Grandy's Noga

photo by Eden Lang

I hate to brag (okay, may be I actually would like to ... a bit! I am trying to overcome that) but I do make some pretty great granola. Jane calls it "Noga" and I kind of like that so it sticks. After years of trial and error this is my recipe and I like it. It is healthy, slightly chewy (unless you bake it too long), fast and easy, yummy, yummy, yummy, smells amazing, .... I could go on but that's boring!

Grandy's Noga

6 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

2/3 cup chopped almonds

2/3 cup green pumpkin seeds (not roasted)

2/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup shelled hemp seed

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

Mix above ingredients well.

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup honey

2/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix VERY WELL!!!! - for several minutes. (This minimizes the chance of burned spots in the granola - I have learned this from sad experience).

Spread mixture evenly over two 17x12 inch cookie sheets lined with greased foil. Bake in 325 F oven for 10 minutes, stir and bake for another 10 minutes. Add dried fruit. (Whatever mixture strikes your fancy but a total of about 2 cups per cookie sheet. I use a raisins, craisins, dried apples, apricots.)

One of my favorite ways to enjoy Noga is with yogurt and berries - fresh or frozen . Tastes like dessert for breakfast - and (sadly) I will take dessert anytime! ha!

Treasures

I have the DEAREST, best, friends in the world! I really think I do. I am not at all sure how I rate them but I have decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and just be grateful for each one. Yesterday was a very tender day for me - much more difficult than I had anticipated. The birth days of my children are special ...sacred really... for me. To be honest I can be a bit emotional on any of their birthdays as I remember their births and the funny/sweet/clever things they have done and what they mean to me. Celebrating their birthdays is more important to me than my own. Anyway, it was emotionally intense to think about Merin yesterday - to remember so much about her and to miss her. We had planned a busy day of work at Mike and Merin's house (her 'birthday present' was to put the countertop on the new kitchen) and when we finally arrived home at 9:30PM tired and a bit sad we found treasures on our doorstep. A whole pile of them! I feel so humble as I realize how profoundly we are loved by so many. It is wonderful and amazing. Years ago my dad taught me that when there is a need the important thing is to do something, anything. It doesn't matter what but DO something. Now I am seeing - again and again - how very wise and right he was. The flowers are beautiful, the gifts thoughtful but it is so much more than the object that comforts. It is the love that is expressed, the concern that is shown by the act of doing something. I feel embraced, protected and cared for by my friends and family. It is truly wonderful and I wonder at it.

When I am tempted to have a pity party I remember the many, many people who have suffered, and who still so suffer, so much. Often with little or no support. And I know that I am blessed. I can do this. And I hope I can do it with grace. I hope I remember and learn. I hope you all know how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you for all the treasures you offer.

...and when she shall pass away,

take her and form her into little stars,

and she will make the face of heaven so fine,

that all the world will be in love with night,

and pay no worship to the garish sun

-Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

(one of the treasures we found yesterday)

Swiss Porridge

Long ago and far away - when we had just two little kids and breakfast was usually either instant oatmeal or cheerios - I wanted to make a special breakfast. I pulled out my cookbooks (so far away and long ago that I only had a few!) and did some research. I found a recipe for something called "Swiss Porridge". It looked good - in other words like something both parents and wee ones would eat and my food budget would tolerate - and so I gave it a spin. Big Hit!! Over the years it has morphed into a version that the original authors would likely not recognize, so it is probably not very 'Swiss' but we all love it. It has remained a special breakfast, one that is often requested for birthday mornings or the treasured times that we are gathered as a large family for breakfast. I am posting the recipe today in honor of Merin's birthday - October 4. It was her certain choice every year to start her birthday day.

Swiss Porridge

2 cups vanilla yogurt

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup coconut

2 cans mandarin orange segments, drained

2 cans crushed pineapple, drained

2 bananas, sliced

2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Enjoy!

