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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cinnamon-raisin bread

The easiest bread - ever. You've probably heard of the infamous "no-knead bread". This recipe is a version of the "no-knead bread", with the addition of golden raisins and cinnamon, but without the expensive cookware. Can you see the swirls of cinnamon? I don't own an enameled cast-iron pot, but I do have an inexpensive pizza stone. Luckily, as well as great pizza, it makes fantastic bread! Ok, so you do still have to wait 12 hours for the dough to become fully beautiful... But trust me, it is worth the wait. You just can't make loaves that are very large, because the outside dries out before the inside is properly cooked; as I sadly discovered with my attempt at a chocolate loaf with white chocolate chips (but it will be back!) Cinnamon-Raisin Bread 2 cups of water 1 tbsp honey 2 tsp traditional yeast 3 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup golden raisins 1. In a large glass measuring cup, warm the water in the microwave for 1 minute. Then dissolve the honey in the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and stir gently to combine. Allow to rest until the yeast has risen about 1 inch, or when it is about to overflow, about a half an hour. 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. 3. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top, and mix slightly, but do not overmix. Add in the cup of raisins, and mix just until the raisins appear evenly distributed. 4. Cover. Wait at least twelve hours. 5. Pre-heat the oven, with the pizza stone inside, to 550 degrees fahrenheit, or as hot as it will go. Once pre-heated, wait an additional 15 minutes before adding the bread. 6. Using lots of flour, shape and divide the dough into two balls. 7. Make sure the bread-to-be is well floured on all sides and place into the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. 8. Move the loaves to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. The bread needs to continue to cook and form inside. The crust will be quite tough at first, but it will soften. Enjoy!
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Julie's banana-pear muffins

I don't really like muffins that much. But yet, these muffins by Julie Van Rosendaal on her superbly resource-full blog Dinner with Julie, sounded scrumptious, effortless, and just darn good. Although, it probably did help that I happened to have all of the ingredients, ripe pears and bananas included, on hand. No, I'm not even changing the name of the recipe; it's Julie's recipe, I just want you to try it. There's a few additions here, like cinnamon, some extra fruit, and extra fibre with a bit of wheat germ. Frankly, I like the nutty taste of the stuff. I also peeled the pears. One time, I made cookies with unpeeled pears, and they remained pretty much uneaten. Thanks to Julie for this recipe! Banana-Pear Muffins Adapted from Julie Van Rosendaal Makes 12 muffins 3 bananas 1/2 cup sugar + 1 package stevia (optional) 2 eggs 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (anita's organic flour) 3 tbsp wheat germ 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda pinch of salt 2 ripe pears (peeled and diced) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (f). Prepare 1 muffin tin with paper cups (or grease the tin with butter or canola oil). Mash together the bananas, sugar, and stevia in a medium-sized bowl with a fork. Mix in the eggs, canola oil, and vanilla. Mix until well combined, but keep some little lumps of banana. 2. To the same bowl, add the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, wheat germ and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon, just until combined. 3. Add the pears and walnuts, and mix until combined. 4. Divide the batter evenly among the tins. I use an ice cream scoop with a release to avoid scraping multiple spoons together, just don't fill up the entire scoop. 5. Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. These are extra good straight out of the oven, with a little bit of butter too!
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rolling, rolling, rolling

I never thought I would like baking bread, as in crave baking, and not just the eating part. I used to help my Baba, and it seemed like such a big production, with flour everywhere, and then it would get stuck to me, and the tables, chairs, counter top. Even the carpet. All glued on, and pretty much impossible to get off. I liked the wafting aroma created by bread in the oven, and most certainly eating the little chicken-shaped buns she would make... and I would "help"...cough...cough. I was really good at helping put the butter on the bread, plus eating it, I swear! Ok, and then there's the fact, that I haven't eaten a cheese bun since maybe grade 12 or so? Alright, alright, already, there was that one bun in 2003, but I just don't like the inconsistent amount of cheese. I mean really, who are we trying to kid, I am just in it for the cheese! And bought cheese buns, never really seem to have enough cheese, even when everyone else would tell me there is too much cheese; it was mild cheese, and that will never, ever do. Ok, before the hate mail is sent, hear me out - cheddar cheese on its own, is fine mild. Older cheddar cheese, on a cheese bun is just better. Oh, and white cheddar is preferable because I never got over my grade eight science teacher tell us how the dye in the cheese just can't be good for us (and how you can never really replicate the taste of a banana with artificial means, so never order anything banana flavoured, as it can't be real, or therefore good. Not that that has anything to do with cheese). For some reason, I decided that I needed a cheese bun. A really, super good cheese bun. Well actually, many cheese buns, and decided that you need some too. Made with your own glorious hands, and don't worry the dough really does come off... The extra handwashing doesn't hurt so much when your Baba isn't trying to scrub the skin off your hands for you, because she doesn't want your mom to hear about how you walked around with bread dough on your hands. Just trust me. First, you'll have to get some yeast foaming with some honey. You might have a few minutes for a magazine; one with a bit of inspiration. Then there is actually more time, once the bread is rising. But I never wait as long as Baba did; I swear she used to let the dough rise all day! But, I guess that is the perception when I was a wee little pup at six years old. I love the look of this dough, all floury, and just well, poofy. Ok, here's how it works. You'll take some dough, say 2 cups worth, and stretch it out like a pizza pie, but more oblong. Then sprinkle it with a 1/2 cup, or so of cheese, mostly on one of the side lengths of the piece (which will be in the middle of the bun). Roll the dough across the width of itself, starting with the long cheese-covered part. Slice with a very sharp knife, into spirals 2 cm thick. Place the spirals on a cookie sheet, and enhance the final product with yet more cheese. The buns don't really have to be spread this far apart, but do use parchment paper on the cookie sheet. The best part. Cheese Buns with White Cheddar Cheese Yes, this is the same recipe I use for pizza, and calzones too! 1 1/4 cups of warm water 1 1/2 tsp traditional yeast 1 tbsp honey 2 3/4 cups flour (plus more for kneading) 1 tsp salt 2 tsp olive oil 600 g of aged-white cheddar cheese, grated (might leave some extra) 1. Pre-heat the oven as hot as it will go, 550 fahrenheit eat the oven as hot as it will go, and continue to pre-heat for 1/2 hour, before baking. Convection is better; pre-heat on 550 fahrenheit on convection. Turn the convection off, and reduce the temperature to 400 fahrenheit. 2. Make sure the water is warm, but not too warm (read yeast package directions). Dissolve the honey, and then stir in the yeast. Leave it 10-15 minutes, until the yeast has grown considerably. 3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and olive oil. 4. Once the yeast is activated, combine everything together in the bowl. Knead it, if you feel like it. If you're not grumpy or stressed, just do it a little, or a lot if you prefer. 5. Cover the bowl with a towel, and let the dough rise 45min to 1 hour. Knead again. Take some dough, say 2 cups worth, and stretch it out like a pizza pie, but more oblong. Then sprinkle it with a 1/2 cup, or so of cheese, mostly on one of the side lengths of the piece (which will be in the middle of the bun). Roll the dough across the width of itself, starting with the long cheese-covered part. Slice with a very sharp knife, into spirals 2 cm thick. Place the spirals on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and enhance the final product with yet more cheese. 6. To bake: turn the convection off, and reduce the temperature to 400 fahrenheit. Bake the buns for approximately 10 - 15 minutes, or until just barely golden. Enjoy!
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