Sweet & Salty: A New Granola Favorite
December 28, 2010 § 1 Comment
For the past two weeks, I’ve slept through every sunrise, although I’ve been up late enough to nearly greet it. Every so often, I love puttering around my family’s house, late at night, while the rest of the world sleeps. I wear giant, green slippers and shuffle in and out of the empty rooms with a few soft lamps aglow. I read door-stopper books, watch addicting TV mini-series that take place in the 12th century or eat midnight bowls of minestrone soup. But as with all new habits that go against an old grain, the charm of 3-o’clock mornings is starting to fade. Tomorrow I’ll be breaking the cycle and, because I’ll likely be a zombie, I figured I’d entice myself into the early hours with my favorite breakfast.
For the past four weeks I’ve been tweaking an old, favorite clumpy granola recipe. Instead of aiming for just clumps, I wanted to create a granola with great crunch, too, and lots of texture. I also wanted a bowl of granola that had a hint of salt (tipping my hat to Molly‘s grey sea salt chocolate chip cookies); my first trial was salty-overload, but now I’ve settled upon a half-teaspoon (per batch) and the granola tastes great. Be warned though; this recipe is addictive. I want to give a bit of inspirational credit: For the past couple of years I’ve amassed dozens, if not hundreds of granola recipes, but this November I came across a new granola recipe, by Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini. I’ve been fiddling with her proportions of oats, nuts, coconut flakes and other add-in’s to create my own favorite blend, but I’ve stuck with her basic liquid ratio: six tablespoons of sweetener to two tablespoons oil. Each granola trial, stemming from that basic proportion, has been wonderful; this is my favorite combination of ingredients below:
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup buckwheat groats
1/2 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
6 tablespoons honey, high quality (this imparts the most flavor)
1 tablespoon pumpkin butter, optional
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
few pinches of favorite spices (cardamom, cinnamon, all spice, cloves, nutmeg, etc.)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix dry oats, groats, coconut, seeds and nuts in a bowl and set a side.
3. In a small sauce pan, heat honey, pumpkin butter and olive oil until liquidy. Add spice and salt and stir until incorporated. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
4. Pour onto dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly coated.
5. Layer on a sheet pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool for 2 hours, out of the oven or in the warm oven (once turned off) with the door ajar. Break apart and store in an air-tight container.
Diet Notes: gluten-free
Granola Bar Cookie Bites (also vegan!)
June 18, 2010 § 1 Comment
These little guys might not look like much, but I’ve eaten four “trial” batches of them for two consecutive weeks and have yet to tire of them. While they’re great for dessert, I prefer popping one in my mouth before early morning jogs and in the late afternoon, before I pick 726 tomatoes from the garden. They’re unintentionally vegan, which is a plus for some, and they have a warm flavor from the mild, molasses-y brown sugar and cinnamon. The texture is what really knocks my socks off — the unsweetened, natural coconut flakes are a must! If you don’t have almond butter, swap it out with natural, chunky peanut butter. I’ve done both, but prefer the subtler taste of almonds in this granola bite.
Ingredients:
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons real coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons dried berries (I enjoy the varying size and sweetness of dried cherries mixed with dried blueberries)
1/3 cup almond milk or milk equivalent
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or any neutral-flavored oil)
3 tablespoons almond butter, natural & chunky
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees on convection (or 350 in a standard oven). Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine dry ingredients & sugar and toss with a fork. Add dried berries and chocolate chips to the flour mixture and toss. (This will help them adhere to the dough.)
3. Add almond milk (or milk equivalent), oil and almond butter to the mixture and stir with a spoon until combined. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for a few minutes, until the oven is heated. Shape into small balls, about half the size of a golf ball, and place about an inch-apart on a cookie sheet (they don’t spread). Bake for 11-13 minutes until slightly golden on the top. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet approximately 3-5 minutes, until set. Remove from sheet and cool on a wire rack. They keep well on the counter for several days and freeze-and-thaw without fault.
Diet Notes: Vegan
Sesame Granola
January 17, 2009 § 2 Comments
This recipe was tweaked from and inspired by Vimala Rodger’s “Killer Granola” in her book, Vegetarian Meals for People-On-The-Go. My favorite way to eat this granola is with fresh berries + plain yogurt mixed with good maple syrup. I also eat it like cereal with a few splashes of rice milk.
Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened, organic coconut slivers
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 cup raw pepitas
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup raw slivered almonds
1/4 cup raw pecan pieces
1/2 cup raw walnut pieces
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup honey*
2 tablespoons vanilla
After baking, add:
1 cup favorite dried fruit (Medjool dates are especially good)
*If following a strict vegan diet, use a low grade maple syrup instead.
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Combine liquid ingredients and whisk for a few seconds. Pour over dry ingredients. Mix with a large spoon until all the oats, seeds, and nuts get covered with the “sauce.”
4. Spread oats on two large pans all the way to the edges. The granola will cook faster if all the oats are nicely spaced out and not piled up.
5. Cook until oats become golden-brown. The oats may feel a little damp to the touch when you take them out of the oven. Leave them in the baking sheet for about 7 minutes and they will dry out. Top with your favorite dried fruit, eat for breakfast and store the rest! This recipe makes a large batch that lasts me a few weeks.
Diet Notes: Vegan (see asterisk)
