Wait a second. What season is it again?Okay. 100 degrees outside...100% humidity...blistering sun...the smell of sweat and charred meats in the air...hmm. Beats me.
If you had visited my kitchen lately, you'd be confused too. Yesterday, I churned out an impossibly large vat of chili, then it was breakfast cookies full of dried fruit, and now, today, it was granola, another conference of dried fruit. That's right -- kitchen-steaming, wintry, wintry things. Wasn't it, um, me who was complaining her head off five minutes ago about the pain and suffering that winter was causing? I have no idea what's going on around here.
Okay, okay, so I do know. It strikes every summer. It gets so bloody hot outside in this city, and I panic. I revert back. I decide summer isn't so great after all! and summer is gnarly and vicious! and I never really liked summer, what was I thinking! and then I think that I will just cook my way back to cooler temperatures. If I can consume cooler weather, then I can become it. If I can pretend to mourn the absence of real fruit and the necessity to warm ones hands, then I can summon the strength to get through the next 100 degrees. And, really, that is the pioneer spirit that is going to keep me alive. Right?
This granola has been a long time coming. I've made many a granola in my day, and I've never been thrilled with the end product. Well, that is, until now. This recipe appeared in Bon Appétit magazine a few months ago, and that Molly Wizenberg made it seem so lovely and so heavenly that I was sold before I even made the first batch. She was right -- this stuff is outstanding. It it THE granola recipe. You will never, ever need another granola recipe. Ever. This is the one for you. When baking it, look for an amber color, and remember to always add your fruit after baking it, unless you like to sharpen your teeth on pebbles. Use any combination of nuts and fruits that you can think of. Sometimes I even make a batch of plain granola, or just with the coconut and some pecans, and it's still so good. I like it with a scoop of thick yogurt, or maybe with some milk. Or, you know, maybe with both the yogurt and milk, all eaten outside in the boiling heat as my skin roasts and the dairy curdles in the sun. Whatever it takes to remind myself how much I, uh, you know, love summer.
Okay, okay, so I do know. It strikes every summer. It gets so bloody hot outside in this city, and I panic. I revert back. I decide summer isn't so great after all! and summer is gnarly and vicious! and I never really liked summer, what was I thinking! and then I think that I will just cook my way back to cooler temperatures. If I can consume cooler weather, then I can become it. If I can pretend to mourn the absence of real fruit and the necessity to warm ones hands, then I can summon the strength to get through the next 100 degrees. And, really, that is the pioneer spirit that is going to keep me alive. Right?
This granola has been a long time coming. I've made many a granola in my day, and I've never been thrilled with the end product. Well, that is, until now. This recipe appeared in Bon Appétit magazine a few months ago, and that Molly Wizenberg made it seem so lovely and so heavenly that I was sold before I even made the first batch. She was right -- this stuff is outstanding. It it THE granola recipe. You will never, ever need another granola recipe. Ever. This is the one for you. When baking it, look for an amber color, and remember to always add your fruit after baking it, unless you like to sharpen your teeth on pebbles. Use any combination of nuts and fruits that you can think of. Sometimes I even make a batch of plain granola, or just with the coconut and some pecans, and it's still so good. I like it with a scoop of thick yogurt, or maybe with some milk. Or, you know, maybe with both the yogurt and milk, all eaten outside in the boiling heat as my skin roasts and the dairy curdles in the sun. Whatever it takes to remind myself how much I, uh, you know, love summer.
Perfect Granola
extracted from Bon Appétit and then changed up a tiny little bit
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey (use the best honey you can find -- I swear this will make a huge difference!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup assorted dried fruit (totally optional -- I really like the coconut/almond/pecan combo with dried blueberries or cherries)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey (use the best honey you can find -- I swear this will make a huge difference!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup assorted dried fruit (totally optional -- I really like the coconut/almond/pecan combo with dried blueberries or cherries)
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit. Store in an airtight container.
I'm making some. Fantastic. I am married to the unsweetened coconut from WF. Sorry, Nathan. And if it makes you feel less alone, I am making a big steaming curry tonight, and we had chili week before last; ie before spending a week in un-air conditioned Michigan, during which time I subsisted solely on cheetos, crystal light and maple nut ice cream. And bacon. Ah, Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI feel better already! And seeing the East Meets West stew at the café at school makes me also feel better. And, yes, those four items do constitute breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. I hope you also had some fried fish and fudge to wash it all down. Ah.
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