It's Monday, You Need This.

If you're like me today, then you need a pick-me-up on this dreary Monday morning.

Happy Monday, my friends.

Those Damn Colorado Hippies and Their Granola

I've been on the hunt for some "good" snacks lately to take with me to school and work but I've found I either spend way too much money or everything's way over processed. Now- don't get the wrong idea, I like my Hamburger Helper, Easy Mac, and Doritos (Salsa Verde flavor or not at all) just as much as the next person, but on occasion you just need some clean, delicious food.

So I channeled my inner stereotypical-Colorado-hippie and made some granola. It's delicious and super hard to mess it up.

Here's what I put in mine:
Regular rolled oats
Organic raw pumpkin seeds (cause it's fall, duh)
Organic brown flax seed
Toasted sunflower seeds
Organic dried cranberries
Slivered almonds
Organic honey
Vanilla
Coconut oil
pinch of salt

spread onto a sheet pan and bake at 350 until golden (about 15 min)



Yield: about 5 cups.

You'll notice I didn't include any amounts, that's because it's 100% up to you, depending how much you like one ingredient over another. You'll find I'm pretty big on that, I avoid rigid recipes whenever possible. However, for the honey, vanilla, and coconut oil, I'd use about a teaspoon of vanilla per 1/4 cup of honey. How much honey you use depends on how clustery (okay I worked at 5 am today, that's the best I can do) you want the granola to turn out. The more honey you add, the more it will stick together. And I wouldn't go over an ounce of coconut oil, you want the benefits but no one likes greasy granola.

These are all ingredients that I just personally like- the possibilities for your granola are completely up to you- put cookie pieces in it for all I care. If you want to stay along the same lines as mine, pick some of your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruit or just whatever's on special. But you can add just about anything. Just think about it first- if you want to add something that has a tendency to melt, like chocolate, add it after you bake it and it's cool.

As far as the flavorings, I like honey because it adds the sweetness I'm looking for and I like the distinct honey flavor but you can use maple syrup or anything else of that consistency. I used vanilla extract because, once again, it's what I prefer. You can use anything you want, if it's an extract and you like its flavor, you can't go wrong.

Voila!

Let's Talk About That

So since starting my blog, taking a 9 month (unintentional) hiatus, and starting back up, we've covered a lot of different topics in very few posts. I have every intention of keeping that theme going because let's face it- life's random, I'm random, and this blog is a reflection of that. I've introduced myself, had some brief and fleeting moments of clarity, told you about my job, and made fun of a total stranger.

I'm going to keep my random posts coming with my seemingly profound observations, some recipes and cooking adventures are already in the works, and maybe even more commentary (Hopefully more positive... but where's the fun in that?).

My last post was my most popular by a long shot, and what I enjoyed most about it was the couple comments I received! I love your feedback and you guys are hilarious and also made awesome points that I totally glazed over.

I want to open the floor to you, my delightful readers. Send me an article you found dumb or cool or interesting and let's talk about it. If you have food questions I'd LOVE to answer and discuss them with you. Or even (nay, especially) your random thoughts and observations (as long as your willing to laugh at yourself). Basically, I'm asking for ideas. What do YOU want to read about? Granted- I'm still going to write whatever the hell I want to write about. That's why this blog exists remember? But you guys are pretty cool, so let's chat. Either email me or post a comment and we'll get started.

Put on your thinking caps!

P.S planning on spending a little time in the kitchen today so come back around snack time.

When in Doubt, Blame Nebraska (A Blogger's Response to a Student Publication Writer)

I am not a big fan of openly bashing someone else's work and plan on never doing this again but I simply can't help myself. I fully understand the arrogance I'm going to be funneling into this post because I have no authority to judge her. We're all entitled to our own opinions but it's generally important to actually have a leg to stand on. Recently a UNL student posted an opinion article about her utter disdain for UNL and Nebraska itself. And while I am no advocate for Nebraska and may agree with some of the general ideas, I can't help but disagree with the overall message of the article. Before I go any further, here is the article. Read through it and we'll discuss when you get back.... GO.

http://m.dailynebraskan.com/mobile/opinion/article_ca206a7a-2724-11e3-956c-0019bb30f31a.html

To recap, she hates Nebraska and UNL and would like to form a support group for students who didn't expect, don't understand, or can't handle Nebraska's crazy ways.

Lets start with just how purely misguided this poor girl is. Midwesterners, among ALL other regions, do have certain "norms" that they don't believe should be questioned- it's called culture. It sounds like she feels the same about her culture in Illinois. The fact that Illinois and Nebraska are in the same time zone is completely irrelevant. New York and Georgia are also in the same time zone... states with very different cultures. You'll be hard pressed to find a New Yorker running around Savannah expecting to find a hoagie because they're in the same time zone. Time zones are not to be confused with space time continuums or portals to other dimensions.

Also, I'm fairly certain that it is not Nebraska's fault that she didn't put more research into the major she chose. It's also fairly common knowledge that there are different cows used for meat and for milk- especially to people who study or plan to study animals. This leads me to believe the only thing she knew about her area of study was that she thinks that tigers and dolphins are cute. Which they are.

There are several paragraphs dedicated to how terrible and weird Nebraska is. And to restate, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I lived in Nebraska for 7 years and if it wasn't for the great people I encountered, I wouldn't have enjoyed it in the slightest. Nebraska certainly is no utopian society and whoever gave her this idea has obviously never spent time there either.

The true reason I have a hard time stomaching this article is the idea to have programs to support out-of-state students in trying to understand the culture they signed up for. I am an out-of-state student and I didn't have anyone to hold my hand and tell me "Now, Coloradans smoke weed and business attire includes jeans, do you think you can handle that?" I figured it out and adapted. That's what life is about- adapting. I firmly believe that once you lose the ability to adapt, you lose the ability to survive.

I understand the difficulty of not being able to have a face-to-face conversation with your parents about "what to do" but I've managed to get advice from my parents through several forms of technology and have successfully avoided my life going to shambles. I didn't need to see their facial expression when I said I wanted to declare a Beverage Management concentration (and yes I did already know that there are different types of grapes for eating and making wine). We live in a very connected world.

My school doesn't have any programs or support groups like this and I have yet to see anyone rocking back and forth in a corner asking "where am I?" They don't have a program to help you find rides home. It's called being friendly or proactive. This is college- it's your responsibility to get to where you need to be.

Being an out-of-state student is no special case. If you really feel like you are not equipped to handle the state and the culture that you signed up to immerse yourself in, that's certainly not the university's fault. It's not uncommon and it sounds like you should've stayed close to home.

The intention of this post is not to be cruel or lament about someone's personal views on a given culture. I've had some fun at this student's expense but I truly am sorry her college experience has not turned out the way she planned. I'm just asking that instead of posting an article (on the forum of a school you claim to hate), next time do your research, and be a little more introspective, know your limitations, and make an informed decision. There's absolutely no shame in realizing Illinois, or where ever, is better suited for you. But don't blame Nebraska for it.

And Runza is delicious so shut up.

~Remember: N is for knowledge!