Homemade granola

So one of the first things I am making in my new oven (!!!!!) is granola. It is a very simple recipe, I absolutely love the result, and it scores major points as a gift item. Especially for new moms, lots of the ingredients are great for postpartum.

Ingredients:

4 cups rolled oats (I have successfully used quick cook or old-fashioned)

3/4 cup almond slivers

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup coconut (dessicated)

4 tablespoons sesame seeds

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons oil (I have used sunflower or olive oil, but now prefer coconut oil for this)

1/2 cup maple syrup (or substitute raw honey or golden syrup)

2 tablespoons water

Mix everything except the last 3 ingredients together in a bowl.

 

Heat the oil, syrup and water until it bubbles.

Mix the hot liquid with the dry ingredients to form a reasonably dry, sticky mixture.

Spead on a baking tray and bake at 240 degrees F for about 40 minutes - until golden brown. If your tray is small (and so the mixture is quite thick), you may have to stir it through a few times while baking, and it can take longer. Don't let it burn in the corners, but don't be scared to leave it until it is well caramelised. The roasted almonds are AMAZING in this if they get long enough baking time.

At this point, it's customary (I can say that if it's something I do every time, right?) to eat some of it straight from the baking tray. Now, if you want, add some dried fruit. I usually do raisins and dried apricots, and if I make it as a gift for a new mom, I add dried cranberries. Today I only did raisins.

The final result:

That's double the recipe, in case you're wondering. Can't wait for breakfast time!

 

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30 days of thanks: day 27

Day 27: the end of renovations!

Wow, almost a month since things got too hectic to continue my 30 days series. Anyway, right now I have loads to be thanksful for, mostly related to the fact that after 4 and a half months, my house is renovated! Or at least close enough that we have moved our furniture into the new area and we're using it.

So for today I am grateful that the renovations are done, that it looks every bit as awesome as I had hoped (and then some) and that the stress is over!

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30 days of thanks: day 26

Day 26: camera phones

I have an iPhone 4s. The camera is good - in fact the vast majority of pics I post here are taken with that camera. I recently went through my collection of family ohotos and it is remarkable how many pictures I take now that I have a camera at my fingertips all the time.

I love having a chronicle of my life - and more specifically, of my kids' childhood. So today I am grateful for my camera phone.

As an example, I give you the last picture I took - the cocktail menu at Gourmet Garage where we had dinner.

 

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30 days of thanks: day 25

Day 25: summer rain

I grew up in Cape Town, with hot, humid summers and rainy winters. I love winter rain, the quiet of it, the cuddly feeling that it brings. Suggling under the duvet with a cup of hot chocolate.

But today, I am financially grateful for summer rain. I never need to water my garden in summer, and the plants need less water in winter. And of course our thunderstorms are exhilirating!

 

 

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30 days of thanks: day 24

Day 24: Rescue Remedy

I discovered RR when my oldest was about 1, and I have been grateful for it many, many times. Today is one of those days when I feel I would have been a total wreck without it - and I am not even the one who took RR. So today I am grateful for Rescue Remedy.

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30 days of thanks: day 23

Day 23: The joy of parenthood

It is true that youth is wasted on the young - or at least, childhood is wasted on children. I love that I get to relive the world through the eyes of my children.

They won the battle with a T Rex:

Playing in the park with cousins:

Playing dress-up. I am totally keeping this pic for when she is a chef one day - this is the child who asks me if she may smell the strange cheese I bought. She was smelling food before tasting it when I was still spoon feeding her.

Throwing water balloons into the hula hoop.

School concert - she was a "macarena girl". Yes, they did the macarna!

Cooking mussels with Daddy:

Nothing like blowing a vuvuzela in your underwear...

First Halloween!

Birthday "ring" at preschool.

Balloons!

First attempt at a sandcastle. More decorating than construction!

A few random holiday moments:

 

Ballet concert:

I am grateful that I get to watch their lives unfold.

 

 

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30 days of thanks: day 22

Day 22: year-end holidays

Especially in South Africa! This year I will have 3 weeks of paid leave, to spend time with family and celebrate Christmas. With typical Johannesburg weather, it will be gorgeous summer, borderline too hot but that is what the swimming pool is for! With family lunches on the patio, friends to spend time with, and the celebration of the birth of Christ, I am grateful to have this holiday to look forward to.

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30 days of thanks: day 21

Day 21: my job

I am an actuary, working for a healthcare company. And I love it.

I get to do work that I enjoy, that I am good at, with amazing colleagues at an amazing company. It is rare, and I am grateful.

 

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30 days of thanks: day 20

Day 20: good schools

My oldest is in kindergarten (grade R) this year, and on 9 Jan next year she will move on to "big school". It was a massive decision for us to choose the right school, and I am confident that we made the best possible choice. Today I am grateful not only for the fantastic choice of schools we had, but also that we got into Craighall for her.

 

 

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30 days of thanks: day 19

Day 19: a husband who cooks

I have already devoted a day of thanks to the amazing man I married, but today I am specifically grateful for his favourite hobby: cooking. I can manage very well in the kitchen, but I do not really enjoy cooking. Baking is more my thing. And I find it absolutely amazing that my husband can come home after a long day at the office and still want to cook dinner for the family.

I am grateful for many aspects of his cooking:

• Of course, the fabulous results!
• The balance of health and flavour - lots of veggies, but with a bit of butter or cheese.
• He is a neater cook than I am, mostly from his time running the pizzeria. So not only does he get better meals on our plates, but the kitchen does not look like a disaster zone afterwards!
• It is a love language for him, so he takes into account every personal preference that he knows of when he plans a menu.

 

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30 days of thanks: day 18

Day 18: fruit juice

I am a juice junkie. When I was at university, I used to joke that I spend on fruit juice what other students spend on alcohol. Over time, I have mostly stopped drinking juice because it is so hard to find preservative free juice.

Enter our new juicer.

And the juice of 10 oranges.

Yay!

 

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Renovations update

In between all the other thankfulness I also want to give you an update of our renovations progress. It's exciting!

The roof is done, the last section (concrete slab over the patio) was cast last weekend and now needs to be propped for 3 weeks while it dries, but my whole house now officially has a roof again!

All ceilings are in place.

Front wall around the courtyard by the front door is done

First coats of paint are on the walls and we have a final shortlist of colours for the last coats.

Underfloor heating in the living room, kitchen and playroom are done.


All the windows are in, obviously no glass yet.

Tiling started this week in the living room and kitchen; we have not yet decided on the laminate wood for the playroom so that is probably a week or 2 away.

Most of the plumbing and electrical work is done; light fittings for most rooms have been chosen. The kitchen installation starts on the 19th - I can't wait!

 

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