Our Favorite Stay At Home Recipes

One fortunate result of staying home more during the Covid-19 virus is it is giving many people the time and inspiration to cook at home more.  Many people are finding or rediscovering their love for using fresh ingredients and preparing home-cooked meals.  Here are some of our favorite recipes our team has been making while staying home more these days.  Feel free to comment and share your favorite recipes, too!

Jenny's Granola

Ingredients: 

3 cups oats

3 cups mixture of walnuts & sunflower seeds

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup coconut oil

¾ teaspoon salt 

1 cup mix of dried cherries & raisins

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees. 

Combine oats, nuts, and brown sugar in large bowl.

Combine maple syrup, oil, and salt in separate bowl and combine with dry oat mixture.  Spread mixture onto two sheet pans and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring mixture every 20 minutes to achieve an even color. 

Transfer mixture to bowl and mix in dried fruit.  Serve and enjoy!

Adapted from a granola recipe by Alton Brown

Starter Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached flour

½ cup cool water

To feed your starter:

Just under 1 cup unbleached flour

½ cup cool or lukewarm water 

Directions:

Day 1: Combine the flour with the water in a large glass or stainless steel bowl, with room for your starter to grow.

Mix flour and water thoroughly.  Cover the bowl loosely and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2 - 7: Each day, discard half of the starter (approximately ½  cup) and add just under a cup of unbleached all purpose flour and ½ cup water to feed your starter.

Mix thoroughly and cover.  Let sit at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Repeat the discarding and feeding every 24  hours for day 4, 5, 6, and 7, or until your starter shows lots of bubbles and has a tangy aroma.  If your starter needs more time, repeat discarding and feeding every 24 hours until desired consistency.  

Feed the starter one last time by first discarding ½ cup and adding a scant cup of unbleached flour and ½ cup water.  Let rest another 6-8 hours at room temperature.  Your starter should have roughly doubled in size from the start and you should see bubbles breaking the surface of your starter.

Once the starter is ready, feed it one last time. First discard all but about ½ cup of the starter. Feed as usual with flour and water. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours; it should be active, with bubbles breaking the surface. You can now use your starter in a recipe to bake sourdough bread.  Store the remaining starter in a jar and feed as usual; let rest uncovered for several hours.  Cover and store in the refrigerator.  Feed your starter as usual about once a week. 

Adapted from a method published by King Arthur Flour

Raspberry Jam

Ingredients:

Equal parts of the following:

Raspberries

White granulated sugar

Splash of lemon juice

Instructions:

Mash berries with a fork until somewhat smooth.

In a large saucepan, bring raspberries and lemon juice to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Add in equal parts of sugar and return to boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil for 2 minutes until mixture is reduced.

Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator.  This is a great recipe if you have some slightly overripe fruit that you don’t want to let go to waste!

Lemony Risotto

Ingredients:

1 cup risotto rice

4 cups broth

1 lemon

Generous splash white wine

Knob of butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Sauteed mushrooms, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Zest and juice lemon. Set aside zest for later.

Heat broth to low simmer. Keep at that simmer throughout cooking.

In another pan, heat olive oil over medium heat until just shimmering, add rice and toast it lightly. Season with salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice and wine to rice, turn heat to medium-high and let cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Add broth 1 cup at a time to rice, continuing to cook over medium-high heat and stirring occasionally. Wait until liquid is nearly absorbed before adding more broth.

After about 20 minutes when the broth has been absorbed and the rice is plump, turn off heat and add butter and lemon zest. Stir to combine, then add Parmesan cheese and sauteed mushrooms to serve.