En la Cocina - Homemade Granola

I have always liked granola, but I've never been 100% satisfied with the options at the store.  I have purchased almost every brand available, and most of the boxes have stayed in my pantry for months after trying them just once.  So instead of continuing to complain about not finding the right brand , one that tasted like I remember granola to be while growing up, I went on a mission to create my own (insert mission impossible theme song)

I have been making this granola for a couple of months now,  and I have to say that I am more than happy with the outcome, and so is my hubby. 

So if you want to give it a try, the recipe is below.

Ingredients

• 6  cups  rolled oats
• 1/4  cup  chopped almonds
• 1/4  cup  chopped pecans or cashews, even both if you like.
• 2  tablespoons  brown sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 1/3  cup  maple syrup
• 1/4  cup  honey
• 1/3  cup  pineapple juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray
• Your favorite dried fruit.  I like the ones below
• 1/4  cup dried cran-cherries
• 1/4  cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/4  cup dried blueberries.
• Sprinkle some coconut flakes 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the maple syrup, honey, juice, almond and vanilla extract;
Pour honey mixture on the oats mix, toss well.
Spread mixture evenly onto a pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 325° for 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes.
When done, stir the dried fruit, you can even add some chocolate chips.  Cool completely. Store in a zip-lock plastic bag or air tight container.

Delicious with some yogurt or sprinkled over ice cream, and its a great and healthy substitute for my husbands midnight cookie attacks (seriously he can't be stopped)

Enjoy!!!

Terrarium

Finally this weekend I did a project that I have been postponing for a while. A succulent terrarium, It is really easy and awfully cute. Below are my how-to steps.  I highly recommend it!

SUPPLIES

GLASS CONTAINER: If you are using succulents, it is best to have a glass container with a large opening.  Succulents prefer dry, desert-like conditions. 

ROCKS: You need a bag of rocks for drainage and air circulation for the roots.

HORTICULTURAL CHARCOAL: This is the second layer in the terrarium. This helps lessen the chance of any molds or bacteria.

SOIL: Use cactus soil, or potting soil mixed with sand.  Succulents and cacti need soil that have extra good drainage. 

PLANTS: When you pick the succulents, select ones with similar sun conditions. 

Pour around  2" layer of rocks, smoothed them out and then pour in 1"-1 1/2" layer of charcoal. 

Pour in soil 2-3" and smooth out evenly. 

Plant the succulents,  Arrange them before planting so you can decide what set up you like better.  I went through a few configurations before deciding on the winning one. 

Plant them and pack the soil surrounding them. If you are using cacti, make sure to use thongs to move them around, I tried without them and got pocked more than once.

Care: Water every 2-3 weeks. Test the moisture of the soil before you water.
So easy and also almost no care needed. Perfect for me.

One Picture Recipe

The photographer Marina Ekroos has a collection of lovely photographs.  In one shot she shows the ingredients and all the steps of a recipe. Beautiful and clever.

All images via Marina Aurora Portfolio

Our Weekend

Hello, how was your weekend? We had a great one. 

On Saturday we worked a little in the backyard.  Paul did all the hard work, I was his assistant.  We started a path between the pool area and the cabana, it is not done yet but it was a big improvement.   The rest of the day we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful weather by the pool, well deserved.

At night we went to the Fillmore in South Beach, to watch Tosh.0.   I have to say I really enjoyed it, he is a really good comedian.  I laughed so much, I ended up with soared face muscles, well worth it. .

Sunday Paul got up really early to participate in a sprint triathlon, were he did the swimming part, and they got second place.  Great job Pablo, Carlos and Paul.

On the way home Paul went to do some groceries for our delicious BBQ, and he surprised me with a pumpkin, at the beginning i thought he wanted me to make him a pumpkin pie from scratch, which I'm still not ready for, but he had a better idea.  We decided to do some carving.  Today after 31 years I did my first pumpkin carving.

Our Weekend from andrea suskey on Vimeo.

This weekend once again, I enjoyed every little thing that we did.  The joy of simple things in life.

I hope you had a great weekend too.

Sharon Montrose

Sharon Montrose does animal series photography, I really like her work.

Via The Animal Print Shop

I am not a big animal person, probably I would have a heart attack if I was close to them, especially the Lion or Tiger.

Via The Animal Print Shop

Via The Animal Print Shop

Via The Animal Print Shop

Via The Animal Print Shop

 My favorite, the Giraffe

Via The Animal Print Shop

I wanted to share her work.  She sells her prints at The Animal Print Shop, they range from $25-$5,000.  

You can see all her work at her site

Bento Box

A couple of weeks ago while having dinner with hubby, I was mentioning to him how lucky I am to work so close to home.  In January my office moved, and now I have a short 10 minute drive.

At lunch time I can pass by the house, grab some lunch and relax for 40 minutes before heading back to continue with my work day.  

One of the things that I enjoy the most is the flexibility of eating what I want, without being limited to the options offered around work.  At the beginning any new restaurant, fast food joint or deli is exciting, the more options for lunch the better,  but after being at the same place twice a week for months, everything starts getting old.  

So Paul mention to me that he was getting tired of the same food all the time, and he would like to bring some lunch to work.  So I went on a mission to find a solution for him.  Of course there is the old storage containers, they are convenient but an eyesore.

