muh-muh-muh-my granola (sung to the tune of "my sharona" by the knack)

Ooh my little pretty bowl, pretty bowl.
Do you have fruit and nuts in you, granola?
Ooh you make my tummy full, my tummy full.
I'll eat you with some soy milk or yo-gurt, granola
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a hungry girl. Always get it up for flavor of the
oaty kind. My my my i yi woo! M M M My Granola...

yeah, i know. i'm a huge cheez puff. anyway, one of my major vegan disappointments is trying to find a vegan granola on the market that i don't have to take a second mortgage on my house to purchase. no such luck really. the average price for 8-10 oz of vegan granola is anywhere between $5 and $10. sorry, the only way i'd pay that much for a package of granola is if i knew i'd get a prize in the bag, like one of those foam capsules that would turn into a real live sarah kramer or isa chandra clone if you added water to it. a sarah or isa clone wouldn't be bad to have around the house, y'know?

as usual, i took matters into my own hands. i went online and looked for an easy vegan granola recipe-(from vegweb.com) and i found one that i tweaked to reflect what i had on hand. please observe:

muh-muh-muh-my granola:

1 c. raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c. pecans, finely chopped
3 c. quick oats
1/4 c. ww flour
1/2 c "brown" sugar-(turbinado+1t molasses)
5 T veg oil
1/2 t salt
1T vanilla
3-4 T agave nectar
1t cinnamon
1/2 c dried cranberries

preheat oven to three-fiddy. in a skillet containing no oil or liquid toast seeds and nuts on low heat until you smell a pleasant nutty flavor. combine seeds/nuts with remaining ingredients except for dried fruit. spread the mixture onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden, turning the mixture frequently with a spatula or wooden spoon. remove from oven and leave granola on pan while cooling. add dried fruit to granola and stir to combine. store in an air tight container.

my mistake: cooking for a full 20 minutes. i should have paid attention to the "until golden" part. some of it got a little charred, but it was still very good granola. mr. jewy liked it and i can't wait to make it again.

got a favorite granola combo? discuss.

product review!

amy's and kashi foods seem to be my go-to for product reviews, and i'll tell you why: the frozen meals are usually found on sale at kroger's, and since i don't get care packages from companies that are seeking reviews, i don't want to spend a whole lotta green to review a noshable.

this was a nice filling meal, but the spice could be amped because i'm a heat ho. i don't want my mouth to burn, but i want something more than a mild spice, especially if it is a mexican influenced meal. i'm very happy amy's has gone to the trouble to add more vegan options to their product line, and encourage them to continue to offer such items to their customers. hey amy's, how about a line of desserts?

so--keep your hot sauce and a lime wedge handy, because that would make dish much better. i give this one turntable, one microphone--which is a reasonable rating.

now for my "close but no call" review: kind plus antioxidants cranberry and almond bar. looks healthy, almost made the vegan pass, but it has honey! why-oh-why do these food in bar form companies taunt us with almost vegan eats? this bar would be just fine with any number of sweeteners instead of the aforementioned honey. they should call the bar "almost kind". pthhhh!

another k.i.s.s. meal

fresh avocado slices and my signature salsa on top of a vegan black bean chipotle garden burger. deliciously simple.

sad note: i broke my vidalia chop wizard yesterday and nearly cried as i threw it in the garbage.
happy note: mr. jewbacca went to CVS and scored me a new one with his extra bucks, coupon gangsta skills, and a gift card--FREE. it was waiting on the counter for me when i got home. what a nice mr. jewbacca!

jewbacca's salsa: (aka ass of fire salsa)

• 1-2 lbs of heirloom tomatoes
• 1 small sweet onion
• 1T ms. dash chipotle flavor
• 2t lime juice
• 1T olive oil
• 3/4 chopped fresh cilantro, less if you want. dried can be used here, but it isn't as good.
  
• 2 jalapeno or serrano chiles de-seeded and de-membraned *in a pinch i've used chopped pickled jalapenos, about 1/4 c. worth
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/4 t chili powder
• 1/2 t cinnamon-(YES cinnamon)
• 1/2 t salt or 1 t of bragg's liquid aminos

if you have a vidalia chop wizard, use it to chop your tomatoes, onions, and chile peppers. drain any excess liquid from the tomatoes. make sure you wear gloves when chopping chiles, you could really burn your skin. toss everything together in the oil, juice, spices, etc. let flavors meld overnight in fridge. this salsa makes everything taste better. add more chiles if you want to turn up the heat and have a tuchus of fire.