I don't consider myself fussy about food, but I have yet to meet a boxed granola I like. Boxed brands just don't tend to have the same flavor and lovely chunks as the homemade variety. I've been meaning to share my favorite recipe for easy and awesome homemade granola; it's simple to make and is a great project to work on with kids (Violet loved dumping and stirring in ingredients!). Make a double batch because it disappears quickly!

I adapted this recipe from Food to Live By's maple walnut granola since I wanted a different balance of dry ingredients (I'm especially not a fan of overly seedy granola). Also, this weekend I tossed in flax and coconut (not shown in pictures below) for a little added power boost. Scrumptious.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 1/12 cup slivered raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ground flax *optional
• 1/4 cup coconut *optional
• 1 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup dried cranberries

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

2. Mix oats, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, and cinnamon (and flax and coconut if you choose to include) in a bowl. Add maple syrup and oil and mix well.

3. Spread granola evenly on a jelly roll pan (I always use a Silpat mat to prevent sticking and for easier cleanup). Bake 25 minutes then stir. Continue to bake 15-20 minutes, stirring once, and watching carefully to make sure granola doesn't burn. Enjoy!

Image credits: Christine Koh

Happy weekend everyone, I hope you're enjoying some lovely down time today. I'm still coming out of my plague fog and trying to catch up on work and home things (and the dreaded taxes will be the end of me...help!) but my spirits were lifted by many interesting reads/visuals this week. Enjoy them in this week's edition of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome:

- Why moms -- and their last words -- matter.

- Watch as 1,000 years of European borders change.

- Six new favorite doughnuts around Boston.

- Great foods for hydrating your skin.

- My curated collection of colorful totes.

- A case for not hovering at playdates.

- Every child is gifted and talented. Every single one.

- Homemade peanut butter eggs.

- OMG. Christopher Walken dance montage.

- For my fellow grad school indentured servants.

- Don’t help your kids with their homework.

Image credit: blueberry green iced detox tea via Pinterest

Happy Saturday and happy March everyone! Between travel, school break, and then some more travel, it feels like a million years since I last posted a Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome. But it certainly isn't because it hasn't been awesome. I'm glad to get back this week; here are some great reads, visuals, and resources that I found particularly awesome this week. Enjoy!

- My friend C. C. Chapman is awesome; here’s what he’s doing for Mercy.

- As if I needed another reason to eat Ben & Jerry’s.

- As if I needed another reason to love Paul Rudd.

- Different teas and what they help with.

- Incredible paper versions of famous dresses.

- Incredible photos of abandoned places.

- Stunning portraits of the world’s remotest tribes before they pass away.

- Online resources for affordable curtains.

- America’s best cities for hipsters (#14 represent).

- Eight ways to use your smartphone to make your life easier.

- Use old dried out markers to make watercolor paint.

Image credit: homemade watercolor paint

Happy Sunday everyone! It was a gorgeous morning for the 5-miler I ran in Cambridge (so fun to run the whole way with friends, btw!) and now I'm cozied up at home while Violet naps and Laurel is off at a playdate. If you're looking to catch up on some web reading, there was so much great content on the site last month. Enjoy this compilation of the best of January 2014:

At Home

- 30 things to do when school is cancelled

- 7 ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year with kids

Books & Entertainment

- Civil rights movement books for kids

- 14 awesome puzzles for babies, kids, and grownups

Critter Love

- For the love of penguins

- Groundhog Day trivia and celebration

Fashion

- The ridiculously awesome pants everyone keeps asking me about

Food & Fitness

- Meals made easy: warm winter salad

- Jeannie's apple crumble pie

- 16 sources of totally doable fitness and nutrition inspiration

Local

- A great spot for budding thespians

- Local Gems: Beacon Hill, Boston

- Local Gems: Medford

Personal/Professional

- Inspiration to help you be even more awesome in 2014

Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome

- Volume 1

- Volume 2

Image credit: blood orange loaf cake via Pinterest

Today, Paige shares a beloved family pie recipe in honor of National Pie Day (yay, pie!). Pardon me while I run out and get some Macintosh apples:

I've been making this apple pie -- my mother's recipe -- for over 20 years. If it ain't broke (and gets devoured every time), why fix it...right? Enjoy this recipe today (National Pie Day!) or any day, really:

Jeannie's Apple Crumb Pie

A pastry cutter and apple wedger aren't essential but will quicken prep work.

