Hey there peeps!

So, I'm sure you have all been aware of hurricane Isaac battering the shores of the various gulf coasts. Well, suffice it to say that the hubby and I had to make some emergency preparations in case of power, water, and general utility outages. We stocked up on water and packed the important papers and sentimental junk in water tight boxes. But what I didn't realize is when you have committed yourself to a way of eating that does not include any canned food, boxed food, or packaged food that lasts on the shelf for months on end (you know the stuff I'm talking about!), it is incredibly tricky to figure out what to make that won't go bad for at least a few days.

In the end, I bought some packaged trail mixes without preservatives, beef jerky, made nut bars and a ton of granola!

I was recently inspired by a recipe called "skillet granola" (http://amoderngal.com/2012/08/14/skillet-coconut-granola/). Although I have made my own granola before, the method of cooking the grain was what caught my attention. The original recipe makes use of a cast iron pan on the stove top to toast the oats. It is much quicker than the oven cooked recipe I had been using; 10 minutes compared to at least an hour of cooking time! Basically what I did was to use my own granola recipe cooked by the cast iron skillet method.

The recipe is gluten-free and serves 2 people with leftovers...however, in light of preparing for the hurricane, I actually made the recipe about 3 times in a row and stored it in an airtight container!

Here it is:

Serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of gluten-free oats (such as Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 cup of your choice of roasted or raw nuts (if roasted, do not add to mixture until the end)
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp coconut oil/butter/olive oil
• 1/8 tsp of salt

Method:

1.  Preheat a medium size cast iron skillet over low-medium heat.
2. When the pan is hot, add the coconut oil, melt, and coat the pan.
3. Add the oats, salt, and the honey and mix with a spoon until everything is incorporated and coated with the coconut oil.
4. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Cook until the granola is a light shade of golden. I ended up removing it from the pan before I really thought it was done, but it crisped up beautifully once I allowed it to cool for a few minutes.
5. Serve with warm or cold raw milk, almond milk, or coconut milk, or eat like trail mix!

 Until next time...Enjoy!