Homemade Granola Bars 2 Ways

There have been several updates to Experiments in Self Sufficiency that didn't make it onto the blog, and were instead posted directly to Facebook. Now that technological restrictions have been overcome, I'm working to update them here.  One of these is our experiments with making our own granola bars.

This was a fun project, and a great learning experience!  Granola Bars are one thing I have intended to learn how to make for years.  We like them, however, due to cost they are one thing that we regularly forgo.  The idea of learning to make them ourselves is an appealing one, but it seemed a little complicated.  Eventually though, we collected enough oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit that we decided it was time to stop planning on it and just do it.  I found a recipe on Pinterest, and as usual quadrupled it; in order for them to last more than 5 minutes in our house.  The recipe was a good starting point.

They were good, but soon I started getting ideas on how to make them even better.  After making them a couple of times now here are the recipes that I've come up with.  There may be alterations as I continue to play with the recipe.  I will update changes as they come along.

Pictured here is an earlier rendition, where I mixed the chocolate into the bars, it was very messy.  Creating a chocolate layer on top is much less messy, and more effective.


Peanut butter chocolate granola bars:
Quantity: fills 1 large baking tray

5 cups toasted oats
1 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup chopped roasted chopped almonds (optional)
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter

Toast oats, and nuts if needed, in a 350* oven for 10-15 minutes. Mix oats, nuts and seeds in a large bowl.

In a saucepan on the stovetop combine honey and sugar. Bring just to a boil, then add peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture over oats and nuts and mix. Once combined spread onto foil lined baking tray.  To flatten bars cover pan with another layer of foil, and press with a rolling pin until uniform size and shape. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, and let melt. When it begins to set remove from tray, with the aid of the foil, and cut it into bars; waiting until it's fully cooled will make bars difficult to cut. 
Enjoy!

Fruit and nut granola bars:

(I cut this recipe in half from what I made)

Quantity: fills 1 large baking tray

5 cups toasted oats
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup toasted pecans (Optional)
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts
1/4-1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup crasins chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries chopped
1/2-1 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup honey
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Coarsely chop nuts and dried fruit.  Toast oats and raw nuts on a baking tray at 350* for 10-15 minutes. Mix oats, nuts, and fruit together.

Combine coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and watching to make sure it doesn't boil over.

Once combined pour over oat, nut fruit mixture and combine. Once fully coated, pour into foil lined tray.  To flatten bars, cover pan with another layer of foil, and press with a rolling pin until uniform size and shape.  Let set until cooled, and cut into desired size.
Enjoy! 

Pico De Gallo and Black Beans and Rice Recipes

Pictured: Black Beans with Shreaded Pork on rice, smothered with Pico De Gallo, Purple Salsa Verde, and sour cream

I Love This Season!  Fresh tomatoes ripe for the picking, peppers coming on strong, and all just outside the door.  One of my favorite things to make in the summer is Pico De Gallo, or fresh salsa.  It is wonderful for snacking on chips, as well as a garnish on many Mexican style dishes. 

Here is one of my favorite meals that I like to make with it, black beans and rice.  I've seen this dish done in many ways.  I put my own spin on it, using what I have readily available.  So today I'm going to share both these recipes with you, since they work so wonderfully together.

Disclaimer, these aren't the most exact recipes, I tend to play with them depending on what ingredients I have on hand; each growing season is different after all.  I may decide to update the recipes over time.  For now have some fun with them, and make them your own.

Pico De Gallo

1-2 Bell Peppers
2-3 Jalapeños
2-3 Banana Peppers
3/4 of a small Purple Onion
8-10 Tomatoes
1 Bunch Cilantro
Minced Garlic to taste
Lime Juice to taste
Salt to taste
Cumin to taste

Finely dice peppers and onion (using food gloves when dicing the hot Jalapenos as the oil stays on your hands and burns), and mix them together in a large bowl.  For mild salsa remove hot pepper seeds.  Dice the tomatoes, and add to the mixture.  Chop cilantro, add garlic, and mix it in.  Season to taste with salt, cumin, and lime juice.  This is an easy recipe to alter to your personal tastes, as well as what you have on hand.

