Here’s my basic recipe, adapted from others I found.  After the recipe, I’ll give you my favorite add-ins.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Mix in a large bowl:

• 3 cups rolled oats (NOT quick)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup nuts (I use almonds)

3. Heat in a small saucepan, stirring a few times, until the sugar dissolves and the  mixture starts bubbling:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2-3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola oil
• 1/4 cup water or juice (I like orange juice)

4. Once heated, stir in:

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

5. Now pour the hot honey mixture into the oats and stir - make sure to stir all the way down to the bottom so all the oats get coated.  Spread on a non-stick or sprayed cookie sheet and place in the middle or top of the oven for 7 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, stir, turn the heat down to 225 and bake for 30 more minutes, checking once in a while to make sure it’s not burning.

That’s it!

Variations:

Optional / swappable add-ins to the oat mix in step 2. You will probably want at least some nuts, but don’t feel like you need this long list of ingredients, you don’t!

• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup flax seeds (for healthy granola)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (for healthy granola)

Optional flavoring in step 4: almond extract, or why not orange?

Baking method: Depending on your ingredients, your baking time might vary. To test, I put a tiny bit in a dish and cool to see if it’s crunchy enough. You want your granola to be dry.  I’ve experimented with a lot of baking methods, sometimes if I don’t have time to watch it, I will bake for an hour at a lower temperature, or if I notice it’s not dry enough after baking, I’ll leave it in a warm but turned-off oven for an hour or so.  You can also bake it at a higher temperature for a shorter time, but you risk burning if you tend to multitask like me.

Type of Granola: If you want a healthier, less sweet granola, you can use more oats (4 cups instead of 3).  If you want a sweeter granola that holds together in big chunks, decrease the oats relative to the other ingredients.

I made this Linzer cookie,  a first-day-of-fall treat for my sweetheart, with the leftover dough from a torte.  I finally own a linzer cookie cutter and I’ve always loved my set of miniature leaf cookie cutters (which are like these).   I used this recipe for the torte, but the dough was harder to work with than I recall, so I’m going to have to ask my parents for their recipe. I don’t know if I’ll ever rival their linzer torte talents, though – they work as a team and always do a perfect job on the lattice!  I think I need some more practice.

I wasn’t planning on being awfully strict – after all, someone brought a bag of Reese’s to work yesterday and there’s the matter of a gallon of vanilla ice cream already in the freezer. Instead, my goal was to eliminate animal products from my cooking.

The verdict? Although I don’t see myself becoming vegan or even vegetarian, I would like to cook this way more of the time. Aside from being healthy for myself and the world, much of the food I made was inexpensive and lasted longer than meaty leftovers.

Pumpkin oatmeal made with steel cut oats and soymilk

Here are some of my favorites from this week:

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins – I have to admit, my heart usually sinks a little when I’m offered vegan baked goods. But these excellent muffins don’t suffer at all from lack of eggs or butter.  I substituted maple syrup for the molasses and used whole wheat flour.

Pumpkin oatmeal – I cooked steel cut oats in a mixture of unsweetened soy milk and water, adding some nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and raisins. Then, in the last few minutes of cooking, I stirred in the leftover pumpkin from the muffins, about a half cup. It was delicious – luckily I made enough to last for a few mornings.

Chipotle split pea soup – Split pea soup usually gets its smoky flavor from ham; here, the smokiness is accomplished with chipotles (an ingredient I find myself using more and more). Not only is this vegan, but it’s also very thrifty – the whole batch, around 10 servings, cost me less than $2 to make.

Tofu scramble – onion and bell pepper sauteed with firm tofu, topped with scallions, parsley and avocado. Looked and tasted great, kept me full for hours.

The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake – this is mine!

I was lucky – when I was young, my mother let me bake bread with her.  Now, I love the almost flesh-like feeling of dough as I knead it. But I’m far from an expert, and you definitely don’t have to be to turn out some great bread or pizza.

If you’ve never baked bread before, I have two recommendations. One is to buy yeast at Costco or Sam’s Club, where a giant 2 pound package cost me $3.87…22 times less than those puny envelopes at the grocery store! Buying a package not only saves you money, it gives you the flexibility to use a larger or smaller amount than is in the envelope, and you can experiment without feeling wasteful.

My second tip is to buy a thermometer if you don’t already have one.* To bring your dried yeast back to life, you need to create an environment in which it can thrive, which means heating the water to between 100 and 110 degrees.

The next step is having a foolproof recipe. I’ve had great results with these every time I’ve made them, and they have detailed step-by-step instructions.

Bread
King Arthur Flour has a recipe on their site called “The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake“. The name doesn’t lie.

I wrote up a modified version of the recipe which I always use. But if this is your first time, you might want to start with the original.

Pizza Dough
My favorite recipe for Basic Pizza Dough comes from the website of Italian cooking instructor Anna Maria Volpi. The detailed instructions with photos are perfect for beginners!

I make this pizza very thin – thin enough to cover 3 cookie trays. Because of this, I lower the baking time to just 10 minutes. Just use your instinct – you’ll see (and smell) when it’s ready.

*If you don’t want another kitchen gadget, borrow one and note how this temperature feels with your finger. Another alternative is to calculate how long it takes your microwave to heat the water (mine, not very powerful, takes 2 minutes), or how many parts cold and boiling water you need to mix to achieve it.

Rum balls I made to give away for the holidays

One way to battle the last-minute rush is to make your edible holiday gifts ahead of time. I love to make rum balls, which actually improve in flavor and texture after aging a week or two in a tin. I’ve also found that fudge keeps for quite a while in the fridge. Many cookies, such as chocolate chip, freeze and defrost well – just make sure to cool before freezing.

What are your favorite make-ahead holiday treats?