Granola

I'm a bit of a purest. I don't know if it's the Scandanavian blood that runs through my veins or the fact that I grew up with a father who didn't want to eat anything other than meat and potatoes, but whatever the reason, I have a pallet that is not particularly refined. Therefore, I'm always looking for plain, simple foods to combine into something amazing. This morning I was craving a yogurt parfait... the strawberries in the fridge were begging to be used and I had time to kick back and bake a little. I came across this granola recipe the other day and thought I'd give it a try... really glad that I did!

Ingredients

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

5 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup dried milk

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375° Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Mix brown sugar, vegetable oil and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Pour syrup over dry mixture and mix until completely coated. Lay mixture onto a jellyroll pan and bake for 10-12 min stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and allow the granola to cool in the pan. You can add other ingredients to it at this point such as raisins, almonds, or dried cranberries, but as I said earlier, I'm a purest! When it is cool, store in an airtight container and use however you would like! This recipe makes about 5 cups : )

Cinnamon

I love cooking with cinnamon!!! Well, actually I just love cinnamon in general : ) My new favorite drink at Starbucks is a vent americano with 3 pumps white mocha and two pumps of cinnamon dolce! Heaven in a cup of coffee! So when I saw this recipe for cinnamon biscuits, I just couldn't help myself! Thank you Megan for this delicious little tidbit that is a great addition to my morning (and afternoon coffee).

Cinnamon Biscuits

Ingredients

Cinnamon Filling:

6 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

4 tsp shortening

4 tsp light corn syrup

Biscuits:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cinnamon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heavy Cream (enough to let icing reach the consistency of honey)

Dirctions:

Heat the oven to425°F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

Start by making the cinnamon filling. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, shortening and corn syrup with a fork until crumbly and evenly blended. Set aside.

Now it's time to make the biscuits! In a large bowl, whist together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make sure you sift your flour - it helps eliminate lumps. Pour in cream and mix quickly, just until combined. Dump the dough out on a well floured countertop and pat into a long, thin rectangle that is about 2 ft long.

Slice the rectangle into 16 equally-sized squares. Lay half the squares in the prepared baking pan - they can be molded into the right sized squares to fit the pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over each square. Cover with a second square of biscuit dough and lightly press the edges to seal. Repeat with each biscuit.

Bake for 14-16 min or until the biscuits are barely golden on the outside and just cooked through.

While you're waiting, make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar, cinnamon, corn syrup, vanilla together. Add heavy cream in small amounts at a time, stirring often, until icing reaches the consistency of honey. Set aside.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and let cool slightly. Drizzle with cinnamon glaze and serve warm - preferably with coffee : )

Please note... don't try to substitute low-fat milk in this recipe. The first time I made these I used 2% milk because that is what I had in the fridge and the dough was far too gooey to use - embrace the fat my friends : )

Crochet Love

Some people call me an old woman when I tell them I've been crocheting...

I just laugh at them.

All I feel when I'm crocheting is inspired!

And hopefully someday I'll be able to create something as incredible as this inspired throw from Anthropologie...

Love... pure love.

Adventures in Reading

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1811

Amidst the chaos and adventure that has been the past few days, I have found solstice in this…

Jane Austen has been my getaway car to a world that I have never lived in except in my mind. Written about 200 years ago, Jane’s books take me to a time when people used beautiful language to talk to each other and where the heroines were women who spoke their mind and fought for true love. Oh, how I can get lost in those pages for hours! I can barely wait to turn the next page! I think that is why I despise the new Kindle so much. No satisfaction in turning the next page… no satisfaction in closing a book at the end of a few hours… no beautiful books sitting around half read! I mean, how could you replace a room like this with a tiny screen?!

I’ve always been a reader. One summer my mom had to ban me from the library because I wanted to stay inside and read instead of playing outside. I would have 7 books half started and rotate between them because I couldn’t decide what to read first! Sometimes I would be reading and get side-tracked with dreaming about where I would rather be reading… and usually it would be this place…

The library in Beauty and the Beast has always been my dream library. Belle was always my favorite princess because of her strength and love for reading… I think that’s why I love Elizabeth Bennet in Pride in Prejudice so much. I want to be loved someday for my strength, good heart, and my ability to sometimes be irrational. And maybe for my creativity too. These are some of the projects I’ve used book pages on…

Mason Jars with book pages Mod Podged on

A 12x12 art piece with book pages and paper as the background

A framed book page with a quote on it

And these are some of the projects I really want to work on that have book pages in them…

(Upper Left: Matchbook holder, Lower Left: Bookpage flowers, Middle: Framed book page with a quote from Persuasion by Jane Austen, Upper Right: book page and beeswax flowers, Middle Right: Book page mobile, Lower Right: Earrings with book pages from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.)

I think seeing book pages in art and around the house make me feel intelligent, classy and vintage all at the same time. They make me want to sit by a fire, reading with a glass of wine. Mmm… maybe something I can more easily do in Washington than down here in California! I hope you are feeling as inspired by books and book pages as I am! Go read a book or make some book art as your adventure for the day!

The only way to start is to start...

I’ve been wanting to do this for so long! My soul has been so inspired by my beautiful roommates this past year as they have blogged their thoughts to the world and now I want to do the same. This is my last month in California before the big move back to Washington and I know that it will be filled with tons of adventures and I can’t wait to share them! Oh, and lots of art and pictures too!

I’ve been to Anthropologie twice in the last week and have officially fallen in love with cork art… something similar will probably follow once I have collected enough wine corks…

Last night I was able to celebrate the birthday of one of my closest friends! We ate dinner with the girls at a restaurant we just discovered called “Equator” in Pasadena which was complete with incredible honey glazed shrimp, a great yellow curry dish and a shot called the “Sexy Alligator Shot”…

The rest of the night was filled with taking pictures, lots of laughs and really terrible bowling. But the atmosphere made up for the lack of bowling skill at “300 Pasadena”! Great new bowling alley that is complete with great music, a full bar, and really clean bowling shoes. Now if only we could bowl in shoes like this...

(via ToatsMcgoats)

My adventure today was taking a drive with my little brother to LAX for entirely no reason at all and having great conversation with him. I've loved getting to spend this year with him as he learned and grew at the same University that taught me so much. Love this kid and can't wait to see what the future holds for him!!!

Ok... well that's a start. We'll see what becomes of this blog tomorrow... oh what an adventure...

"An adventure may be worn as a muddy spot or it may be worn as a proud insignia. It is the woman wearing it who makes it the one thing or the other."
~Norma Shearer