• 1 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shell
• 5-7 Macintosh apples
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make crumb topping by mixing the flour and sugar in a bowl, then adding the cold butter in pieces. Combine with a pastry cutter or knife and fork. Resulting mixture should be crumbly, and butter should be well incorporated, but in small pieces. Set aside in refrigerator. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and set aside in a bowl.

2. Peel and core one apple at a time, dividing into eight sections. Cut each section again in thirds, creating thin apple slices. Arrange one layer of slices in the pie shell and sprinkle enough cinnamon sugar to cover the apples lightly. Continue peeling, coring, slicing, arranging, and layering the apples, then sprinkling with cinnamon sugar until you've reached the top of the shell. (You will likely have cinnamon sugar left over, so set it aside for morning toast!)

 

3. Take the crumb topping from the refrigerator and carefully sprinkle tablespoons of the mixture over the pie, trying to cover all the apples. 

 

4. Place pie on baking sheet (to catch any sugary drips) and set in preheated oven. Check the pie after 40 minutes. If the top and crust are not yet golden, bake for another 5-10 minutes. 

 

5. Remove from oven and set on cooling rack. Cool completely before serving. Excellent with or without ice cream. Can be stored on the counter for 2-3 days (if it lasts that long!).

 

Image credits: Paige Lewin

Even though the process can become messier and the results less perfect, I love baking with kids. It makes for a fun project (just this week we had a friend of Laurel's over for a baking play date -- so fun!), offers yummy rewards, and you can choose to work in some math teaching if you like. Laurel and I recently tried a new (to us) cookie recipe from Lori Longbotham's Luscious Lemon Desserts that was just delightful; a lovely twist on basic sugar cookies. Below I've edited the steps and added notes to offer some shortcuts and tips, as well as ideas for incorporating kids into the process. Enjoy!

+ + + + +

Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies
Makes 4 dozen cookies

• 1 2/3 cups sugar (split)
• 2 teaspoons pure lemon oil (split)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup finely grated lemon zest (approximately 6 lemons worth)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 2 large non-stick baking sheets. (I recommend using Silpat mats. You don't need to spray or butter the mat and the cookie bottoms always come out perfect.)
2. Stir together 2/3 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon lemon oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. (I never sift anything and it seems to work out fine. Laurel is old enough to measure out ingredients but with younger kids you can hand them the measured out ingredients to dump and mix in the bowl.)
4. Using a hand or standing mixer, beat the butter, remaining 1 cup of sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon of lemon oil, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture and lemon juice and beat until just blended. (Experienced and steady-handed kids can be tasked to work the hand mixer or turn on the standing mixer and keep an eye on consistency. If you are using a standing mixer, make sure you lock the mixer in the down position before your kid turns it on. Just in case!
5. Form balls with tablespoonfuls of dough. Roll them in the sugar-lemon oil mixture (from step 2) to coat well and place about 3 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass until about 2 inches round and 3/8 inch thick. Sprinkle each one with a pinch of the sugar-lemon oil mixture. (Laurel and I split the dough. I followed the steps here -- except that I forgot the final sprinkling step -- and she rolled out her dough on a floured surface and cut it with cookie cutters. This dough was much softer than traditional sugar cookie dough so it was harder to roll out and cut, but Laurel was determined! One thing that helped was to use shapes with simple patterns/edges. Both versions were delicious!)
6. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. (I popped the sheets in two at a time and kept an eye on them. It worked fine!)