Black Beans and Rice

4 Cups Dry black Beans, soak overnight
3-4 lb Pork Roast
3-4 Jalapenos
3-4 Banana Peppers
1 Medium Onion
6 Cloves Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Juice from Pico De Gallo
Cooked Rice of your choice

This recipe works best in a crockpot.  Rinse soaked beans, and set aside.  Place Pork roast in pot with onions, peppers, and garlic for flavor.  Do not add salt at this time, the beans react poorly to salt when cooking.  Place beans around the outer edges of the pork roast, and Pour in liquid from pre-made Pico De Gallo; this will add flavor to the beans. Top off with water, close lid and cook on high for 6-8 hours, Until the beans are soft. (Sorry I don't have a more specific timeframe...)  Remove Pork, and shred, then mix it back into the beans. Add salt to taste.  Serve with rice.

                         Pictured in and Instant Pot, I'm still trying to get the hang of this machine...

Salsa Verde (Green)? More Like Salsa Morada (Purple)

Last year we were given some beautiful Tomatillos from our neighbors at Green Goddess Suburban Farmstead. We quickly learned the joys of making our very own Salsa Verde.  It was a fun experiment, which we resolved that we must repeat this year by planting our own tomatillos.  We really wanted to add some to our food storage shelves. 

We were able to procure a couple of plants from Teresa, at Green Goddess, and waited patiently for them to grow and produce fruit.  After we came back from our family vacation, we finally had some fruit coming on.  The tomatillos were deep purple, and excitement for salsa verde got the better of us.

As we prepared the salsa, it became quite evident that the finished product was not going to be green, but purple.  In color it felt more like preparing a berry chutney, something that would be fun to do someday.  For fun I learned the word for purple in Spanish, so I was using a more accurate name, I have dubbed it Salsa Morada.

We found a Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde recipe on Pinterest, the same one we used last year, and tweaked it to the ingredients we have on hand.  We didn't grow Anaheim chilies this year, and so we substituted extra jalapeños and some banana peppers which we have in abundance.  The peppers were unseeded, which added to the heat, so we altered the seasonings accordingly.  I believe, by the end, we ended up with a recipe something like this.  It was a little on the spicy side.

We really enjoyed this one, and hope you do too!

Salsa Verde

Yield 18 1/2 pints or 9 pints

8lbs Tomatillos
4 Medium Onions wedged
6 Whole Banana Peppers, topped
12 Whole Jalapeños, topped
3-4 Tablespoons Minced Garlic or several Garlic Cloves (we didn't have any cloves, so we improvised)
1 Bunch Cilantro Leaves
4 teaspoons Dried Oregano
1 Cup Lime Juice
8 Scant Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
4 Heaping Teaspoons Ground Cumin
3 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
3 Teaspoons Salt

Roast the Tomitillos, onion wedges, peppers, and garlic cloves if you have them 😉 on foil lined baking sheets in a 500* oven, 475* if convection.  Bake until tops start to char a little, and vegetables soften, about 15-20 minutes or so.  Let cool, then in batches pure' in a blender or food processer with other ingredients.  Add to large bowl and combine everything.  This is a good time to test flavor and make additions or tweaks.  Salsa can be stored in the fridge, as well as canned in a water bath for shelf storage.

Water Bath Processing time 15 minutes

To can salsa bring to a boil in a stockpot, and boil for 15 minutes.  (I kind of forgot this step, so I processed it a bit longer...)  Ladle into prepared jars, wipe rims clean and top with heated lids and rings.  Process submerged at least 1" over the top of the jars at a full rolling boil for 15 minutes.  Remove jars from water and place on a towel on the countertop.  Jars will seal themselves.  Once fully cooled, check seal on center of lids before storage.

Our Tomatillos

After Roasting

                                                                     First Half Puree'

                                                                     Loaded into Jars

                                                     After Processing, The Color Changed

Once Cooled, the Color Came Back, Only Lighter

Harry Potter Wands

I've been working on a fun project today.  I've been given an opportunity to have a Harry Potter themed party in the next few weeks, and decided that I wanted to send the guests home with something fun for the occasion.  After scrolling through Pinterest I found several examples of how to make Harry Potter wands.

I collected supplies at Dollar Tree and Walmart.  Today I finally found time to sit down and get to work.  These are really simple, and inexpensive to make; they do take time though.

The concept is to Create fun shapes on the dowel with hot glue, and then to paint it.  I also chose to add embellishments to mine to give them more visual appeal.  At first I tried gluing the texture onto the dowels.  It was effective, but the paint didn't go on as smoothly.  I then tried painting the dowels, and then applying the glue after the paint had dried.  This method worked much more effectively, especially once I started to use the circular sponge brush (pictured above) to apply paint to the glue.  Though not pictured, there were many different shades of acrylic paint that went into this project.

The finished wands varied in style, some simple, others ornate.  My kids also got in on the action, some making their own, others had mom's help.  There was really no need for a specific pattern to base the wands off of; it was all just randomly putting the pieces together.  I really loved how some of them turned out.  I still have more to put together, but after a full day of painting and gluing, I'll have to get them later.  They all look so magical!

***It's been a while since I've been able to post on the blog page.  I have been relying on my phone, and the blogger app was not doing its job...  If you have missed out on the posts that have been put up in the meantime, there are many on our Facebook page.  I will be working to archive them here over the next few weeks.

Tomatoes and Salsa

The growing season is nearing it's end. We have had a great year, filled with learning experiences. We have made plans for the future on how to expand our growing space. We have had successes and failures, and look forward to the rest that winter will bring as we prepare for next spring. 

Rather than try to write a long post detailing all our crops, we are going to focus a post on each individual type. This way we can give a more detailed picture of our experiences. 

Today we would like to review one of our favorite crops, Tomatoes. 

We learned a lot about tomatoes this growing season, despite having grown them many times in years past. This is the first year that we have been able to successfully start our plants from seedlings. We also learned the substantial benefits of investing in a grow light. 

As we transferred our plants outside We discovered that it is possible for plants to come back from a late freeze, though this was quite a setback for our growing season. We also used a different method of support for our plants, a wooden frame with cecil twine strung down to hold the plants. 

We learned pruning techniques, and a lot about tomato horn worms and the moths they become. After finding several on our plants we brought some in and placed them in an old bee cage to observe their life cycle. We will document this in a later post. 

When it came time to start preserving our tomatoes we were concerned that our plants had not produced as many as we had planned. A local farmer, and family friend, helped us there. We were able to purchase several batches of tomatoes from Clyde Acres Farm. 

We skinned, diced, and froze them as we waited until we were ready to make salsa. It was a lot of work, but we enjoyed working together on this project. After prepareing about 5 gallons we decided to do the rest as simply jars of diced tomatoes. We put up two batches of diced tomatoes, and ended up with 25 quarts. 

After processing the diced tomatoes we finally were ready to make salsa. We were lucky enough to have family visiting, due to the birth of our 6th child, and they provided a great amount of help to us. We chopped onions and peppers, mixed in all the spices, cilantro and garlic, and ended up with two very large stockpots full of salsa. The salsa came out very well, and filled 47 pint jars.  We will post the salsa recipe separately. With all the tomatoes and salsa we have processed, we are hoping that they will last us until next year. 

Our Growing Family

As our garden has been growing, so has our family.  It has been a long summer, filled with family, gardening, and fun. We've kept busy documenting through photographs, even if the blogging has been slow. We are looking forward to sharing all of this with you as things slow down. 

We have a few things we have been working on over the last few weeks that we are excited to share. One is the tomatoes we have been preparing for salsa, but that is for another post. The project that we'd like to share now has everything to do with the birth of our new son four weeks ago. 