I found this great store Bento & Co  that sells all types of bento boxes and accessories. They send all of their products directly from Japan.  Bento&co is celebrating the 2nd anniversary of their company with special weekly deals until the end of November.

I ordered this Bento Box Sekai Ichi, it looks great, but all I was concerned about was how much food that little thing could fit (6.2" x 3.2" x 2.6")

Via Bento&co.

It is a two-tier bento box, that's roomy enough for an adult with a hearty appetite. And the Best part is microwave safe. 

I am definitely ordering again, I'm thinking of getting a second box for Paul. I'm thinking of the Nagabako Mokume. (below)

Via Bento&co

There is also some great options for girls, I liked this one below, Basket Bento.
 

Via Bento&co

Some cool looking ones.

Via Bento&co.

 And some great fun options for kids

Via Bento&co

There are some other online stores where you can find bento boxes:
Casa bento
J box
Japanistic

A pouf of color

Hello, was was your weekend?  I had a great one. We spend the weekend at home, enjoying the great weather by the pool, and of course we also went to the beach. 

I am still in the process of decorating our house, I've been looking for some color addition, debating between paint, furniture and accents. 

While searching I stumbled upon these Moroccan leather poufs at Sonja Bouw's blog, Tied with a Bouw, and I'm so exited to have seen them, because next month we are taking our well deserved vacation, and our destination is Morocco!!! So now these poufs are in my list of things to buy. 

Images via Flickr

Now the important question is what color to get, should I go for a white? so we can move it around the house, or maybe orange or fuchsia to bring in some color.  So many options!!

They can be used as ottomans, seating or side tables, a lovely touch for a living room or bedroom.

There are some online stores that sell them, so i know if for some reason i can't get them in Morocco, I still have the option to get them online.  Tazi designs & Amazon has them and they average $225-$400 each.

Image via Flickr

En la cocina - Banana Nut Muffins

Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2    cup old fashion rolled oats
2/3    cups packed brown sugar
2       teaspoons baking powder
1/4    teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4    teaspoon salt
1       cup mashed ripe banana
3/4    cup of yogurt, if you want the muffins less dense use low fat milk
3       tablespoons canola oil
1/2    teaspoon vanilla extract
1       large egg
1/4    cup chopped walnuts.

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Combine flour, oats and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center of mixture.
3. Combine banana and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a bowl.
4. Add banana mixture to flour.  Stir until moistened; fold in walnuts.

 5.   Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups.
 6.   Bake at 375 for 22 minutes.

Done!!!

I love having these muffins with a scoop of ice cream in the middle.
Enjoy

Miami Sunrise

Saturday morning at 6:00 am, my hubby invited me to join him to the beach, of course at the beginning I hesitated, it's the weekend, finally I don't have to get up early for work, but after a minute I realized it was a great idea.

Twenty years from know I'll be disappointed for the things I didn't do, so why not enjoy all the opportunities to enjoy the simple things in life.

We went to the spot where we got engaged exactly 4 years ago. Happy anniversary my love, thank you for wanting to spend your life with me.

Have a happy weekend!!

We had the most amazing morning. We enjoyed some coffee and muffins while we watched to most beautiful sunrise.

Cute finds

Lately I've been obsessed with organizing every single drawer and cabinet in the house. I guess my OCD finally came out. Right now I'm trying to get the kitchen done, and it seems like a never ending process.
I found these cute collection by Keith Brymer Jones. They are white porcelain and it is stamped with a word glazed in color.
This would come in handy, every time I organize, I forget where everything is.

They can be found at Graham & Green

En la cocina - Cherry & Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Since the move to our house, cooking at the Suskey's kitchen is not only something fun we enjoy doing together, it has become a creative outlet and great way to relive stress, not to mention the occasional cocktail while we cook.

Our old apartment kitchen was small and the oven was used primarily for storage. This made cooking a little difficult, so take-out was common, we would flip the coin each time to see who would call, place the order, and deal with "Sonia", who can never seem to hear our 3 digit security code. "pliz, el codigo de seguridad"

It was not until a couple of months ago that I developed an addiction to baking. Now, I bake at least a few times a week. Of course my first couple of baking sessions were a disaster, and my poor husband was the one trying my failed attempts. God bless him, he always said ,"yummy"

Only after a couple of rubbery cupcakes, watery cookies and uneatable frosting, Hubby is still putting in requests for more.

So today I decided to share my new found joy!!

My hubby's favorite cookies, Cherry & Chocolate chip Oatmeal cookies....

I try to do a healthier version, if there is such thing as healthy cookies, by using less butter making the cookies crispy.
I also make dairy free version, for those who have dairy allergy. I replace the butter with soy butter, the chocolate with semisweet chocolate and the cooking spray with olive oil spray.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup chocolate chip cookies
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spoon Flour into measuring cup; level with a knife.
3. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and
   salt (i like to add a bit of baking powder to make the cookies a little less dense), stir with a whisk.
4. Place butter and sugar in a bowl. beat at medium speed until well blended
5. Add vanilla and egg; beat well.
6. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended.
7. Add cherries and chips; beat at low speed until blended.
8. Use a spoon sprayed with cooking oil to drop dough 2 inches apart, onto coated baking sheet.
9. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or lightly browned.
10. Enjoy!!!
    

98 calories!!!!