Bean soup

We were in a soup mood last week, so today I am posting one more comforting concoction. I like beans a lot, especially chickpeas and white beans, so when I saw this recipe I immediately copied it and placed in on top of the never-ending-to-try-pile. And I am glad I did! It is a very simple but flavorful soup. I like white beans because they are creamy and almost melt in your mouth, and chickpeas I believe is one of my all time favorites. It has such a nice flavor and is versatile, as it can be prepared in many different ways, you can varying its texture by cooking it more or less, use it soaked raw when preparing falafels, cooked into soups, pureed into hummus (yum!), you can even roast it and turn them into crunchy salty snacks.
In this dish a combination of both beans is used and then pureed into a nice velvety soup! I wasn’t sure about the addition of spinach but it ended up complementing the soup nicely. I really enjoyed it and so did Matheus. But don’t be fooled by the 8-servings the recipe states, as I believe they are supposed to be really small portions. I made half recipe, we ate it all and ended up wanting some more… oh well, next time I will definitely make the whole batch!
Right now I am in a quest to find a tasty recipe for a “Milk-free Egg-Free Nut-free Cake”. Yes, I know, it seems like a lot of no-no, but as far as my testing are going I think I may actually be getting close to what I need. So, you can expect to see some cake recipes around here soon!
Ana

Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs And Spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 to 16-ounce cans white beans -- drained
2 to 16-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- drained
1 package baby spinach leaves -- (6 ounce)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
Makes 8 first-course servings
Bon Appétit, January 2006

Cauliflower soup!

I bought a cauliflower head for using on a different recipe, but with the weather being so yucky and rainy yesterday we were in the mood for some wintry food and ended up having soup instead. And what a delicious lunch we had!
Silky Cauliflower Soup was just the perfect meal for a winter day. Creamy, warm, nice and comforting! I like cauliflower a lot, and recently discovered the wonderful texture it gets when pureed, either in soup or in a “mock” mashed potato, this vegetable is a lot more versatile than most of us think. I loved trying it as a puree, it is amazing how a cauliflower can turn into something so creamy and delicate!
We loved the soup, add a little butter and grated cheese on top and Matheus and I were in heaven!
I made the soup just like on the recipe, but since I like very creamy soups, I did not use all the chicken broth when pureeing mine in the blender. The taste was so good, but I think that some roasted garlic pureed into this would do wonders in terms of flavoring the soup… just a though to keep in mind for the next time, because this one is definitely a repeater here.
Matheus is on a “kebab-thing” right now, we had some kebabs the other day and he just loved the idea, putting anything possible on a skewer now, from chicken to beef, to fruits and veggies, you can only imagine the fun! So we had our soup with chicken skewers and some oven baked spinach croquettes that I made, which were actually very tasty, but the recipe is in Portuguese, so I will translate and post it later. Meanwhile, try the cauliflower soup; it is good!

Ana

Silky Cauliflower Soup
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender, and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
(Recipe adapted from www.foodtv.com)

Pictures…

It is funny how the simplest food sometimes makes us droll…Last week I was reading some of my favorite blogs when I saw a picture at Valentina’s Blog (trembom.blogspot.com) of Stuffed Eggplant. Oh my, I love eggplant and just looking at that picture made me crave that dish too.
So, over the weekend we had to have some eggplant! I actually did not use a recipe, and when I came here to write my post I went to check back at Valentina’s, just to see how she made hers, and it was quite the same way I did!
I like to boil the eggplant shell before stuffing, just so that you get tender eggplant on both the filling and the shells. That also cuts up in the baking time, and if I have the filling and eggplant warm, a quick run through the broiler is enough to get a nice crunchy and cheesy top!
Valentina’s recipe is actually in Portuguese, so I am posting here a recipe in English that I have made before and liked a lot!
The eggplant in the picture above was stuffed with sautéed onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, the eggplant pulp, ground beef, and seasonings. But if you prefer a vegetarian dish you can omit the meat, or even substitute it with those soy crumbles, it is going to be yummy anyway you do! It is a very simple recipe that you can easily adapt to suit your taste.
The Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant does not contain meat and the flavors are more pronounced due to the ingredients (especialy the fetta cheese). It is very tasty and we all liked it a lot when I made it at home. (When I made mine, the only thing I did different was to boil the eggplant on the stove, instead of the microwave method)
I hope one of the variations may appeal to your tastes! I love eggplant made this way, and you know what… just writing about it is making me crave it again!
Today we have lots to do and places to go, so we will probably end up eating out, but I have some plans for lunch tomorrow, let’s wait and see what comes next!
But before you go, check out my new blender, isn’t it pretty?! (My old one stopped functioning last week, after seven years of everyday use; I was sad in a way, but also quite happy to get a new toy!)

