ONE THING -- GRANOLA -- LEADS TO ANOTHER -- GARAM MASALA

ONE THING -- GRANOLA -- LEADS TO ANOTHER -- GARAM MASALA

Arlene used up the latest batch of homemade granola making breakfast today, so she was already mixing up a fresh batch when Larry got up. We have adapted a recipe from our friend Nancy Davis in North Carolina. It’s a great alternative to commercial granolas, just lightly sweet and only just enough oil to get things a little crispy. The key change we have made to Nancy’s original recipe is to augment it with the sweetly warm Indian spice blend Garam Masala. But we were down to the last tablespoon-full of Garam Masala. So we had to make that too. 

Try these recipes out. You won’t regret it. 

GRANOLA a la Nancy Davis  

Mix dry ingredients together:

6 c Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (or a mix of rolled grains)

1 c Grapenuts (or similar)

1 c All Bran (or similar)

1/2 c Untoasted Wheat Germ

1/2 c Pepitas

1/2 c Slivered Almonds

1/2 c Chopped Walnuts

Mix wet slurry together:

1/2 c Corn or Peanut oil 

1/2 c Honey 

1 Tbs Cinnamon

1 Tbs Garam Masala

Pinch of Salt

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Add wet slurry mixture to dry mixture and toss well. Pour into 2  8 ½ by 11” sheet pans and toast @ 325 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, stirring once. Cool. Store in sealed containers.

GARAM MASALA

Indian magic spice blend -- works well in savory and sweet dishes. Add to curries, stews, marinades, granola, muffins, pancakes, oatmeal, roasted veggies. Almost hard to imagine where it wouldn’t enhance flavors. 

4 Tbs cardamom pods, seeds removed, pods discarded

4 Tbs cumin

4 Tbs coriander

3 cinnamon sticks, broken into small piece

1 Tbs cloves

1 Tbs allspice

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp white peppercorns

2 tsp fresh-grated nutmeg

Roast all the ingredients except the nutmeg in a toaster oven or cast iron skillet on the stove until fragrant and toasty. Grind roasted spices in a spice grinder to medium-fine consistency.  Add the fresh-grated nutmeg and mix well. 

Will fill about 2 small (1 oz). spice jars. Will keep tightly covered for up to 3 months before losing its pungency. 

Q: WHAT’S HOT? . . . A: MUSTARD

Learning to make our own mustard was one of Larry’s post-retirement ambitions. It turns out to be a fairly simple task that takes more patience and faith than it does any special skills. There is a special “mustard reaction” that makes it all work. You have to believe it will happen when your blending. So don’t give up in frustration too quickly. 

As we have embarked on our mustard-making journey, many friends have tasted and approved. And many have inquired about how we make it. So we are posting our basic recipe today. This recipe make a grainy mustard with a significant “bite.” There are no doubt ways to make a smoother mustard and a milder mustard (perhaps more kid-friendly). We are likely to experiment further and will post any notable discoveries. 

Many variations on this basic recipe are possible. Beer instead of wine (we’ve done that, with good results); other forms of sweetener (barley malt, maple syrup, agave syrup, etc.); addition of chopped fresh herbs (we’ve tried tarragon and rosemary); and additional or alternate spices (fresh-ground nutmeg?, turmeric?). Don’t be afraid to experiment to find your own favorites style(s).

ACORN RIDGE COUNTRY STYLE MUSTARD

Ingredients:

1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds 

1/4 cup brown mustard seeds 

1/2 cup of white wine (alcohol boiled off, then cooled)

1/2 cup of white wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoon finely minced shallot (sweated in microwave or skillet)

Method:

1. Place the mustard seeds in a non-reactive bowl and cover with cool soaking liquid. Cover and leave to soak in the refrigerator overnight. 

2. Next day, if all the liquid has been absorbed, add more liquid or water to just cover the seeds. Then add all remaining ingredients. 

3. Place everything in a blender (or use a stick blender) and process the mixture until it starts to thicken. At first it may seem like this will not happen, but suddenly it will thicken. This is the “mustard reaction.” Proceed with pulses until the mixture has an appealing balance between thickness and graininess of partially broken seeds. 

