unblogging

Busy busy busy, isn't that the way of the world? But there's been a lot going on at our house these days and I find that it doesn't make sense to keep up the blogging. So I've decided to stop blogging. This post is up as a courtesy because I hate it when pages go away. A few recipe related posts remain and my blogroll (gotta have that!). After a while I'll probably delete this too.

Thanks for reading...it was fun.

soup

I came home from work today to find D had enlisted V and her father to chop chop chop. She is in a soup mood and is creating a "summer soup." Unfortunately it's a hot soup. Her soup creations tend to be very delicious, she's good at creating them sans recipe. But a hot soup today seems a bit much.

For our dinner tonight I had planned an Indian style meal with gifts from my friend Rita: paneer, lamb, meatball things, and lentils. I'll make basmati rice and pan warm some flat bread to stand in for the naan. I also have some leftover cucumber-mint soup I made the other day. It's delicious and very easy to prepare.

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Mint Leaves

2 Cups plain yoghurt
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 Tablespoons fresh spearmint leaves chopped
salt to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth, ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with a mint leaf if desired.

Very refreshing on a hot day and a perfect side dish for a spicy Indian meal.

crockpot granola

I recently decided to try making granola again. My sister-in-law, Kim, brought it on vacation with us and my whole family really enjoyed it. We realized that we have missed eating it for breakfast.

I didn't want to make it in the oven because it would heat the house; at this time of year and with this humidity it's a no-brainer. In searching on the internet I found several variants and put them all together to come up with my own recipe. It came out really well. Everyone liked it. I made a blueberry pecan recipe (using pecans from Texas, a gift from Kim, yum). V didn't care much for the blueberries but they're easy to pick out. Next time I'm thinking of reducing the honey to 1/3 cup to see if it still works, adding a couple of tablespoons of soy flour to punch up the nutrition a bit and perhaps I'll make a cranberry walnut variety. The nice thing is that I can play around with the fruits/nuts/ and possibly even grains to make different types. Delicious over yoghurt, ice cream, in milk or plain. Enjoy!

Crockpot Granola

5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cups dried fruit
1/2 cups nuts, broken up

mix all ingredients together
place in crockpot and stir well
turn crockpot on low
leave wooden spoon in crock to help prop lid open
stir once every 30 minutes
cook 4 hours