Ana

Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant
2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup water
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-ounce) slices French bread
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Carefully remove pulp from each eggplant, reserving shells. Coarsely chop pulp to measure 6 cups. Place eggplant shells, cut sides down, in a 10-inch square baking dish. Add water to dish. Cover and microwave at high 5 minutes or until shells are tender. Keep warm.
Preheat broiler.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggplant pulp; saute 7 minutes. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in tomato, wine, and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add feta, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. Spoon 3/4 cup eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell.
Place the bread slices in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and Parmesan, stirring well. Sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumb mixture over each stuffed shell. Arrange shells on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed eggplant half)
Cooking Light, June 2003

Yummy Fish!!

Although I haven’t been making new recipes lately, I should still come here and post more often. I really enjoy reading the other food blogs, learning new recipes and techniques and seeing their pictures, it is so much fun!
I took a few pictures last week but never got the time to sit down and post it. But I am back now!
Today I made a pretty nice meal for our lunch. I baked some Fish en Papillote, not a real recipe, and it turned out delicious!!
I seasoned two tilapia fillets with salt, pepper and olive oil. Put on top of a big piece of parchment paper, added some sliced tomatoes, onions, a few parsley sprigs (I love basil on this, but did not have any fresh today), seasoned with a little more salt, a sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder. Added about ¼ cup chicken broth to the packet (I like to use white wine here, but did not want to open a big bottle for this little amount), closed the parchment, and popped into the oven (425) for 20 minutes.
It could not have been any simpler and the flavors were just so good! I served with Balsamic Roasted Asparagus, which was extremely delicious and also super easy to make! The asparagus and the fish cooked at the same time (the asparagus went in the oven after the fish had been cooking for 10 minutes), and we had a tasty lunch, all rounded up with brown rice and some leftover beans (rice & beans, Brazilian style!).
Not only easy and tasty, but also very healthy! I should get into the habit of cooking fish more often!
Come back later, as I will post some pictures and recipes from what I cooked last week!

Ana

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus
1 pound asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425°.
Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Place in a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar; sprinkle with salt, garlic, and pepper, tossing to coat. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, turning once.
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Light, January 2006

A quick post to share another heart!

I simply love anything creamy, especially desserts! Among my favorites are custards, ice cream, and puddings, and last year I discovered one that really goes into these categories, panna cotta! As soon as I had my first one of this creamy and delicious custard I immediately fell in love with it and am always looking for new sauces and recipes to try!
They are rich when made with cream, and tangy when using buttermilk. But today’s recipe was by far one of the best ones I had, made with a combination of heavy cream and yogurt (I use plain whole milk) Yogurt Panna Cotta is now on top of my list!
Slightly sweet and deliciously creamy, this was by far one of the best desserts I have had! The perfect ending to a romantic Valentine’s Day meal!
I served ours with strawberry couli and assorted berries, but the possibilities for sauces here are endless…
Yummy! We just ate it and I could not wait to come here and share!