I often improvise a bit with the fruit and add whatever looks good or is in season. Today I used some fresh peaches, other times I might add blueberries, etc but this recipe is the base. I also sometimes add 1/2 tsp cinnamon - if the mood strikes. However you make it, it is a sure hit. Nobody has ever not liked it... or if they have they have been too polite to say so!

It's Good for You!

When I was a child we had either wheat porridge or oatmeal porridge for breakfast most mornings. My parents tried hard to sell us the idea that it was good but although I ate it I never bought the idea that it was good. In fact, in my opinion it was barely 'swallow-able'. I distinctly remember one rebellious morning, sitting at the table for what seemed like hours, hoping that my mother would relent and let me not eat the nasty, gray, cold, congealed lump in my bowl. She didn't and I did eat it. I never learned to like it. Now older, wiser, and grayer myself, I have found a way to enjoy a bowl of oatmeal porridge. No longer do I have a little oatmeal with my brown sugar ... so it is actually good for me. This is the way I make my morning bowlful. Not only is it 'good for you' but in my opinion, it's just plain good!

Oatmeal a la Cher

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup old fashioned (large flake) rolled oats

pinch of salt (sea salt is best for you)

2 tbsp raisins

2 tbsp craisins

1/2 Granny Smith apple, chopped

Bring to a slow boil and cook for about 4 minutes. Then turn off the heat but leave the pan on the burner. Go read the paper or have a shower or something for about 20 minutes. When you come back add:

1 heaping tbsp milled flaxseed

1 heaping tbsp shelled hemp seed (or hemp hearts)

2 tbsp plain yogurt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp maple syrup or honey - or to taste

Stir it all together and enjoy. I make this much for 1 person (me!) and feel a little sad when I scrape my bowl - but you gotta know this makes a big bowlful. Keeps me full all morning though! And it is VERY good for you.

I like it anyway. Let me know if you try it and like it too.

p.s. I have made a much larger quantity and saved it in the fridge. It reheats very well in the microwave.


update: I now use coconut milk instead of the plain yogurt. (January 2012)

And.... how does one really take a picture of a bowl of oatmeal?!

Smooth

Short and sweet - this is the very best skin (lotion, moisturizer, conditioner) stuff ever! You have to try it. Seriously. I only use olive oil as a body lotion and it has made a huge difference to how healthy and comfortable my skin looks and feels. A couple of things to note: do use a light olive oil as the the extra virgin varieties tend to make one smell like .... olive oil! (huh?!) I love olive oil but don't necessarily want to smell like it. Also, the light varieties usually cost significantly less than the EVOO does and although I have been known to spend a bit for the care of my 'touchy' skin I don't think a 50.00 bottle of oil will be any more effective than the 10.00 (or less) bottle I have been using.

Olive oil is also pretty effective in soothing eczema. Works wonders on icky cradle cap. Heals cracked heels nicely. Wonder what else I could try it on? .... besides bread and all that.

Surfeit of Zucchini - a bit late!

Despite the news that this has been one of the hottest summers on record worldwide, here in balmy southern Alberta it has been an incredibly cold, wet summer. Some vegetation has loved it but for other growing things it has been challenging - zucchini for one! I love zucchini and look forward to zucchini on the grill, zucchini bread, zucchini cake, zucchini lasagna...and the list goes on. Most summers the bounty of zucchini growth allows all sorts of creative endeavors but this year I waited patiently (initially), and then sadly as I watched the zucchini plant struggle toward maturity and bearing. Most summers the zucchini plant rules the garden - boldly overtaking anything in its path and climbing over the fence - but this year, not so much. In fact it looked more like a sad tree than a vigorous vine. BUT in the end it did produce! All of a sudden and way too much and way too big. What to do with lots of zucchini and no time or inclination to do anything with it?!? but too stubborn (and excited to finally have zucchini) to throw it into the compost heap? Why make two of the yummiest and simple recipes ever!