We are all very excited to welcome this sweet little guy to our family!  He is baby number six. With every child that has graced our home we have had a tradition. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As part of our religious faith we have a ceremony to officially give each child a name and a blessing, it is like a christening without the baptism. Baptism is performed later, once the child reaches  the age of accountability, and can choose for themselves whether or not they want to make the commitment. 

Anyway, as part of this process we have provided individual homemade blessing clothing for each of our children. Some have been made by babies grandmothers, and others have been sewed by mom.  Each of the outfits are slightly different, and all are made with lots of love. 

This time I used a new pattern. It required several alterations, as it was very feminine. Here are some pictures of the pattern and the end product. 

Pattern:

End product:

Of the alterations made some are quite obvious, the addition of the vest and bow tie for instance. Some of the other alterations were not quite as noticeable. The removal of the pleats from the bodice front, and the conversion of the sleeve from a short puff sleeve to a long sleeve were the other major alterations from the pattern. 

To accomplish these changes, and avoid damaging the original pattern, I traced the pattern pieces onto tissue paper.  The sleeve required removing a few inches of width and some height from the original pattern piece. 

Tracing the pattern also gave me the opportunity to make it a specific size without having to cut around the extra sizing lines. 

When I finally got to the cutting and sewing I was blessed to have my lovely mother in law here to help and motivate me. She designed the vest. 

Much of the actual sewing goes to her credit, as baby frequently needed my attention and we were in a time crunch. 

It was finally finished at about 2am, as I sewed on the last of the buttons and snaps. Here is how our precious little one looks in the outfit. 

I really enjoy sewing, though I rarely give myself the time to do it. I love being able to provide tangible memories for my children that they will be able to take with them when they leave home and start their own families. 

Tomato Trellis

Our garden is growing!  We are excited to have harvested our first zucchini of the season this morning!  The kale is doing fantastic, we have had several harvests from our plants so far, and are ready for another.  Last week we were even able to get a little sweet corn, and learned why it is best to start these plants outside; the growth is stunted and only a few of the kernels formed on the plant. 

We are also excited that our first signs of tomatoes are showing up on the vines!  We have already decided on a few improvements we would like to make for our garden next year. Today, however, we want to share with you our tomato trellis. Henry spent a good portion of Tuesday constructing the framework. 

Through our research, as we are continually trying to increase our tomato production, we learned a few things about how tomato plants grow. 

First and foremost that many tomato plants can grow up to 10 feet or taller when cultivated properly.  These plants are called indeterminates, as there isn't a specific hight measurement of the full grown plant. They will continue to grow and bear fruit as long as they have space and support, or at least until a frost comes at the end of the season. This explains the height of the framework. The ropes that extend from the top are fastened to pvc pipes at the bottom near the plants roots. The plant is wrapped around the rope as its support system, this replaces the tomato cage.  The rope looped at the top is to provide slack when needed. 

As the plant grows it produces what are called suckers between each fork of the branches. These suckers are actually secondary plants forming on the original stem, and take much of the nutrients from fruit production. These can easily be removed to promote better growth in the original plants. In place of some of the plants we lost we are also cultivating some of the suckers that we pulled from the main stems to get root systems. We will then plant them in the openings with the rest. 

We love tomatoes, and have yet to be able to produce as many as we eat throughout the year.  We are hoping this year we will get a little closer to this goal. 

To add to the garden update, here are a few pictures of our back garden to show how much it has grown over the last few weeks. The weather has been great, and the plants are loving it!

Note: This is glass corn, a decorative hybrid that we planted in the backyard, the sweet corn is in the front. 

Our only surviving cucumber plant, we since trained it up onto the trellace, and sweet peas are growing along the other side. 

The green beans are growing along the back of the glass corn. 

We still have a little space to fill, and will be putting some more plants out in the next few weeks for a late start. We will get more pictures from the front next time.