Ana

Yogurt Panna Cotta
¼ cup water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 ¼ cups cream
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract

Bloom gelatin in water. Warm cream and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add gelatin and stir to dissolve. Whisk in yogurt and extract. Pour mixture into 6 ramequins (4 oz) and chill.
Note: I copied this recipe a while ago but did not write down from where, so I am sorry for not crediting the proper source.

"Hearty" Bread that I served for our cheese fondue! (It was so pretty I did not even wanted to cut into it...!)

Isn't my Husband nice?! Look what I got for Valentine's Day! Oh... I am so happy!!

Catching up on the Memes….

So, here I am back to answer the Vegetables Meme that Karen from “Kafka na Praia” tagged me! I love vegetables, so this is going to be fun!

1. Do you like vegetables?
I love it!

2. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
I them all, but I like squash a lot! (especially butternut)

3. Is there any vegetable that you think (or know) most people don’t like, but that you find great?
Chayote squash. I also love eggplant, but not everybody is crazy about it as I am.

Why?
Most people find chayote to be somewhat bland in its flavor, and not many people know it here in the US.

4. Is there any vegetable that you think (or know) most people find great, but that you don't love that much? Which experience you have with it?
More and more I have been finding recipes that includes Fennel, the bulb. I really do not like its flavor, in any variety; I guess the “anise” kind of flavor is not for me at all. Also, I don’t like celery, and most people love it.

5. Which kinds of vegetable are unusual to you?
Rhubarb is something I have not eaten many times or even cooked with it.

6. Name a couple of vegetables that you cook or eat.
Oh my… I eat lots of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, tomatoes, squash (winter and summer ones), bell peppers, eggplant, pumpkin, asparagus, potatoes, and more… I like them all!

7. Which vegetables do you want to know better and bring into you kitchen more frequently?
I would like to experiment more with the variety of roots available!

8. Some thoughts about vegetables.
I certainly could not live without vegetables! They bring so many flavors to our meals, plus they are packed with vitamins, healthy and good for you!

9. Name a great cookbook on vegetables.
A vegetarian book that I find great (and probably the next one I going to buy) is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Debora Madison. This book is full of good recipes!

And now, I tag Joe from Culinary in the Desert, you are it!

Tagged again!

So, I have been tagged for 2 memes this past month and, shame on me, had not yet replied. So, here am I to answer the first one, and later I will come back with the next.
The first one I was tagged for the Sevens Meme by Erika from Tummy Treasure!
So, here it goes:

The Sevens Meme:

Seven Culinary Things to do Before I Die
1. Take cooking classes
2. Eat Gelatto in Italy
3. Try a few fruits I have never eaten (love fruits!!)
4. Learn to make good Whole Wheat Bread
5. Go on a cooking tour around Europe
6. Open my food business (a Cafe!)
7. Eat lots of good chocolate!

Seven Things I Can't do in The Kitchen
1. Clean it enough
2. Cook without spilling...
3. Cook without trying the seasoning
4. Get a full batch of cookies without burning some...
5. Use the amount of sugar called in recipes (I always find things too sweet)
6. Frying food... argh!
7. Cooking with fennel... yucky

Seven Things That Attract Me to Food Blogging
1. It is fun!
2. I made new friends and reconnected with old ones!
3. Keeps me interested in trying new recipes
4. New notions about designing a home page
5. I can show my family in Brazil my cooking!
6. Sharing my passion with family and friends
7. There are tons of cool food blogs that I like to visit!

Seven Thing I Say Most Often While Cooking
1. Oops!
2. Ouch, it is hot!
3. Wait just a second Matheus...
4. Hummm, this is good!
5. Fran, come try this... So, what do you think?!
6. Yummy!
7. Oh no...

Seven Cookbooks I Love
1. The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
2. Cooking Light Annuals
3. Dona Benta (Brazilian Cookbook)
4. Mosewood Lowfat Favorites
5. Fresh Every Day
6. The Foster's Market Cookbook
7. 1000 Lowfat Recipes

Seven Food Shows I Can Watch Over and Over Again
1. Good Eats
2. Barefoot Contessa
3. Food 911
4. Mexico with Ricky Bayless
5. Jamie Oliver's shows
6. Nigela Lawson (unfortunately I can't see them at my house....)
7. Some specials about chocolate, etc...

