lazy man's granola

Or woman's.  It doesn't matter really.  What does matter, is that it's really, spectacularly tasty, and ridiculously easy to toss together.  It's even pretty.

Beyond all of that, there's chocolate.  Yes, for breakfast.  Could be worse.


I've been busy, so a lot of things have seemed to be on hold.  Let's see, I got the car stuck in the snow, on the warmest day in weeks.  Sadly, I was just inches off the driveway.  Then, there was the maple syrup spill all over the floor of the pantry.  Makes me think twice about having a furry pet that likes sweets.  Then, the vacuum thought it might just light on fire.  What can I say, I lead an exciting life.

The granola is customizable of course, and doubles well as a trail mix type of snack.  Just depends on your mood.  Or how much chocolate.


I like it most like this:
-2 cups of slow oats
-1 cup whole walnuts
-1/2 cup sliced almonds
-1/2 cup dried cranberries
-1/2 cup raisins
-1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks
-handful of banana chips, give or take

Just toss it together in a container.  It's fantastic with a Greek-style yogurt and honey or maple syrup, and at least a teaspoon of cinnamon.  Berries or a banana are a bonus.
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banana crunch muffins with gingery homemade granola

Really, these could be called ridiculously banana, banana crunch muffins, but I thought it might be a little much. A little restraint is needed in the New Year, at least occasionally. I have decided that it might be wise to consume more vegetables, and a few more fruits, this year, and certainly a banana counts as a fruit, although I'm fairly certain that the half pound, yes a HALF POUND(!) of butter in this recipe, make it a little less than the ideal health food.



Nevertheless, these are very, very good muffins. Just not one bit healthy. Sure, there are bananas, and some omega-3's in the walnuts, but these are calorie laden, make your house smell beyond heavenly when you peek into the oven, perfectly topped, deliciousness. They are worthy of an extra ten minutes of exercise. Although, I'm sure an hour would be necessary to actually do much good.

And while I'm definitely someone who tries a lot of new recipes, I'm usually adapting them to meet my needs; a little more psyllium fiber to replace some of the flour, a bit of pureed spinach or blueberries, and nearly always a tonne more cinnamon. But this time? I just decided to make the recipe as is.

It's an Ina Garten recipe, from her Barefoot Contessa book. Something about a crunchy muffin, with banana chips just sounded like something, I really, truly needed. Not a want, but a true need. You know the kind. The kind of need that makes you stay up late just to take a cake out of the oven, let it cool in the freezer, just so you can frost it and eat some before bed. That kind of need.

Except, there's one small problem. I completely forgot the coconut.



And while original recipe says it makes eighteen muffins, I just couldn't see how these weren't going to end up overflowing a little too much. Instead, I ended up with nineteen, even without the missing coconut.

So while, I did make my own granola, I didn't change much in the recipe. Except for the coconut of course. In fact, I hardly made the recipe my own at all. And I'm glad I didn't. It works just fine, just the way it is. But if you want to compare it to the original, or change this one to suit your needs, go for it. It certainly could be healthier, but these sure are good.



Banana Crunch Muffins with Gingery Homemade Granola

Granola:

4 cups slow cooking oats
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup golden flax seeds
1/2 cup bran
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger (or more!)
pinch kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the oats, almonds, flax, bran, and pecans in a large bowl.
2. Combine the honey, and olive oil, and warm gently. Whisk in the cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
3. Pour the honey mixture into the oat mixture, and thoroughly stir to combine.
4. Spread over parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake the granola in ten minute intervals, removing from the oven, and stirring. Bake for at least thirty minutes, or until lightly golden brown and fragrant.
5. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet, and then place the granola in an airtight container, for up to one week.

For the muffins:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 pound (1 cup) butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas, can be previously frozen)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1 cup granola (see above!), plus extra for sprinkling
1 cup banana chips, plus extra for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In an electric stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir slightly to combine. Add in the butter, and slowly mix for a couple rotations.
2. Add the eggs, whole milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Mix, but don't over mix.
3. Remove the paddle attachment, and stir in the remaining ingredients, without overdoing it.
4. Line 18-19 spots in muffin tins. Using an ice cream scoop to help divide the dough, fill the cups until slightly more than full, approximately a tablespoon more than full per cup.
5. Using the remaining granola and banana chips, generously sprinkle the muffins tops with the granola and add a chip or two for some added crunch. Shake from side-to-side to remove any excess granola.
6. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until lightly golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow the muffins to cool (at least slightly!), and enjoy!
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nutella & hazelnut stuffed french toast with maple butter

If a little gluttony is what you want, then this is what you need. If you can't deal with chocolatey, buttery, ooey-gooey and delicious, then this isn't for you. If you are at my house on a weekend morning, then you would witness a serious crime against the world of cooking. I become terribly lazy, and attempt to recover from my weekday oatmeal, which is overdose by the weekend. I sit around for good while, and then realize that I am overwhelmingly hungry, and it is an urgent manner. Quite often, there is at least a segment of a baguette lying around, and so I rush into action with a dollop of nutella on pieces of baguette, and continue merrily relaxing. It's simple, and good. But today, I thought it needed a little dressing up, something a little bit more involved. Perhaps something I could actually serve to another human being, and not feel completely embarrassed by it. I also felt compelled to find another use for my replication of Clinton Street Bakery's maple butter, which I had left in my fridge from last week's attempt at outdoing their pancakes. I was close with the pancakes, but the maple butter is pretty spot on. I started with a paska (any bread you can thickly slice), nutella, 2 eggs per slice of bread, and a couple handfuls of hazelnuts (1 tbsp per serving). Using a mini chopping food-processor, I chopped up the hazelnuts. It made about 1/2 cup. I carefully toasted the hazelnuts in a non-stick frying pan, on medium-low heat. Be careful to stir occasionally, and have a dish ready to transfer the hazelnuts to once they are brown! The tasty toasted hazelnuts. Maple butter is absurdly delicious on pancakes or french toast. Also use a ratio of 2:1, for example, a 1/2 cup of butter to a 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Place both in a glass bowl or measuring cup in the microwave for no more than 20 seconds. Stir vigorously, with a fork, until the butter and syrup are combined. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, and let it sit for longer (or refrigerate) if it is too runny. The resulting mixture should be somewhat thick. It is fun to dip pieces of pancake straight into it! You can use any bread, but make sure you can slice it quite thick. Using a small serrated knife, create a "pocket" in each slice. This is where the nutella and hazelnut treasure will go! Once you have inserted the pocket in each slice of bread, start by using a spoon to sprinkle about a tablespoon of toasted hazelnuts inside. Then, with another spoon, place roughly another tablespoon of nutella inside; push on the spoon with one side of the bread to remove the nutella from the spoon. In the same nonstick saucepan use to toast the nuts, heat some butter on medium-high heat, until it foams. Place the french toast to be in a little beaten egg bath. Each slice of bread will take approximately two eggs. Let it soak a few seconds per side. Cook each side until beautifully golden brown. Serve with sliced bananas, and be generous with the maple butter! Enjoy until the very last bite!
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