The Top of the Morning

Check out all the wonderful breakfast recipes in the lastest Recipe Round Up at Home, but not alone. If you haven’t entered a recipe yet, you  have until the end of today (Wednesday) Northern Ireland time (GMT), which is coming up quickly

And I am looking for a volunteer for next month’s round up. You’ll find everything you need to know for hosting here.

The Dark Side of the Moon

Don’t forget this evening’s total lunar eclipse, which will be seen all across Canada; that is, if it’s not cloudy. It starts at 8:42pm EST, so that’ll be 5:42pm PST, which is our local time.

 

It’ll still be light here when it starts, but it should be dark for the fifty most spectacular minutes in the middle of the three hour eclipse process. Somewhere around 7pm (10pm for you easterners), we can expect to see a red or orange moon that will slowly become more brown.

 

Plan to look heavenward tonight to see the show.

Homemade Granola

I love this recipe—which I’ve adapted just slightly from that Mennonite classic, the More-With-Less Cookbook—because it is so versatile. You can make this granola from what you like and what you have on hand, changing the ingredients from time to time for the sake of variety. Plus, it’s easy and will save you a whole bunch over supermarket granola.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, starting with

• at least 3 cups of rolled oats
  

and adding your choices from the list below to make 7 cups.

• wheat germ
• whole wheat flour
• wheat bran
• wheat grits
• cornmeal
• oat bran
• soy flour, grits, or roasted beans
• grape nuts
• uncooked cereals like cream of wheat or cream of rice, etc.
• sunflower seeds
• sesame seeds
• roasted pumpkin seeds
• dried grated coconut
• dry milk solids
• chopped nuts
• spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

You get the idea. A trip to your health food store will probably give you other ideas.

In another bowl, combine liquid ingredients from the list below to make one cup total. Adjust the proportions of sweeteners, oil, etc, to your taste.

• honey
• syrup
• molasses
• brown sugar
• oil
• melted butter
• peanut butter
• milk or cream

Pour the blended liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients  and mix together. Bake in large greased baking pans (at least 2 9x13-inch pans) for 30-60 minutes at 300F, stirring often. Exact timing will depend on how deep the granola is in your pans and how brown you like it. For a chunkier cereal, allow it to cool undisturbed. We prefer ours not-so-chunky, so I stir it now and then as it cools.

When cooled, add dried fruit as desired.

• raisins
• dried cranberries
• snipped dried apricots, apples, peaches, pears, etc.
  
• chopped dates.

Youngest son and I like to mix a bunch in vanilla yogurt for breakfast, adding fruit (or not). It is also yummy with rice milk or soy milk.

 

This recipe is posted for tomorrow’s collection of breakfast recipes at Home, but not alone.