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

What could be more appropriate to celebrate Valentine’s Day than chocolate, right? It does scream romance to me, and certainly makes us feel very happy!
Today I made one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes; Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake is a delicious and chocolaty cake that is simple and rich at the same time, satisfying any chocolate craving without being too heavy or extremely sweet.
Another plus is that this recipe makes a small cake, so we can always indulge without having to deal with the same dessert for several days.
The cake is nice, soft, and sort of fudgy in the middle, which is always a good thing, as it keeps the cake moist on the day after it is baked too!
Very easy to make and incredibly delicious!! I love to bake cakes, and I don’t know why, but I don’t have the best luck with chocolate cake (have tried many recipes already), so when the craving hits I usually stick to this recipe, and always end up very happy with my treat!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Ana

Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cups granulated sugar (I use 1 cup)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla; beat well. Add granulated sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat at medium-high speed 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield: 9 servings
Cooking Light, March 2003

Quinoa

I could not wait to come here and post today’s recipe after we had lunch today. Creamy Quinoa Primavera was simply delicious! Seriously, it was one of the best dishes I had lately! So yummy, creamy and full of flavors!
Since I discovered quinoa last year I have been collecting (and trying) a few recipe here and there, and each time I eat quinoa I like it even more! It is a very nutritious grain, full of protein and some fiber as well. It has a yummy nutty flavor, which I really like.
Today’s dish was by far the best quinoa recipe I have had, a great combination of flavors between the quinoa and the veggies; it was creamy and cheesy (“risotto-like”), really, really good! Plus, Matheus loved it too and we polished off the half recipe I made!
I got this recipe from the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards; “Valchemist” posted it. Thanks Val!
If you like quinoa then give this recipe a try! I loved it and will definitely be making it again, and again…

Ana

Creamy Quinoa Primavera
1 1/2 c quinoa -- uncooked
3 c chicken broth
2 ozs reduced-fat cream cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil -- or 1 tsp dried
2 tsps butter
2 garlic cloves -- finely chopped
5 c thinly-sliced or bite sized pieces of
assorted veggies -- such as asparagus, broccoli, carrots, zucchini
2 tbsps grated romano cheese

Rinse Quinoa thoroughly and drain. Heat quinoa and broth to boiling in 2-quart saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until the broth is absorbed. Stir in cream cheese and basil. Melt butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic about 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in vegetables. Cook about 2 minutes, sitirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Toss vegetables and quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 6 servings
Source: "Betty Crocker's Healthy Home Cooking"

Cupcake

I began planning Matheus’ birthday party (turning 4 on March 25!!) this past week, and since we started talking about cakes and other yummy goodies Matheus has been asking me to make cupcakes. Maybe it is because they are small and cute; but there is something about cupcakes that makes children (of all ages!) like them a lot! Matheus is not different and loves cupcakes, especially the ones frosted and with colored sprinkles on top.
The other day he did not want to eat much due to his cold, and the only thing he wanted was cupcake, so cupcake it was! (Yes, he did have a cupcake and some milk for diner… not healthy I know, but I was glad at least he ate something!)
I decided to try a new recipe, and it ended up being a great one. The recipe came from one of the first cookbooks I bought, which is (believe it or not) a low fat cookbook.
Ok, I know, cupcakes are not actually meant to be low fat, but these ones were, and they were delicious! Nice and soft cupcakes, not too sweet (I cut back a little on the sugar), and firm enough to be frosted. We loved them at home and they will definitely be my standard cupcake recipe from now on!
As for the frosting on our cupcakes, I actually used drained vanilla yogurt. I always do this and for me it is way better than any frosting (not a fan of frostings and icings here). The yogurt was firm and creamy, it iced the cupcake nicely and even hold up nicely the “kissables” (Hershey’s version of m&m) we used to decorate.
I really liked this recipe, Matheus was happy with his cupcake, and even ended up eating some healthy yogurt with it! Not bad, huh?!!

