Here it is. When DH was a vol firefighter, for some years I wrote a recipe column for the monthly newsletter. So I had to make recipes that were real with measurements etc. I have a lot more from the newsletters.
Good For You Granola
Makes 1 1/2 gallons - high protein, not very sweet
Mix together in a large bowl:
!/2 c oil (I use refined sesame)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup water
Then add the ingredients below and stir very well until thoroughly mixed. To make gluten free, subsitute oat bran for wheat germ, and any other kind of whole grain flour for the whole wheat flour. Oats have no gluten, some people consider them not 100% gluten free since they are sometimes (but not necessarily) processed in plants which also process wheat.
10 cups regular oatmeal (ie not “minute”) - or 8 cups oatmeal and 2 cups triticale
2 cups raw wheat germ
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unsweetened coconut shreds or macaroon type (larger)
1 1/2 -2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups raw almonds, chopped
1 1/2 cups raw walnuts, chopped (optional)
Spread evenly in four 9 by 13 inch baking pans - glass works since they heat well, and you can see what the bottom is doing! - but other pans will work - and bake at 300 to 325 stirring often. If your oven is not even in heat (most aren’t), moving the pans around as you bake may be helpful. The edges brown first, so watching and stirring often is essential for even crispiness and not burning.
When the granola is a light golden brown and crispy, pour the pans into a large bowl and stir. Let sit until cool and for best keeping store in glass jars. I don’t know how long it lasts because it gets eaten. Very good plain, or with milk, yogurt, added dried fruit like raisins and dates, bananas etc.
This granola is not very sweet and makes a good crunchy snack by itself; for myself if I eat it with milk I like a bit more sweetener added. When my children were small I used to mix it all with powdered milk, so when they wanted some, we would just add water and stir it up in a bowl.
Here’s a couple more don’t throw money down the drain tips.
Don’t discard the seeds from fresh or dried chilies when making Mexican dishes. Let them air dry on a saucer on the counter and put them in a jar labeled “Crushed Red Pepper Flakes”.
No need to buy lard when making tamales. Actually, no need to buy shortening either unless you need a refined fat for baking products. After cooking the pork butt, put the fat into a processor to break it down to use as the lard (which it basically is already, right?). Also, add any fats you have to a freezer container and over time there will be enough to do whatever.
OK, FRiends, this week should tell you what preps your lacking.
Crossing fingers TX gets through this without losing the entire electrical grid. Honestly don’t understand why we haven’t hardened and improved the power structure. They are talking if we lose the grid, we will be looking at months and months without power. What?!? In our area, there is no way the permanent residents are using more electricity than during tourist season. In our neighborhood, there are only half a dozen or so residents compared to the locust swarm of tourists who leave their lights on and leave the doors open while running the a/c.
There are reports of food shortages. For us, food is fine (knock on wood) but everything else has pretty much gone south. I’d made some soups and pasta salads ahead of time for easy or no heating. Make sure you have a coffee pot and other cookery that can heat on a grill.
There are more than anyone’s fair share of electrical blackouts all over the state. Alternative heat (propane and kerosene) has been a pain in our backside but thankful for it. Keeping an eye on the alternate heat all night isn’t fun. Doing all the little chores like unplugging and replugging phones and checking water and timing your #1 and #2 when there is electricity (if you’re on an electric water pump and the septic uses electricity to move the you know what) and forgetting not to flush. Tie something on the toilet handle to remind you but make sure it doesn’t hang in the down position.
Then there are medical situations. Hubby was getting down to light the kerosene heater and fell breaking a few bones. Accidents can happen before you know it. He ended up in the ER and I think that was worse on him than the breaks because they didn’t have room and needed to kick him out when all the roads were closed and most people couldn’t get out their driveways much less onto the roads.
There are gas shortages so do you have enough for the extra long slow drives?
Do you have enough meds to last out an emergency situation? Do you have enough baby food and supplies? What about pet supplies? Is there someplace they can potty without going outside? Do they have enough litter and extra boxes because they tend to leave accidents when they can’t go out.
What about an alternate light source? Batteries and flashlight bulbs need to be at the ready. Did everything get charged? Our big fail was not replacing a wireless phone battery so only have seconds before it die.
Family plans for cell phones are great savers but if one service provider goes down, then every family member is without service. If you can afford it, have at least two difference companies. Our one cell phone has been out 99.9% of the time and for some reason tends to rely on electricity. Maybe the tower?
Perhaps it wasn’t such a great idea to dump your landline phone.
Don’t count on cable or internet for information or entertainment.