Hippie Granola

At times I think I might have live in a hole for the majority of life.  Or maybe just a bubble was dimmed out some of what was happening around me.  Actually, I am pretty aware of my surroundings most of the time.  I don't get lost.  I remember places and colors.  I don't have a knack for phrases though, or names for that matter.  Most days I find myself having to ask, "What does that mean?" or "I haven't heard that before."  I am not a "in the know" kind of person".  I am OK with that. 

One such time was when I was talking about Bates College.  It was about 20 minutes from where I went to high school. During my senior year I even took a class there. Its a pretty classic New England college.  I think of Bates has somewhat preppy.  However, during a recent conversation about Bates, someone mentioned how it really attracted granola people. 

Now what is a granola person?  I eat granola does that mean I am a granola person.  After being told it was more of hippie, social activists, green, those who don't shower.  OK that last one might have taken it a bit too far, but I definitely realized I was not what was being referred too.  I haven't decided if that is a good thing or not just yet.

I ask myself who comes up with these things?  How do they spread?  And why am I always the last person to find out what they mean?

I like granola quite a bit. I am used to the homemade variety. Store brands are way too sweet for my taste.  They are often expensive and not very healthy.  I am hear to tell you though that granola is very simple to make at home.  So whether you are or are not a true granola person, you can certainly make some.

Hippie Granola
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup salted pumpkin seed
1 cup peanuts
1 cup unsalted walnuts

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, seeds and peanuts together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a cookie sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.



5 dishes with EGGS for dinner

The incredible edible egg.  I love to eat eggs, they are cheap, easy to cook, and can be used in so many different ways. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Baked eggs with pasta sauce and ricotta cheese

2. Huevos Rancharos burrito

3.  On top of of burger

4. Cobb Salad

5. Fried eggs or Baked goods

I like a plain old egg every once in a while.  Fried is my favorite but hard boiled and scrambled come in a close second.  Also, eggs go into most baked goods.  Yes, I know the whole vegan/flax seed egg method.  But the real stuff, the real cookie dough needs an egg.  I want to just dig in a spoon or finger.

Want to see more top 5 posts visit Living Like The Kings!

Restaurant Review: Wayfare Tavern

This week at work, work stole my computer.  Technically it is a work computer but since starting at my company 4 odd years ago that machine has been by my side pretty much 24/7.  OK maybe not that much because that makes me sound  like a crazy work freak.  I am on it a lot though, and when I am home I (don't tell) might use it a bit for my blogging purpose.  Well, to make a long story short they needed my model to test something so I had to turn that one in for another one.  I will not go into the hassles of setting up all of your preferences but it is a LOT.  One good outcome of attempting to clean up all my blogger photos, came in the form of some forgotten CA shots.

There is a lot to do in California.  There was absolutely no way Mr. J and I could see everything we wanted, hoped and dreamed about.  One of those things was the Redwoods.  It was just too far of a drive away.  However, enter Muir Woods, about 15 minutes outside of San Francisco.

It was breathtaking.  

Even though the day was bright and sunny, in the woods it was damp and dark.  The sunlight sparking through the leaves was magical.

 And the trunks were so BIG!

We felt like midgets.

One of our other stops was the Wayfare Tavern.  This is Tyler Florence's restaurant in San Francisco.  I really enjoy watching Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network.  I think his cookbooks are beautliful.  I don't particularly like him though.  I had a not so great experience with him at the NYC Food and Wine Festival last year. 

My opinions of him haven't changed much since dining in his restaurant.  Granted it was not HIM in the restaurant but I do think our service was a direct reflect on him. Mr. J and I stopped in for lunch our last sightseeing day in the city.    Although the menu looked amazing, it was lunch time and we would be moving for the rest of the afternoon.  It was not a time to get a huge entree.  I was debating several options but opted for the special duck confit sandwich when I heard it came with a side salad.

The sandwich was amazing.  There was tons of duck meat, and the slaw had just enough bite to really add something to the sandwich without over powering the unique duck flavor.  I loved it.  However, it clearly came with a very large portion of fries. No salad! The fries were not so much of a problem as the fact that our waiter never came to ask how our meal was.  I couldn't even flag him down.  No salad for me.

Mr. J got the burger.  Local, grass-fed beef is so good.  You can really really really taste the difference.  This one came topped with a fried egg (a Mr. J speciality) and was served on a brioche bun.  Again lots of french fries.  All of the food was amazing. 

The service or more specifically our waiter sucks.  We got the clear impression that because we didn't order alcohol or entrees that we were cheap, even though our bill total was over $50 for the two sandwiches.  He didn't give us the time of day.  We honestly would have consider dessert but the guy was such a jerk I didn't want to stay any longer.  Arg!

Even with the good food, I would never go to this restaurant again.

Wayfare Tavern

558 Sacramento Street

San Francisco

415.772.9060