And just like that,
fall is upon us. Back in Eastern Washington there were barely any trees and
thus the beauty of fall only lasts for about two weeks, three at the most. For
non-Washington state peeps, there is a part of Washington that does not get any
rain… Eastern, WA is a desert.
However, here on
the East Coast, I am noticing a very gradual change. One tree today or some
clumps of trees the next, and even the leaves on those trees seem to be
changing ever so slowly, like they’re resisting the natural order of things. I
love their stubbornness!
It has been
considerably colder too, even in the middle of the day. So, our air-conditioning
has been turned off for two weeks now. We are not turning the heater on yet.
It’s too early for that and too expensive. I have been walking around the house
with my coat on and when it gets unbearably cold, I turn on the oven and start
baking. It’s cheap heat with the plus of body nourishment or sweet tooth
satisfaction.
I turned the oven
on a week and a half ago to bake up a batch of granola. Yes friends, it is
another granola recipe in this blog. I LOVE granola and I hope you do too!
Pardon me for holding out on sharing… I didn’t have any good stories to tell and
I still don’t, but here is the recipe anyway.
This granola is
long gone. The last bit of it was happily consumed last Wednesday, so my memory
of how it tasted is pretty vague. I typed the recipe though the very same day I
baked this batch because it is worthy of sharing. The first few bits that I
scooped into my palm were just meant for checking whether they tasted great or
not. And then I found myself going back into the kitchen several times while it
was cooling in the pan to eat a few more and then some more. DFJ and I also
looked forward to granola breakfasts when we had this around. There’s nothing
like some great granola waiting for you to make you pop out of bed!
Granola is great
eaten by the handful or with either milk or yogurt. They also make for
great work snacks or lunches. Just put however much you want to eat in a container
and add on your yogurt of choice (I like plain Greek yogurt), stir it up, and
put it in the fridge when you get to work. It’s a delicious and filling cold
treat! And in case you haven’t tried doing so yet, granola also adds a nice
crunch when sprinkled on top of ice cream.
Something sweet and
crunchy, on the healthy side!
Honey Granola
3 cups oats
1 cup slivered
almonds (raw)
1 cup pumpkin seeds
(unsalted, raw)
1 cup chopped
walnuts (raw)
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon Kosher
salt
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¾ teaspoon vanilla
extract
1 cup dried figs,
cut in eighths (optional, or can be substituted with any dried fruit)
Place an oven rack
in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large,
roasting pan, combine the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Use your
hands (or a flexible spatula) to mix everything together. Sprinkle on the sugar
and salt. Once again, use your hands (or a flexible spatula) to mix everything
together.
Pour the olive oil,
honey, and vanilla extract in a medium sized bowl. Whisk well together until it
forms into a thick slurry.
Add the wet
ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix everything well together using a
flexible spatula. Scrape the ingredients on the bottom and sides to make sure
everything gets moistened with the oil and honey mix. Spread the mixture evenly
in the pan.
I love autumnal granola's -- it's just so much more flavorful :)
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