Ana

Cupcakes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I used ¾ cup)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cups all-purposed flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper cups.
Beat butter and sugar. Add oil, flour, salt, egg, egg white, and vanilla, and mix well
Stir baking powder, baking soda, and yogurt into the batter.
Pour batter into muffin cup, filling half-way. Bake 20 minutes, or until tops are golden.
Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe Adapted from “1000 Low fat Recipes” by Terry Blonder Golson

Some cooking this week…

Although I had planned a little more cooking this week, it still turned out to be ok. Matheus got a cold (which unfortunately turned into a beginning of pneumonia), so he hasn’t been feeling too well lately, which means he needs more attention from mommy and is not all that interested in eating… Oh well, I just hope next week will be smoother (so much for doctor’s appointments) and that he will get better, up and running again soon.
Here are some pictures I took during the week from my cooking, which I actually meant to post a couple days ago. I made a stuffed acorn squash that turned out very tasty! I have seen many recipes for this but all the ones I looked when I wanted to make I did not have one or two ingredients, so I ended up sort of making my own creation. I sautéed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added a chopped tomato, cooked and shredded chicken, cooked brown rice and seasonings, made a sort of a risotto thing and stuffed it into the acorn squash (which has been previously halved, cleaned, and cooked in the microwave for about 10 minutes). For an extra taste I added shredded mozzarella and gratted Parmesan to the top and put it in the broiler for a couple of minutes. Not difficult to make, but very tasty nonetheless. Fruit salad for dessert ended up a light and tasty lunch!
I also tried a recipe for whole grain bread with pumpkin seeds. It turned out nice, with a very good texture (not too dense for a whole wheat bread), however the flavors here could be improved. None of us actually liked the bread at our home...
I love those breads that have lots of small seeds inside (flax, sunflower kernels, and those tiny little yellowish balls that I have no idea what they are), and would love to be able to make nice whole grain bread at home. So I decided to start experimenting with whole wheat/grain breads but am still looking to finding best recipe. Would you have any suggestions?!?!?! Recipes are definitely welcome!
Well, this is it for now, but I will come back later to post a recipe for cupcake that I also made this week and came out surprisingly good!
See you all soon!

Ana

I love fruit salad! It is sooo good!









Whole wheat sunflower oat bread... looks good, but needs improvements!

Granola!

I looove granola, especially with yogurt and fruits for breakfast, yum!! As I have said here before, I love oatmeal in any form, so Granola is just the perfect crunchy snack for me!
However, most commercial granolas not only have lots of stuff in it but also are overly sweet for my taste. So, I usually make my own granola at home. It is a very simple thing to make; the only catch is to pay attention to the oven because the oats can scorch very easily.
I sort of developed my own recipe for granola based on my likings and a few recipes I have seen, but since I saw this recipe last year I really wanted to try it. I like all sorts of apple-flavored things; besides, Joe from the “Culinary in the Desert” gave good reviews on this one too!
Apple-Cinnamon Granola is a lot like the granola I make, so I was quite positive I was going to like this one. And I sure did!
The ingredients are easy and with all the good stuff it could not come out wrong. But be prepared, because it is very addicting; I made half batch Tuesday night, and believe it or not it is all gone, and shame on me… I was the only one eating it! (The husband is not a big fan of cereals in general) Oh well, at least it is supposed to be healthy, right?
Oats are delicious and so good for you! Yum! I am definitely going to make this one again!
Enjoy!

Ana

Apple-cinnamon Granola
3 cups regular oats
1 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal (such as Cheerios)
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped dried apple

Preheat oven to 250°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup applesauce, honey, and brown sugar to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in an even layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Stir in chopped apple.
Note: Store granola in an airtight container up to one week.
Yield: 6 cups
Cooking Light November 2005