Truly Crunchy-Granola Type

Are you sick of spending $4 or $5 per pound of granola from your local bulk section?  Have you ever tried making your own?  It’s soo easy and you can fill it with whatever your heart (& your stomach) desires!  This granola is more like a template, so feel free to add or leave out whatever you’d like from this recipe.  This makes A LOT of granola, so you might want to make only half, but you’ll be set on breakfast for a while if you make it all at once.  Enjoy!

Hemp Cherry Nut Granola:

• 10 cup of oats
• 1/2 c. coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 c. maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1-2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 Tbsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup flax meal
• 1/2 cup tart cherries
• 1/2 roughly chopped shelled pistachios
• 1/2 roughly chopped walnuts
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• zest of 2 oranges
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

1)  Mix maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, flax meal together in a small bowl set aside.

2)  In a large bowl, mix oats, salt, coconut, fruit, nuts, seeds, cinnamon, and orange zest in a small bowl.

3)  Add liquid mixture from the small bowl to the large bowl of dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.

3)  Bake in batches, spreading each batch out evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 25 minutes in a 300 deg F oven.

4)  Cool on baking sheet before transferring to containers.

5)  Enjoy and be thankful you won’t be ripped off by the granola in your local bulk section!

I Wanna Live With a Cinnamon [Bun] Girl

You would be happy for the rest of your life!  Neil Young would agree.  One of my favorite fans noticed I haven’t posted in some time…Sorry, friends, I have been piled with graduate schoolwork lately!    I hope you find this post (& its title) satisfactory, J.  🙂

This is the first time I’ve impromptu’d with yeast breads and I’d say it was a success.  These big ol’ buns were for a birthday brunch of a dear friend of mine.  Happy Birthday, Kim!  The cinnamon filling was a bit thin, so I’m upping the amount in the recipe.  Let me know if it works!  I also didn’t have any vanilla extract, so add it where you see fit.  Also, Happy Spring, everyone!  It’s (almost) warm enough to not wear long underwear here in MT!  Happy baking!

Cinnamon Buns!

Makes 10 buns

Dough

• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, cold
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 6 Tbsp of warm water (110 – 115 °F) + 1  Tbsp sugar
• 2 1/2 cups “milk” (I used coconut milk)
• 6 Tbsp of warm water (110 – 115 °F) + 1  Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup sugar

Filling:

• 2-3 Tsp of  ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 Earth Balance

1)  “Proof” the yeast, to make sure it’s active.  In a small bowl, mix 1 Tbsp sugar and 6 Tbsp warm water until sugar is dissolved.  Add yeast and set aside for 10 minutes.  If the yeast mixture is foamy and has a head like a good beer, it’s good!

2)  In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and Earth Balance.  With a pastry cutter (or your hands), cut the cold Earth Balance into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3)  In a medium bowl, add flax meal, milk, and 1/2 cup sugar.

4)  Add yeast mixture, once done proofing, to large bowl of flour mixture.

5)  Add medium bowl of milk mixture to large bowl of flour mixture.

6)  Mix until just combined.  A slightly sticky dough will form.  DO NOT OVERMIX.

7)  Cover bowl with clean towel and set in warm, draft-free area, and let rise for about an hour, until doubled in bulk.  Make filling in meantime.

8)  To make filling, melt Earth Balance over low heat.  Add sugar and cinnamon and sugar and whisk until combined.

2)  Remove from heat and set aside.  Back to the dough!

8)  Punch dough down and transfer to floured surface.

9)  Knead dough just until workable (DO NOT OVERKNEAD) and no longer sticks to the work surface or your hands.

10)  Divide dough in two heaps.  Set one heap aside.

11)  Make each head into a long rectangle.

12)  Spread filling on dough and roll lengthwise and pinch the edges where one end of the dough meets the other in the last roll as to not let the filling spill out.

13)  Cut log of dough into 5 equal pieces

14)  Repeat with other heap of dough.

15)  Place buns into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan (it’s okay if the buns touch, they will).

16)  Bake in 350 °F oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Icing:

• 1/2 cup “cream cheese”, softened
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I just used a piece of vanilla bean)
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar

1)  Beat cream cheese and Earth Balance until smooth.

2)  Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth, a glaze that’s ideal for drizzling over buns should form.

3)  Drizzle over cool or slightly warm buns.

ENJOY!

Wrap your truffles in dreams…

These truffles ARE dreams and…you can eat them for breakfast!  These little numbers are packed full of protein, good fats, low-glycemic carbohydrates, and just a tiny touch of sweetness that will keep you satisfied for hours without a sugar crash.  This recipe is partly inspired by the delicious carob-almond butter squares I used to get at Whole Earth Center, a wonderful natural foods grocer in Princeton, New Jersey, when I lived in that area.  It is also partly inspired by the brief time I followed the raw diet and often made coconut haystacks from raw chef Matt Amsden’s book, RAWvolution.  Mmm.  Get creative with this recipe!  Perhaps add some slivered almonds, and a bit of fresh orange peel if you want to make these for a fancy dessert?  Dust these babies in a bit of smoked salt, chili, and cocoa powder?  Have fun!  Yum.

Breakfast Truffles!

Makes 16 truffles – serves 4

Ingredients:  

–  1/4 cup cocoa powder

– 1/4 cup carob powder

– 1/4 cup peanut butter

– 1/4 sunflower butter

– 1/4 cup coconut oil

– 1/4 cup flax seed meal

– 2 tbsp water

– 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar

– 2 cups of rolled oats

– pinch of salt, or to taste

– cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1)  In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients until well blended.

2)  Make each truffle by rolling two tablespoons of mixture into a ball.

3)  Optional:  In a small bowl with a bit of cocoa powder, roll truffles lightly until coated.

4)  Chill until firm.

5)  Enjoy!

When life hands you (too much) mashed potatoes….

MAKE BISCUITS!

I now have THREE different types of biscuits in my recipe arsenal.  But this recipe was imperative as I probably took home ten pounds of mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving!  They have a slight potato flavor, they’re fluffy, and they’re hypoglycemic’s nightmare.

Mashed Potato Biscuits:

(makes 12 large biscuits)

Ingredients:

–  3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (make all cups of flour all-purpose flour if you want extra light, fluffy biscuits)

–  2 Tbsp baking powder

–  1 Tbsp salt

–  1 1/2 cups Earth Balance

–  1 1/3 cup unsweetened soymilk

–  1 Tbsp mild tasting vinegar (like rice vinegar) or lemon juice

–  2 Tbsp flax meal

–  3 cups mashed potatoes

Directions:

1)  In a large bowl, add flour(s), salt, and baking powder.

2)  Add melted butter to large bowl with flour mixture and combine until coarse crumbs form.  Set aside.

3)  In a medium bowl, add soymilk and vinegar or lemon juice and stir.  Let sit for a few minutes.

4)  Add flax meal to soymilk mixture, stir, and let sit for a few minutes.

5)  Add mashed potatoes to soymilk mixture and whisk until combined.

6)  Add mashed potato mixture to flour mixture and mix until combined.  Do not overmix as this will turn your fluffy biscuits into hockey pucks.

7)  Scoop dough by 1/2 increments (I used a dry measuring cup, which acts as a nice biscuit mold) onto a greased sheet pan.

8)  Bake at 425 deg F for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

9)  Eat and be thankful you don’t have to eat a few spoonfuls of cold mashed potatoes, as if you were eating out of an ice cream container, each time you visit the refrigerator as I have for the past week…