Oatmeal-Craisin Breakfast Bars

½c softened butter

½c white sugar

½c dark brown sugar

1 egg

2T half & half

1-2t pure vanilla

1c very soft craisins or raisins

¾c unbleached organic flour

½t baking soda

¼t salt

1-2t cinnamon

2c quick or old fashioned oats*

Beat the first 6 ingredients together, in a big bowl, mixing and fluffing well. Add craisins and continue to beat mixture. In a medium bowl combine the remaining ingredients with a wire wisk. Add dry ingredients to the big bowl, mix well then spoon into a greased 9x9” glass baking pan. Bake 40-50minutes in a 325° oven. (or use a 9x13" pan and bake for less time.)  Cut into squares and serve while warm. . .Lin *Quick oats create a more cohesive bar while the old fashioned oats remain more separate for a more chewy bar.

A California, Hodag, Farm Country Breakfast

1/4 lg sweet onion - chopped

1 lg    "farm fresh" brown egg

Saute' the onion in a little butter, stir in the egg and top with fresh ground pepper.  Cook until just barely set.

Serve with toasted, buttered Hodag Bread (a wonderful nutty, grainy bread only available locally.  Come here to get some or your favorite whole grain bread can be substituted) and half a perfect avocado with a little Ranch Dressing. . .Lin

Ground Flax Seed Granola (gluten free)

Flax seed is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.  The seeds, which are often found whole in commercial granolas, must be ground into meal.  Our bodies can't breakdown the coating on flax seeds.  When eaten whole, their benefits are never tapped since they go through our systems, undigested.  Ground flax contains volatile oil that keeps best when stored in the freezer.  Actually all nuts and seeds should be refrigerated or frozen to keep their oils from turning rancid.

2c     long cooking oats

1/2c  slivered almonds

1/2c  ground flax seed

1t      ground cinnamon

1/4t   salt 

3/4c  fruit-juice-sweetened craisins -

          or raisins - dark or golden

1/2c  unsweetened shredded coconut

2T     dark, toasted sesame oil - 

         or melted coconut oil

2-4T pure Maple syrup - 2T for raisins

         4T for craisins

1/2T pure vanilla

In a non-stick pan, dry toast the oats and almonds, shaking-stirring constantly, over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes.  Add the ground flax seed, remove from the heat and continue to stir.  Cool slightly then sprinkle on the salt, cinnamon and mix well.  Stir in the craisins and coconut, mixing well.  Add the 3 remaining ingredients, combine well then spread in a 9"x13" baking pan.  Bake at about 185° for 15-25 minutes stirring the granola several times during baking.  This process isn't so much to 'cook' but to heat and dry the granola out.  Remove from the oven and continue to dry in the baking pan.  After an hour or two, put granola in Ziplock bags or airtight plastic containers and store in the refrigerator. . .Lin

Dressed-Up Granola

Morning is not my best time.  I usually wake up achy, stiff and a little cranky.  I also don't like making breakfasts.  So, what normally happens is I make coffee and drink way too much.  I get shaky then realize I'm hungry.  By then the acid from the coffee has made me feel nauseated as well.  Lovely!

A far better plan for people like me is to start with some good tea and a couple different ideas for something quick and healthy.  A scrambled egg or two with part of an onion and some chopped up ham, a piece of nutty-grainy bread is one approach.  Another would be a little granola with plain Greek yogurt or milk with some nuts or seeds and dried fruit.  That was my pick for today:

1/2 c  crunchy granola

a handful of raisins and slivered almonds

1/2 banana

a little milk

Chicken With Rice And Barley

2#  (4) boneless chicken breasts

       butter, water, white wine

1     can cream of mushroom soup

1     pkg. onion soup

Brown chicken breasts in a little butter.  Use wine or water to deglaze the pot.  Brown and deglaze several times, turning the chicken.  Spread half of the cream of mushroom soup on the chicken.  Combine the rest with about 1c water and pour over chicken.  Sprinkle with the packaged onion soup.  Add 1± cup of water to pot.  Simmer a couple hours.  This recipe works for great pork, chicken, venison, veal, beef, elk.  It's an easy favorite, however, the soups make it higher fat and sodium that some people would prefer. . .Lin

 1c    mixed grains - long cooking barley, red

         rice, aromatic brown rice, sweet black rice

1      chopped onion

2c    water

1t ±  powdered chicken bullion

Combine melted butter, onion and rice-barley mix in a heavy pan.  Saute' several minutes until the grains brown a little and start to snap.  Add water and bullion, stir, cover and simmer until the grains are tender.  If water absorbs and the rice is too chewy, add a little more water, cover and cook a little longer on very low heat.

Unfortunately each grain doesn't retain its original color, so the finished product has a surprisingly dark color due to the black rice.  Serve with the chicken, gravy, (Peach Salsa) and a salad or steamed vegetables. . .Lin

Toasted Sesame-Almond Granola

1/2 C slivered almonds
1/4 C black (or regular) sesame seeds
1 T butter
2 T TOASTED sesame oil (dark brown)
2 T pure Maple syrup
1 T real vanilla
1/4 C roasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 C roasted, salted sunflower seeds
1/4 C coconut
2 C old fashioned oats

In a large frying pan, dry-roast almonds until light brown. Add sesame seeds, shake, stir and continue to brown until the seeds are snap-snap-snapping :o) Pour into a glass bowl. Add butter and stir until melted. Combine all remaining ingredients - except the oats. Put the oats into the frying pan, heat and stir with a wooden spoon until they're lightly browned. Add the mixture in the bowl to the oats in the frying pan. Stir, then spoon into a 9x13" glass pan.


Bake at 300* 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Cool and store in a Ziplock bag in the refrigerator or freezer. My favorite way to have granola is with some plain Greek yogurt and dried fruit, all mixed together then heated briefly in the microwave. . .Lin