Of course, I know that these recipes are in no way original. They have been around forever. Classics in fact. But I share them here precisely because sometimes these classic recipes are hard to find. And I know these two are sure winners.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup oil

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

4 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup soured milk

1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. (And yes, this is exactly what I do - no fancy beating of this and then that and then adding whatever. Although I do mix the dry ingredients together first so there are no nasty surprises.) Mix for about 2 minutes in a stand mixer. Pour batter into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 F. for 45-60 minutes until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.

See? Simple right? And I never frost this cake. Doesn't need it!

Zucchini Bread

(the classic and the best!)

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

1 Tbsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Same M.O. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into two greased 9x5 loaf pans. Bake at 325 F. for one hour. Turn out of pans onto cooling rack after removing from oven.

If it happens that you, like me, forget to pick the zucchini soon enough and it grows to monster size, you can make both these recipes the same day, bake them together, have the cake for dessert and freeze the loaves (or give them away) for another day when zucchini bounty is a distant memory. And do it all within an hour and a half. Beauty!

Stormy Weather

How to write this....I don't know. My heart is both heavy and full. Heavy for the loss of our beautiful daughter Merin and her husband Mike and full because of the miracle of their tiny daughter Ysa's survival. Full also because of the tremendous (and wholly unanticipated) outpouring of love we have received not only from friends and family but from wonderful, warm-hearted people we have never met. The last two weeks have been .... I don't really know what.... challenging, difficult, painful, frightening, exhausting but also hopeful, supported, enlightening. I am beyond grateful for the love and tender care that has been extended to us. I have learned far more than I should have (why did I not know some of this?) about showing love and concern for others as we have been enveloped in the most generous way.

Somehow, although it has always been a theoretical possibility, it never seemed like a real threat that one of my precious children could be seriously harmed or killed. That a traffic fatality would claim sweet Merin still seems impossible and unreal. I am so glad that my last memory of her is so beautiful. She truly and absolutely glowed - she was so happy and so in love with her husband and baby. The late afternoon was soft and the atmosphere so warm and happy as we celebrated the marriage of her cousin. Family all around, love surrounding us and hope for future joy. It was...just wonderful. In my mind I see her picking her way down a flight of stairs and across the grass (in her pretty high heels) as she joined our family group after feeding little Ysa. She was so beautiful. Of course she was dressed and groomed with her own particular flair - so Merin - but more, there was a peace, a total happiness that radiated from her and was so appealing and beautiful. I am so glad that I have that memory and the recognition that she was blessed and felt blessed in her life.

I love each of my children - overwhelmingly. I am so grateful for the fullness of that mother's love. It brings me intense joy and comfort. In this case the pain of loss is just a hair below what I can bear. Would I change the pain I feel right now? Of course I would but if this is the price I must pay for the joy of being Merin's mother then I will gladly suffer now. I know it sounds perhaps dramatic but there is a huge hole and it really hurts. I am sad even while I recognize my many, many blessings.

I could write for hours about Merin - her life, her qualities, talents - all the things that I want to remember, and I probably will over the next months. Perhaps not here but I will.

As the cleaning lady at the hospital said daily when she came in to sweep Ysa'a room "God is great. God has a plan." I have faith that this is so. I am so grateful for the comfort of the Spirit and the blessings of the Atonement. Again as our faithful cleaning lady said, "Now it is time to praise God." He is indeed good and I am thankful for that.

He is good and I have been blessed with loving children. Their love for each other is another blessing. My husband's tender concern for me - even in his own grief - humbles me. Tiny Ysa's life and health, her new home and the unquestioning love of her new parents is another blessing too great to quantify. The faith and prayers of untold friends employed on our behalf - words fail. And the many, many acts of love and service that speak so sweetly to my heart...

Although this is indeed stormy weather I know that the sun shines. I can feel it and I know that it will shine more brightly as my heart heals and I learn more to trust in my Heavenly Father. I am so eternally grateful for Merin. She was ever a joy to me, my special friend and little helper, almost always with me. I will miss her but we will be together again. I know.