Grape-nuts

Growing up, we always kept a supply of grape-nuts on hand. Since store bought cereals were a very rare treat, our favorite cold cereal was grape-nuts. With five hungry brothers we went through a lot of them, and sad to say, I learned to not enjoy making them.

For the first time since we got married, last week I finally pulled out the recipe to make grape-nuts. The girls were amused and intrigued by the very pioneer-ish look of the batter, and couldn't imagine how it would possibly be turned into a good cereal.

Much to their surprise, everyone loves it, and I see it becoming a go to recipe for our family, successfully breaking the teenage promise I had made to myself to not be making grape-nuts once I'm in charge of all food decisions.

They take simple basic ingredients, and while they do take a long time to make .... I can't believe I'm saying this ...... they're worth it. Here's the recipe I used, but you may want to reduce the size.

Grape-nuts

7½ cups milk
½ cup vinegar
4 cups blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp baking soda
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp salt
5 lb whole wheat flour

In a bowl combine milk and vinegar. Allow to set for a minute or two.

In a large bowl, as in, a really large bowl combine molasses, milk mixture, salt, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add flour, about ¼ of it at a time, mixing well after each addition. Divide batter into 3 - 9x13 cake pans and bake at 400º for 40 minutes.

Once cool, cut into chunks and grate. I can't imagine trying to do it without my King Cutter, but LV's family used to use a handheld grater when they made them.

Spread the grated crumbles onto a cookie sheet  and bake at 210º stirring every 10-15 minutes until they're dry and hard. It took me 12½ hours to dry them all, working with two large cookie sheets in the oven the entire time.

Pour into a bowl to cool, then store in an airtight container.

These are really filling. When eating I would suggest starting off with only half a cup full. They absorb a lot of milk, so we always add more than you would think would be needed.

Granola

We often kept granola on hand while I was growing up. Most of the time a small bowl full was used as an after school snack. Occasionally during the summer we would have it for breakfast, but not very often since my parents thought hot cereal such as oatmeal was much more healthy and energizing.

After we got married, both LV and I thought we had enough oatmeal while growing up and granola became our version of healthy cereal. Thankfully, we all love it.

Granola

14 cup oatmeal
5 cup coconut
2 cup wheat germ
4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 cup butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla

In a large bowl mix oatmeal, coconut, wheat germ, sugar, and salt. In a small saucepan melt butter. Once melted remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Spread a layer onto a cookie sheet or cake pan and bake at 225º stirring every ten minutes until it has been toasted a nice golden brown. (About an hour) Cool and store in a tightly covered container.

This is a base recipe. You can always add nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried fruits for a nice variety. We prefer not to add anything to ours.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

We really like cinnamon rolls and often enjoy pancakes too so when I heard of cinnamon roll pancakes I knew it was something I had to try.

They turned out to be absolutely delicious!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

1-1/3 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp melted butter

1 egg

¾ tsp. salt

1¼ cup milk

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Melt a little bit of butter or lightly coat a skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet until it's just hot enough to make a droplet of water hiss and sputter when you drop it in the skillet. I use a ¼ cup measure to pour the batter into the pan and then add the cinnamon swirl.

Cinnamon Swirl

½ cup melted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Mix well. It works best if you make this before you make the pancake batter so that it has time to thicken. You will need to stir it every minute or so to make that the butter doesn't separate. Once you are ready to start frying the pancakes spoon this mixture into a Ziploc bag and then cut off a wee little corner. Right after you put your pancake batter into the skillet squeeze some of the cinnamon mixture on top in a swirling motion.

Proceed with the usual method of making pancakes. You will want to wipe the skillet between each batch since it gets syrupy and you don't want your pancakes to taste like burnt sugar.

Once you have fried your pancakes make a glaze to use on top instead of maple or pancake syrup.

Glaze

4 Tbsp softened butter

2 oz cream cheese

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

milk

Mix the first four ingredients well and then add a tsp of milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle over your pancake and enjoy!

Fried Cornmeal Mush

Fall has arrived here in our little corner of the world. The cool days and chilly mornings always make me feel like making more hearty breakfasts. One of our favorites is Fried Cornmeal Mush.

Fried Cornmeal Mush

1 cup cornmeal (don't try self-rising)
1 tsp salt
4 cups water

In a large saucepan bring three cups of water to a boil. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine cornmeal, salt, and remaining cup of water. Pour slowly and carefully into the boiling water stirring well constantly.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Rinse a 9"x13" pan with water and pour the cornmeal mush into it. Rinsing pan and leaving the few water droplets inside help keep the mush from sticking to the pan. Smooth mush with the back of a spatula. Refrigerate overnight.

Next morning cut into ¼" slices and fry in skillet where you have already melted several Tablespoons of margarine. Fry until beautiful golden and crispy. If most of margarine has been absorbed add more before flipping and frying other side.

Serve with eggs, or enjoy plain. Every once in a while I also make a tomato gravy to spoon over the top but I like it better without.

Enjoy!