Given my inability (or lack of motivation) to write anything coherent, let alone interesting or relevant, I have taken inspiration from that utilitarian structure of elementary school, that handy inspirational framework that helped me produce many a vapid and dull piece of poetry: the acrostic poem.
Really (oh that was bad), it is the writing of the posts that has become the bottleneck of the blog; I have countless (i.e. 40+) drafts of recipe + photos, without a single other word written.
Anonymity in ways holds me back as it is sometimes hard to say where the line lies with the blog–lately I’ve found that I prefer to avoid the personal, even in the vague terms of extended metaphors representing my emotional state (mostly sleepy) or anonymized descriptions of exchanges and encounters.
Nor is a purely food-focused post always that desirable; I find it’s hard to carry off without falling into the usual pattern of childhood memories unless I actually have some new insight into what I made.
Oddly yet obviously, now that I think about it, there is something to say about granola: it’s so ridiculously easy for homemade granola to be better than the ultra-sweet and dull mincemeat that is storebought.
Laden with dried fruit and nuts, I’ve been working with Alton Brown’s granola recipe for probably the last 8 years, and over time I’ve made adjustments that I’m quite fond of–eliminating an excess of completely unnecessary sugar, and altering the baking technique to retain nice large clumps.
And now get ready for a final line of profound simplicity…
Granola.
pistachio, coconut and apricot granola
- 300 g rolled oats (3 c)
- 95 g (1 c) slivered almonds
- 87 g pistachios (which can be given a rough chop) (3/4 c)
- 70 g dried & shredded unsweetened coconut (scant 1 cup)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 60 mL oil
- 90 mL maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- large flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 250F. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine the oats, nuts and coconut. Separately, whisk together the oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract until emulsified. I find for better distribution, it is best to add the salt to the liquid ingredients, though I did forget to do that this time around.
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Distribute between the two pans and spread into a thin even layer.
Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pans, and bake for another 30 minutes. I like the granola to be quite chunky, so at this point I used a wide offset spatula-type instrument to go through and flip over the granola, keeping it in as large pieces as possible. Bake for another 15-30 minutes or until completely dried and lightly browned. Let cool.
Mix in the chopped apricots and store in a jar.
Lovely recipe and post. Nice to see you friend. I can totally relate to you. We have so many food pics resting in the gallery asking to be posted but it is the lack of writing something new that stops us. I tried this at such times and it worked- I just start a new post with a food pic and ideas and words just follow. Hope you had a nice weekend.
Regards
Ana
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Thank you for your encouragement Ana! I love it when the words flow, but lately it’s certainly been a struggle. I’ll give another post a try soon, with your blog and others as inspiration. Wishing you plenty of words for your blog 🙂
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Will look forward to your next post. But no pressure. Enjoy.
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Thanks Ana! I’ve been pushing forwards. It’s sort of refreshing to get some of my drafts out of the drafts folder and not have to look at them anymore 🙂
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Haha! All the best. Enjoy👍🏻😊
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I love the soft light in your kitchen and how you capture it in your photos. There’s always such a quiet, restful and serene energy in your photos. The recipe looks great too 😊
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Oh my, thank you Chez! I’m so flattered by that description! I loved the flavour profile that I borrowed from your granola–it looked so bright and colourful with the apricots and pistachios, a bit of sunny colour on the table in the morning. 🙂
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Hey T , good to hear from you! Very well written and totally relate to you here. The pictures are amazing and basically speak for you too !! 😘
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Aww, thank you Trupti! I’m glad–if the pictures speak, then I can say less! It’s so nice to hear from you as well, it’s been a while 🙂
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Yes 🙂 they do but also write well.. so do continue! Be in touch
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Aww, thanks again Trupti! 🙂
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