…and you getting yours.
This has been a busy season for me, one project or commitment rolling into another. Deep messes and deadlines, some utter joys, others a bit…not. I’m poking my head up again to say hello and that I think the way is clearing.
As loaded as a schedule might get around here, breakfast is one meal that’s never forgotten. (Lunch and dinner are the other two.) I know some of you are quite content to break the fast at noon, but we need Fuel around here and we need it early. During the week, breakfast for us is frequently a bowl of good (unflavored) yogurt, topped with toasty, very crunchy, nutty granola imbued, through and through, with the tropical aroma of coconut. (And then there’re the extras, which hold your horses we’ll get to further down.)
It’s quite simple, not too sweet, not too fatty, and (we think) quite delicious.
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Golden Granola
with coconut & almonds
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Old Fashioned Rolled Oats* – 3 cups
Shredded or Flaked* Coconut – Unsweetened – 1 cup
Slivered Almonds ½ cup
Sesame Seeds – raw – ½ cup
Ground Flaxseed – ¼ cup
Maple Syrup – ¼ cup
Honey – ¼ cup
Coconut Oil (or see alternatives below) – ¼ cup
Raw Sunflower Seeds – ½ cup
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* We prefer flaked, for toasty little ribbons of coconut.
*Oats available gluten-free
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a baking dish (11 x 14 or thereabouts) mix all ingredients except the sunflower seeds. Add them after other ingredients are combined.
Slide the granola into the oven and set timer for 1 hour. (It may take longer.) Every fifteen to twenty minutes, give it a good stir so that it all browns evenly. Bake until toasty, crisp and evenly brown. In our oven that’s about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool. Store airtight.
Depending on the sweetness of the fruits we add, we may drizzle a wee thin stream of maple syrup before piling on the rest.
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Having your way with granola might mean you’d like it with:
Dried cherries, chopped almonds & roasted cocoa nibs
Fresh blueberries & extra toasted coconut
Dried apricots & pecans
Bananas & chopped walnuts (with or without golden raisins)
Mango & pistachios
Mango & raspberries
Peaches & raspberries (or blueberries)
Blueberry, banana & pecans
Blueberry & kiwi
A simple mix of seasonal berries
Dried Cranberries, dried apricots & hazelnuts
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Every couple weeks, I’ll roast up different nuts so that we always have jars of toasted almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds. (We’ll toss them in a salad, or on vegetables, or on our breakfast.) We usually have a good stock of dried fruits too so that even though the base granola remains the same, we enjoy our granola every which way.
You might even like a frozen yogurt or ice-cream, with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a scattering of nutty granola. I some in our house do.
NOTE: We like using “virgin” unrefined coconut oil in this granola. It imparts a delicate coconut flavor throughout. What’s more, there’s quite a bit of evidence suggesting that it’s a very healthful saturated fat. But the following are all good alternatives if you prefer not to use it: (Remember when choosing coconut oil, it will likely need to be melted prior to using.)
- A mild, sweet & fruity olive oil (don’t try using the one you use to dress your salads)
- Grapeseed oil
- Safflower or sunflower oil
I suppose it’s possible that you’re a purist where granola is concerned…and that you like a simple bowlful, topped with milk. And if you’re vegan { and even if you’re not. } you might opt to pour coconut milk. That’s how they do it in Tahiti {if the they is me.}
Have a great weekend everybody!
I’ve got a very delicious pasta/seafood dish coming up next!
Hold your horses!
♥
spree
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