4. Taste and adjust for seasonings -- salt, sweet, acid, etc. 

5. Temper the mustard by heating in a double boiler for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not let it boil as that can break down the “mustard reaction.”

6. Refrigerate overnight. The taste will have mellowed. Taste again and adjust for seasoning. May also need to adjust viscosity. If thicker than you want, you can add more soaking liquid, water, or vinegar (or combination). Check seasonings again.

7. Store in a glass jar in refrigerator. 

8. Enjoy!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER -- REVIEW OF JEREMY DENK AT OBERLIN COLLEGE

In celebration of the release of Jeremy Denk's new CD "Ligeti/Beethoven" we are posting Larry's never-before-published review of Jeremy's concert in Oberlin last January. As you will see below, Jeremy's concert that week contained much of the same repertory as his new CD (which, by the way if marvelous and you should run right out and get it). The concert was part of Oberlin Conservatory's inaugural Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. We both participated as "audience critics" that week. Every day, six audience critic reviews were selected for posting on the Rubin website and entered into prize consideration.  Two of Larry's review were selected. But this Denk review was not. Oddly enough, we thought it was the best of the lot. Go figure. Read and enjoy. 

Review: Jeremy Denk at Finney Chapel

(by Larry Dunn)

Oberlin, Ohio | January 19, 2012

Stomping feet rattled the balcony in Finney Chapel again last night for the triumphant return to Oberlin College of pianist and favorite son Jeremy Denk. Mr. Denk presented a program of works by three iconic keyboard music masters of their eras: two Bach Toccatas, Beethoven’s Eroica Variations and Piano Sonata No. 32, and Ligeti’s Etudes, Book 1. The concert was the second in a series presented as part of Oberlin’s inaugural Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. 

Music critic Charles Michener, in his Rubin Institute opening address, called music performance a set of overlapping, simultaneous conversations between performer and composer, within/among the performers themselves, between performers and the audience, and so on. This construct provides a perfect model for understanding Mr. Denk’s achievement on Thursday evening -- a swirling hurricane of conversations between and among Bach, Beethoven, Ligeti, Bill Evans, Mr. Denk, and the audience, with some Bernstein and Ives thrown in for good measure.  

Mr. Denk opened with Bach’s Toccatas BWV 912 and 910. Mr. Denk “discussed” with Herr Bach and the audience the prominence Bach’s artful counterpoint and fugal forms have in music still today. He pointedly displayed elements of these “touch pieces” that sound modern, even at this moment. 

Next, Mr. Denk added Herr Beethoven to the conversation with his 15 Variations and Fugue, Op. 35. He began the piece slyly, showing us Beethoven as a shapeshifter with a surprise for us -- his splendid Prometheus theme. Then he demonstrated, using Herr Bach’s tools, all the personalities this marvelous theme can embody through shifts in rhythm and mode, ending with a fugue Herr Bach would be proud to have written. 

Central to the conversational hurricane was the orderly disorder of Ligeti’s Etudes. Mr. Denk called them “unimaginable counterpoint . . . just beyond what is possible for the pianist to play.” But Mr. Denk was undeterred. He played Etude No. 1 like a fractured 16th variation of the Eroica theme, as if Herr Beethoven’s naughty pupil Gyorgy had shattered the theme, and no matter how he puzzled on piecing it back together, out came “Disorder.” Etude No. 5, with Mr. Evans joining the conversation, sounded like a deconstructed Peace Piece, Mr. Evans’ ruminative reverie on Bernstein’s Some Other Time. The final Etude No. 6 tumbled straight off the left end of the keyboard. 

Mr. Denk concluded his prepared conversation with Beethoven's Op. 111, the final statement in a 27-year exploration of the piano sonata form. Mr. Denk disclosed Herr Beethoven’s most profound “discussions” with Herr Bach in the dark and dramatic opening movement, followed by the introspective Arietta and variations, ending in stasis, and silence. 

The appreciative audience coaxed Mr. Denk into an encore discussion, his charming reading of “The Alcotts” movement from Ives’ “Concord” Piano Sonata. Herr Beethoven was there for all to hear in a sudden reference to the opening figure of his 5th Symphony. Mr. Denk also revealed Ives prefiguring “swing” passages Mr. Evans must have adored.