Cooking for Seven

Hello there! Hope you all had an awesome holiday season. I wish I could say ours was rockin’, but it seems like we’ve been battling one sickness after another.

I was going to make Nutella Stuffed Cookies for ya’ll, but after the indulgence pigging out from the holidays, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

So I went a little healthier route and made granola instead.

For Christmas I received the lovely Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, from which I got this granola. I think I’m going to really enjoy cooking my way through that book.

This granola is bonkers good. The flavors are simply wonderful and it bakes up nice and crunchy. Plus, it super-customizable — always a good thing in my book. You can change up the type of nuts or fruit for a totally different result.

And now for a bit of a baby/pregnancy update. I’m at 34.5 weeks (the above photo was taken at 33 weeks), or 5.5 weeks from my due date! It kinda scares and excites me to think that we’ll be responsible for the life of a tiny, helpless baby in a little over a month.

For now I’m doing my best to eat right to keep this life inside of me healthy. Onward to this new adventure!

You can read more about my pregnancy on my personal blog.

Recipe Notes:

• I think the use of egg white to help bind the granola is brilliant. It didn’t make the granola as “clumpy” as the recipe suggested it would, but it was still quite crunchy.
• The fruit made the granola get a tad softer. Next time I might leave it out altogether. After all I’m not a huge fan of fruit in my granola.
• Coarse sea salt makes this granola really lovely. Every once in a while you get a bite with a little salt crystal. Delightful!
• The original recipe called for olive oil, but I used butter since olive oil can break down with baking. You could also use coconut oil if you prefer.

Crunchy Maple Granola | adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook | makes about 7 cups | PRINTABLE PAGE


Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup pecans or nuts of choice
• 1/4 flax seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups dried fruit of choice (I used figs and apricots), optional

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 300° F (150° C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, nuts, flax seeds, cinnamon and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Mix in the maple syrup.

3) Pour the butter/maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and toss to coat well. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add to the dry ingredients and toss.

4) Spread the granola out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, until the granola is nicely toasted, golden, and feels dry, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

5) Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack. When completely cool, break up the granola and stir in the fruit. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can also store in the refrigerator of freezer for longer periods of time.

Hey everyone! Did you survive Thanksgiving?

Methinks you’re gonna need some good, wholesome energy food during holiday prep. These no-bake granola bars are low-fuss so quick to mix up. Make a batch and store in the refrigerator for emergency snacks.

You can check out the step-by-step instructions and recipe over on the Tasty Kitchen Blog here.

Here are a few things I’ve been lovin’ from around the web…

Coffee & Tea Print by Bunny Pumpkin on Etsy

This blog. The photos are just lovely.

Eggs Benedict. Why have I never made this before?!

This lovely kitchen.

Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch. It’s just good.

Cranberry Cake. Looks so pretty and festive.

This house. And this one.

This sentiment via Lisa Congdon. Just…yes.

Chemex coffee maker. You can buy me one for Christmas, if you want.

Tasting Spoons. I need them in my life.

This engagement session. It’s just - I can’t - It’s lovely.

Photo by Catherine Huckerby

Open shelving. I want it someday…

Tall gingerbread houses.

Chai Shortbread Cookies with Sea Salt. Omnom.

Tiramisu Cake by Call Me Cupcake. Purdy.

What have you been loving lately?

Last week, I received a message asking if I would like to sample some granola from Malachi’s Harvest. Of course I said yes - granola is one of my favorite breakfast treats!

My analysis:

Malachi’s harvest is a business run by a homeschooling family of six. They strive to provide nutrient-dense, flavorful, and healthy granola. Visit their Etsy shop to learn more.

Taste/Quality: I was very impressed with the flavors - complex and delicious. Also, it was loaded with quality nuts, fruits, and coconut chips. The texture was a bit soft for my taste, but the  flavors certainly made up for it. Check out the ingredient list in their shop. I think you’ll be impressed.

Okay, here’s the fun part.

The people from Malachi’s Harvest were generous enough to send me two samples - one to try and one to share…with you!

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How can you enter this giveaway?

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite breakfast treat.

2) For another chance to win, tweet about my giveaway. Come back and leave another comment with a link to your tweet.

3) For another chance to win, blog about my giveaway. Come back and leave another comment with a link to your post.

No comments will be considered after Wednesday, March 24 at 11:00 p.m. CST. On Thursday morning I will select a winner using random.org.

EDIT: The actual date of the end of this giveaway is March 24, not 23. Thanks, TJ, for notifying me!

Good Luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!