Candy Cane Beets and Kumquats

It's that time of year. Everything outside is white or grey. There is not a whole lot of fresh beautiful
produce coming our way, so you have to be pretty creative with what you do get. Last week in our CSA box, my family got a bundle of candy cane beets. Their inside striped with red and white is so festive, it is sure to brighten even the most depressed winter soul. I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook them, so I took a trip to my favorite grocery store where I found some lovely kumquats and nice firm lemon grass. The perfect something sweet and bright to enhance the natural flavors of the beets. It's a fast and easy one too, perfect side dish for midweek ribs or pair it with a salad for a positively spa worthy dish!

To prepare you will need:
2 medium candy cane beets- washed, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch slices
3 firm kumquats, washed and very thinly sliced, removing the seeds
1 medium orange- juiced
1" segment of fresh Lemon Grass finely minced
1/4 cup of dry white wine
2 pinches of kosher salt
1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
Heat Olive Oil in a 10" Saute pan over medium high heat. Add beets, kumquats and lemon grass and saute slightly...2 minutes. Add white wine to pan and cook for one minute to cook off alcohol. Add orange juice, sprinkle with salt and cover. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, covered for 15 minutes or until beets are fork tender and kumquats are translucent. Remove the lid and increase heat slightly. Cook 2 more minutes or until liquid is reduced and slightly thickened. Transfer to serving plate and garnish with arugula sprouts, or any green spicy thing you can get your hands on. Serve hot or at room temperature for a meal that is sure to make even your tired blood smile.

Pecan Cherry Granola...it's what's for breakfast.

Granola is one of those things that if your used to eating the pre-made version and then you try some homemade stuff, it is so much better that it's hard to go back to the package.  

We've been making granola at the bakery for quite some time. It has become so popular that folks were coming in to buy it by the pound. This summer, though, it was getting scarfed by breakfast customers so fast we couldn't sell it in bulk, which caused a bit of a ruckus, so I decided to post my personal recipe...my kids eat this up so quick, sometimes I have to make it twice a week!

Pecan Cherry Granola:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil (I like the fruity-ness of olive oil here, if it doesn't appeal to you, use canola or your favorite mildly flavored oil)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

4 cups rolled oats (NOT the instant kind!)

1 cup flax seed

2 cups pecans, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups dried cherries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the orange juice, oil and brown sugar. 

Add the oats, flax and pecans. Stir together until oats, etc are well coated.

dump out onto a large baking pan lined with parchment paper (the paper, while not absolutely necessary, makes it super easy to transfer to a container and helps make clean up a breeze)

spread out into an even layer on your pan and bake in the middle of your oven for 15 minutes. Pull pan out and give the granola a good stir to ensure even browning. Bake for 15 more minutes, stir again and bake for another 15 minutes or until it has reached your desired toasty-ness. Pull from oven and sprinkle cherries on top and then stirring them in while the mixture is still warm. Let cool COMPLETELY, then transfer to an airtight container by picking up the two long ends of parchment to form a sort of funnel, put one end into your container and pour. Sealed tightly this will last for months, except at my house.

Please Note: This formula is merely a template...you can use any fruit or nut or seed or juice or oil you like. If you like it stickier, use a little more liquid and don't toast it quite so much. Think of it as your blank breakfast canvass.