 2010 feels like a refreshing opportunity to move forward. I realize it's up to each of us to decide what perspective we're going to have, regardless of what life throws our way. In other words, happiness is always a choice. I knew this, but I wasn't practicing it. And it's okay. It's unrealistic to be happy all the time. I think contentment is a better aspiration. Contentment involves embracing life - the perceived good and bad - without judgment. And this is where faith comes in: Knowing that whatever is going on now is just a piece of the bigger picture.

With faith, I move into 2010 with an open heart. So far, I've become acquainted with both new and forgotten interests and have been inspired by others' creativity. As I surrender to the things seeking fuller expression through me, I trust that I'm on the path that will enlarge me and move me toward the person I'm meant to be. Our souls long for meaning and participation in our own greatness.

So, here's what has been on my mind...


The working poor. The underpaid people who clean your offices, sew your clothes, take care of your kids, and serve you at Wal-Mart. How much of their labor is essential to our society's growth and comfort?


How can so many people be hungry in a nation with so many resources at its disposal? I was once feeling sorry for myself over dinner at an upscale restaurant - until I looked out the window at a woman shuffling by with a shopping cart full of her belongings. How can I help empower people who want a different life?


Yes, of course, I like nice things. This is my dream kitchen. Ah, someday.


I adore party planning. How can that be when I'm such an introvert? I so love the details and creativity involved.

A perfect Christmas weekend

I wasn't sure what to expect from Christmas this year, but decided go along with whatever came up. Christmas Eve, Steve and I had our own holiday celebration with an elegant dinner at Starkers, watching big snowflakes fall on the Plaza. We spent the rest of the night with my family. I knew this would be a hard year since my 27-year-old nephew, Jack, passed away in August. Christmas wasn't the same without him; we could all feel it, especially his mom and dad.

Even though I didn't decorate or put up a tree this year, I found my motivation in acquiring a good eggnog recipe. I made a total of six batches of Alton Brown's fabulous eggnog. It was perfect! Of course, a holiday cannot go by without making my sugar cookies. I made a few dozen for my brother, but he was snowed in on Christmas Eve, so we've been snacking on them.

Steve and I spent all of Christmas day lounging. We ate pistachios and sugar cookies, drank eggnog, and looked at the 12 inches of snow outside, feeling grateful to stay in. We made our Christmas dinner at 9pm: broiled lobster tails. On December 26, with the city still covered in snow, we finally left the house to meet up with others at La Bodega and ended the night with wine at Cafe Trio.

Someday I'd like to host Christmas brunch, so I practiced on Sunday with Ina Garten's French Toast Casserole. It's a recipe that's definitely company-worthy. We finished our holiday weekend at my sister's house for a Mexican-themed dinner. Our handmade margaritas were a hit, and I also made one of my favorite dishes, Chilaquiles Casserole.

This holiday was all about food, drink, and lounging. My astrological sign is Cancer and my Chinese zodiac is Pig. Cancer-Pigs love everything luxurious: good food and relaxing in comfortable surroundings. Yep, sounds like me. No wonder I enjoyed my Christmas this year! I hope yours was good, too.

Holiday Intruder

For nearly two decades, I have spent holidays with other people's families. I was 22 the first year that both my parents were dead and one of my dear friends invited me to spend Christmas with her at her uncle's house. That year, she gave me the only gift I received for Christmas. Since then, I've usually spent holidays with families of husband one and two, or with boyfriend's families while in between marriages, but the worst Christmas day I can remember was in 2005. I was alone at home on Christmas day trying hard to enjoy my beef tenderloin steak and chatting with my two orange cat friends. I couldn't wait for the day to be over so I could go back to work. Happily, I started dating Steve a month later and life became much better.

What got me through all the years of spending holidays with "other" families was the hope that someday I would have my own family to share the holidays with. I dreamed about shopping for my children's gifts and imagined their delight as they unwrapped presents from under the tree. I thought about the meaningful family traditions we would create that would be all ours. Dropping by other people's homes on Christmas wouldn't be such a chore because I would have already had my "special" family time.

I've tried different strategies to help the holidays be more joyful. I've decked out our home with creative holiday decorations, threw a festive holiday party, adopted a needy family... But the disappointment was still there. So, I've decided this year I'm only going to participate at the level I am comfortable with. It's doubtful that I will be going to other people's homes to witness their nuclear families being together - a reminder of what I lost almost 20 years ago and what I have not been able to recreate in my own life.

I haven't decided what good replacement activities would be on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Serve dinner at a homeless shelter? Sounds depressing. Take a trip? Just stay home and make an awesome dinner? Pretend like it's just another day, except my husband happens to be off work?

Creative suggestions are welcome.

Change is good

I've always felt sorry for people on restricted diets; I never thought I'd be one of them. We decided that if we're going to do another IVF, we're going to do a much better job preparing through diet and lifestyle changes, along with supplementation. Taking handfuls of antioxidants and shooting wheatgrass everyday is the easy part. Giving up some of our favorite foods, drink and habits has been the hardest. But I'm getting used to our new eating style and am no longer tempted. The fact that I feel really, really good since bypassing the typical American diet also provides motivation to continue. So, here's what we can't have:

• No sugar
• No dairy
• No caffeine
• No alcohol
• No wheat

Eating out is a challenge. Wheat, dairy, and sugar hide out in everything! We went to Blue Koi recently and were pleased to find that they have a gluten-free menu. Most of their entrees can be ordered with rice noodles and other substitutions and they provide gluten-free soy sauce. Yay, Blue Koi! I no longer miss my wine, but I did watch with a little envy at the other patrons drinking their bubble teas.

One of the hardest parts is anticipating how our social life will change. So much of what we did with friends and family was centered around good food and drink. I have a feeling we will be seeing lots of movies this winter...


Fortunately, we both love rice noodle soups.