Image credit: Suat Eman via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today, Jules shares a recipe perfect for Super Bowl Sunday (or any day really):

Between my husband's enthusiasm for football and mine for good food, Super Bowl Sunday is like a national holiday in our house. Chili is a Super Bowl staple and it's an easy crowd pleaser because it's typically a one pot meal that can feed a hungry crowd. Most often prepped with fatty ground meat, loads of cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips, I'm tweaking tradition here and whipping up a reduced fat white chicken chili that is a treat for the eyes but also a really unexpected and refreshing surprise for the palate; all while staying true to those chili roots and remaining a heady and satisfying one pot meal. Enjoy!
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cups roasted and salted almonds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 slice toasted whole wheat bread
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 jalepeno pepper, finely diced
• 1 small can green chili peppers
• 1 teaspoon, ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1.5 pounds shredded chicken (white meat)
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannelini (white) beans, drained
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup white wine*
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ nonfat Greek yogurt
• Shredded smoked cheese (gruyere works beautifully)
• Fresh cilantro
• Sliced lime

1. In very large stockpot, heat oil on low heat. While oil heats, puree almonds, garlic, and toast to a fine puree. Add a tablespoon of water if it needs a little moisture to process. Add this paste to the hot oil and stir well for about 20 seconds.
2. Add onion, celery, jalepeno, canned chili peppers, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Cook for just another minute. Add shredded chicken, beans, broth, and wine. Cook partially covered for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spoon into bowls and top with a dollop of yogurt, a touch of shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze and slice of lime.

*Note: The wine does cook off, but if you'd rather not use wine in this dish, you can replace the wine with 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Image credit: Rainbow chili print by PragyaK via Etsy

Happy February! While I don't pay much attention to Valentine's Day from a commercial standpoint -- Jon and I don't exchange gifts -- the day does offer a fun inspiration point for crafts and food around our house. (Plus, I love the colors red and pink!) As I've mentioned before, I adore Pinterest and decided to round up 10 pretty craft and treat ideas that caught my pinning eye. Oh, and if you need a Pinterest invite, drop me a line and I'll be happy to send you one! Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Crafts

1. I love the simple and chic of this pop-up Valentine.

2. Brilliant. Turn your collection of random broken crayons into Valentine's that will craft it forward.

3. Pretty heart ornaments.

4. Pinned from my archives: crepe paper rosebud Valentine's cards.

5. I'm tempted to make one of these DIY scratch off cards for Jon. So cute!

6. A pretty printable Valentine's book.

Valentine's Day Treats

7. Red velvet brownies. YES.

8. Easy cut out cupcakes.

9. You could totally serve this as a healthy Valentine's Day snack.

10. Figs for Valentine's Day? Brilliant and easy. Also high in fiber.

All images via Pinterest.

Hello everyone -- apologies for the radio silence! I considered posting from the road but decided to be present and immerse myself in Camp Mighty. It was a wonderful trip, not only for personal/professional reflection and connection, but also to witness and be a part of awesome change. Thanks to the fundraising efforts by Camp Mighty attendees, plus a donation from the Ace Hotel (amazing, btw, if you find yourself in Palm Springs), we raised $25,000 for charity: water, which translates to clean water for 1,250 people. AMAZING. I'm now in recovery mode with work and home matters, but meanwhile, here are some fun ideas to consider in this week's Weekly Blueprint:
November 16: I'm fairly certain these gingerbread men will be caught and eaten.

November 18: Lace up. Skating opens at Frog Pond.

November 18: Lace up again. Winter skating opens at Patriot Place.

At your leisure: Start chipping away at homemade holiday gifts. My friend Gabrielle has a lovely sibling gift tradition with lots of project ideas -- these could be used for any family members.

At your leisure: Paint some pottery. Related to above, Laurel loves painting pottery for holiday gifts. The functional items such as coffee mugs and plates are always a huge hit!

At your leisure: I love Thanksgiving. Check out last year's episode of Life.Style (or simply the associated link wrap) for decor, recipe, and travel toy ideas.

At your leisure: Make a big batch of magic salt -- perfect for all of the cooking coming up this holiday season and great for giving as gifts. We've gifted this salt to family and friends who say that it's now the only salt they use!

At your leisure: Try a new recipe. I made Santa Rosa Valley Salad last night (super, super yum), and plan on making one or both of these spinach dishes this week.

Image credit: felt ice skate ornaments by recycledparts via Etsy