January Menu + Granola Bar Recipe = Luv4Eva

Here's 10-days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned for you

Hello my friends,

January isn’t exactly peak inspiration time in the kitchen, is it? Our bowls of sun-ripened tomatoes, bouquets of fresh parsley and dill, and firm eggplant have been once again replaced by their winter cousins.

It’s not to say that giardinera, sauerkraut, dried oregano, and storage potatoes don’t have their place - they most certainly do. Rather than taste of the sun, food in this season usually tastes of the earth - reminding us of its provisions during the light-filled days of summer gardens and harvest.

This isn’t a time to celebrate the bright flavors of summer, but rather, to give thanks for rich broths and stocks, roasts pulled warm and golden from the oven, and even dried pantry goods that sustain us while the earth rests.

During the summer, the children often sustain themselves with armfuls of freshly plucked apricots and ripe cherries from the nearby orchards… but in the winter time, we must reach for something else to sustain us. In this case, our favorite homemade granola bars. Yes, it’s a bit more work for the home-cook. Don’t worry. The peanut butter and chocolate will lift your spirits.

Here’s the recipe, if you’d like it:

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Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups peanut butter

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon sea salt

5 cups rolled oats

½ cup add-ins (chocolate chips, pistachios, almonds, cranberries, etc.)

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix together well until completely combined. Alternatively, this can be done in a large bowl with a stiff spatula.

2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Transfer the mixture into the pan and use a spatula or buttered hands to press it into an even ½” layer. 

3. Refrigerate the bars until set.

4. Remove the tray from the refrigerator. Cut into desired size. Wrap in small pieces of parchment or butcher paper to keep the bars separate. Transfer to a container with a lid and keep refrigerated.  

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While you’re focusing on enjoying the season at hand, tailoring foods to your family’s tastes, and cultivating a nourished table, allow me to take on the work for you of planning what’s for dinner (and breakfast… and lunch…). Even if all the meals planned on my menu aren’t a perfect fit for you, there’s 30 to choose from in each menu, so pick and use what works for you in real life.

Here’s 10-days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner to inspire your table in the coming weeks. Enjoy. As a quick reminder, we offer our paid newsletter supporters two menus each month.

Each printable menu will cover 10-days worth of seasonal meals and will include notes on when to mix sourdough, soak beans, etc. Recipes are linked to newsletters, blog posts, or YouTube videos, as applicable.

Also worth noting, every Cooking Community member also gets access to our menus over on our app. So whether you support The Elliot Homestead here or there, we’ve got you covered. Over in our Cooking Community, we offer 5 new recipes each month, along with instructional cooking videos for each one and an exclusive, private online social community of home-cooks.

Here’s a peek at what we’re cooking in our community this month!

This month, we’re focusing on soups in our Cooking Community. Look good? Join in!

Here’s the first installment of this month’s menu. I hope you enjoy!

For clickable links, download the PDF directly below: