Just a Quick Note

Today will have to be a quick note, as I don’t have time or the brain power to contemplate deep thoughts… or at least to spend them on my blog. I am trying to finish my message for tomorrow. All I need to do now is write my conclusion, have João correct my Portuguese (alas, still necessary after ALL these years) and then refine the whole message. Thanks to a sermon by John Piper I was able get a handle on the structure and organize it in a way that makes sense. I am not yet totally excited by the message, but I think I will be when I finish it.

Last night, as I took a break from my struggles (and it must have worked, because my illumination came right afterwards), I made some granola for my husband. That’s no big deal, as I do that regularly as he likes to eat that every night before going to bed. This time, however, I decided to try it out in the slow cooker since I read that this was much easier than a conventional oven. Using my slow cooker… what else is new, eh?

In reading about the process I was somewhat relieved to see how many other people have also burned up whole pans of granola in the oven. My oven is about as consistent as I am, so I never know if it’s going to be warm or super hot. That is a death knell to ever so sensitive granola. So even with my timer going off every 10 minutes (time to turn, so you won’t burn) I scorched a few recipes.. without mentioning the times I’ve just gone off for an hour or so (into my air conditioning) and forgotten the batch.

I made my usual recipe (which means I dumped whatever grains and nuts I had around the house, plus some oil and honey to moisten, with some spices I like). You’ll notice I had the lid vented. That was a suggestion that’s important, so you don’t end up with oatmeal, since the cooker steams food. I am happy to report that the cooker was much less hands on than the oven. Since I started the recipe late in the evening (around 7PM), I didn’t put it on slow, but on high. In about 3 hours it was ready. I think I stirred it twice. I knew to stir because I began to smell the wonderful delicious smell of granola roasting. The recipe book said that was a clue you should stir. They were right, as it was browning nicely on the bottom. You can see it made a goodly portion and browned nicely, although I almost let it get too done. That’s why I would make it on low heat the next time.

I was pleased with the result, although for me the granola wasn’t sweet enough, with just 1/4 c. of honey to 5 c. of oats and quinoa, but definitely crunchy and healthy, with almonds and flax seed. It was pretty good with some plain yoghurt. Very “mother-earth”.