Autumn Granola

Not that there is just one season for granola.
I make it every season.
But what I do is vary the recipe season by season.
I just made a batch of my Autumn Granola.
My Autumn Granola is all about cinnamon and maple syrup.
Autumn in your mouth.
And.
Your whole house is going to smell like autumn when you bake this delicious granola.

Bad news.
I had just popped it in the oven when some utility guy showed up to check our gas lines and meter for leaks.
I locked up the dogs, unlocked the fences, and walked with him to show him the meter.
And then we talked.
And I stood there and talked to him with no thoughts whatsoever about the granola I had just put in the oven.
You know what I asked him, don't you?
Yep. Give me your best snake story. I mean, this is a guy who works outside all day, traipsing through the woods, I wanted to hear the snake stories. He didn't have any real scary crazy ones.
But he did say that this year was a record year for number of snake bites by copperheads. (are they sleeping yet? are you sleeping, are you sleeping, copper-head? copper-head...never mind.)
So we talked about kids and pets and gas leaks and development. Whatever.
And finally, when his inspection was complete, I locked the fences, let the dogs out and went into the kitchen.
Whoops.
The smell hit me immediately.
I ran and got the granola out of the oven and got it out of the hot pan asap.
Thank goodness! Only the bottom was burned.
The rest was salvaged.
It just has a bit more of that "nutty" flavor that a really good charring gives food.
You know what to do, right?
When someone asks, "Is this burned?"
You reply, "No, not at all, just good and browned....nice nutty flavor, don't you think?"

Anyway, here is the recipe.
Keep an eye on it (even if the guy-checking-for-a-gas-leak isn't there, it does go from done to burned very quickly.)

Autumn Granola

4 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup raw, unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds
2 cups coarsely chopped almonds
2 TBSP ground cinnamon
1 and 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

Add maple syrup and oil and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Spread granola in a rimmed baking sheet (12x17 or so.) Bake on center rack about 25 minutes and then stir.

Let granola bake until it is light golden brown and dry, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Stir often during this period,  to prevent burning on the bottom.

Remove from oven and add raisins. Stir and let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container, where it will stay fresh for up to a month. Or, you can freeze it and remove it as you use it (no time needed for thawing.)

Need I say, "YUM"? 'Cause it is; it really is.
  

The Real Deal

This is the view my neighbor's cows enjoy during the summer.

That's some view, isn't it?

During the winter, they come down off the mountain.

 

I am a farm romancer.
I romance the farm and the farm life. Always have.

I moved to Atlanta when I was 18. I remember talking to some new co-workers. It was just after Thanksgiving and I mentioned that I had gone to my Daddy's farm and fed the cows. The looks on their faces were something else. Cows? Pastures? Farm? You? I was from Mars. Someone asked me if you could really tip a cow over.
 
I have in my mind what it would be like to live on a farm full time.

(Though I do not have any personal knowledge or insight. My Daddy was a hobby cattleman, with a farm 7 or so miles out of the town where I grew up. I actually had very little to do with any of it. I would go out with him to help feed the cows in the winter. I remember fondly: the cold winter air, the cows running towards the truck knowing that dinner had arrived, and the sweet babies just born. I mainly just stood around and enjoyed the dreaminess of it all while Daddy or my brother did all the work. I also remember all the phone calls about the cows being out of the pasture.)

Is farming really like what I have imagined and dreamed about for so long?
I recently discovered this cool project.

Four farmers are filming what it is REALLY like to farm.
Check it out...www.thefarmersfilm.com
Here's a link to their webisodes.

MaryJanesFarm and Farm Day 7

Well, here we are on Farm Day Number 7, and it is one of my favorite pictures.
Rolled hay in the foreground; my precious farmhouse to the side; green mountains in the background.
Love.

And I've just posted a post on The City Farmgirl Blog at maryjanesfarm....I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts, are you?

 

Farm Week: Day 6

This is my neighbor's goat in the snow.

There are two goats who live on the hill.

Total cutie pies.

Whenever we arrive at our farm,

before we even unpack the car,

my daughter starts her goat ritual.

meh! meh! meh!

She hollers across the way.

Sometimes they come running.

Sometimes they don't.

My Daddy had a pet goat when he was a boy on the farm.

And then one day while he was at school,

That pet goat of his ate all the bark off the apple trees.

Bad news for the goat.

And for Daddy.

I'm pretty sure that I want a goat.

meh....

Farm Week: Day 5

I've making my famous :)

Autumn's Black Bean Soup for a teachers' luncheon at my daughters' school.

I volunteered when I heard the PTA was serving soup on the parent/teacher conference day.

Soup is one of my "thangs."

If you missed the recipe last year, here's where you'll find it.

(Or click on the Rebekah's Kitchen.)

This recipe is so easy, hearty, and delicious.

As they say on facebook: "like."

The soup screams autumn to me.

The smell, the flavors: AUTUMN!!

Whoa, settle down there, soup.

Now, on to Day 5 in Farm Week.

I am loving posting these pictures.

This picture was an accidental shot.

I was taking it of the triple bubble created by my daughter.

We have an endless supply of bubbles there (marshmallows too.)

And woohoo.

When I downloaded it,

a reflection of my dreamy farmhouse was in it.

This is one of my

all-time favorite pictures of my farm.

 

Farm Week; Day 4

Foggy farm morning in the Smoky Mountains.

 

Farm Week: Day 3

A neighbor's green tractor in the field on a Saturday morning.

Love the tractor.

Love the field.

Love the mountains behind.

Love the view.

Love.

 

Farm Week: Day 2

Peeking over the bushes to see what I can see....

I spy.....

pure loveliness.

 

Farm Week

Okay, I have decided that this week is "Farm Week" here at Catching Pearls.

I've been so swamped with other endeavors, I haven't had time to post much here lately.

But every single day I'm going to post a picture of the adventures at our farm.

Not a lot of words, just pictures....

Reflection of my daughter playing in the creek on a chilly autumn day.

 

MaryJanesFarm

"Are we there yet?!"

Blue,

heading up to our farm in the mountains of North Carolina.

I put up a post at The City Farmgirl Blog at maryjanesfarm.
Come over and see me! I've got a problem I need your help with! Pretty please?

Fourteen Minutes

Take 14 minutes of your busy day today and watch this.
It's the speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford's 2005 commencement.
Powerful.
Seriously powerful.

I think my favorite part of the speech is this one:

"Your time is limited,

so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Don't be trapped by dogma,

which is living with the results of other people's thinking.

Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important,

have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

That is my wish for me and for you: We must muster up the courage to follow our hearts.

Sooner, not later. 

How are you doing on that?

I've been sucking wind at it lately.... 



Go Outside

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside,

somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.

Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be…

Anne Frank (1929-1945)