25th Sunday It’s Father’s Day!

Oh Daddy -- what a meal was had on Sunday! The menu was not too ambitious -- but boy it was delicious. I wish you could have been there (and you just might have…) . The grill was put into overdrive with boneless pork country ribs marinated with mushroom soy and sake, potato packets with asparagus, corn on the cob, fresh bread, refried black beans, beet salad with goat cheese and walnuts, fresh grilled green onions, fresh salsa, dark-chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. The usual suspects cooked and cleaned for the meal and a merry time was had by all. Unexpectedly and very happily we were joined by our favorite tired and very parched s’laws for dessert. Although everything was quite good, to me the star of the meal was of course the dark chocolate cake suggested by my favorite penguin. The cake recipe can be found here at this link. My one change was in the frosting where I added 1/4 cup of cream cheese to add a little “sumpin sumpin.” YUMMY!

I guess I should mention the guests of honor for whom I have only the greatest admiration, love and respect. Here’s to the Dads! Hip Hip Hooray! Below is the current favorite salad recipe of the resident Dad. Happy Father’s Day all!

Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese:
2 small roasted beets peeled and cubed
1/4 cup toasted walnuts halves (chopped) -- use a sauté pan on low heat
2 small heads bib greens ( I like the butter lettuce best)
4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
Dressing:
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the salad ingredients then add the dressing… I know it’s hard to believe but that’s it… delicious.

Yes -- I am A Pod Person, Take Me to Your Leader

Growing up there were very few things that I would not try or eat, one them was yogurt and the other granola. It helped my cause that both my parents thought that one was bird food and the other hippy-food. If anyone had told me that I was to become a granola-eating, yogurt lover, I'd have laughed (maybe even hysterically) right in his/her face. However, about two years ago, I just up and decided (after watching husband do it for years and years and feeding it to my kids too...) to give it a whirl. It wasn't love at first taste, but it was not bad. Now I love it -- plain yogurt with fruit granola and a dab of honey, well, it's the bomb!

Not to toot my horn too much, but TOOOT... I make a lovely granola using Kathleen Daelemans' recipe as a base and adding a couple of tweaks here and there. I make a double batch which usually lasts about a month and a half but only because I add a ton of healthy cereals to the granola base. It gives us much needed fiber into all of our diets and makes a handy healthy snack to boot. I've added the recipe for your review. Try it, I think you'll like it.

Kathleen's Granola Recipe with my Tweaks (which make it that much better)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 teaspoons cinnamon
5 generous teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 cups chopped pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds
1/4 cup flax seed
dried raisins, fruit to taste
Healthy cereals to taste

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine the brown sugar and water in a large microwave-proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the microwave, add vanilla, salt and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside. Grind the flax seed and combine with nuts, and rolled oats in a large bowl. Add the sugar syrup to the oatmeal mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheets and bake for 6o minutes until golden and crunchy. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You can add dried fruit and store in an airtight container or you can take the base granola and combine it with healthy sugar-free, high-fiber cereals to add more fiber and grains to our diet. I use cheerios, bran flakes and others of that ilk. This stuff is darn good!