Coconut, Oat, and Quinoa Granola

There are infinite combinations for delicious homemade granola. I'm constantly mixing up the fruits and nuts that I throw in to my granola, but the one element I do neglect to change up enough is the grains. Granted, granola is pretty much defined by rolled oats, but there's certainly room for adding other grains, especially protein-rich quinoa, which adds a lovely nutritious crunch. Millet would also be a welcome addition, but it doesn't come with quite the nutritional bonus of quinoa. The remaining ingredients are a particularly delightful melange of nuts, seeds, coconut, and dried fruit that become wonderfully crunchy and subtly sweet when slowly baked in a light glaze. I typically eat granola for breakfast, but this also makes a wonderful topping for frozen yogurt or ice cream and is special enough to give as a gift. So much of my eating follows the seasons, but granola always has a place in my diet, from spring to winter, breakfast to dessert.

Coconut, Oat, and Quinoa Granola
adapted from Aida Mollenkamp
makes about 3 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or brown rice or agave syrup
1.5 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.5 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds
1/2 cup packed unsweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cup uncooked quinoa, flaxseed, or hemp seed
1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup raisins, currants, or dried cranberries

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Combine butter or coconut oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a small pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Pour mixture into a bowl, add the oats and nuts and toss until evenly coated.

2. Spread the oat mixture in a thin, even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir in the coconut, quinoa or seeds, and pumpkin seeds, and spread out into a thin layer. Continue baking until the granola is very golden brown and smells toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes more. (Note : Granola should be golden and slightly crisp -- remember that it will crisp even more as it cools. Keep an eye on the granola at this point because, depending on the thickness of your baking sheet, it will cook faster or slower than mine did.)

3. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool the granola to room temperature, at least 15 minutes.
When the granola is cool, add the dried fruit and toss to combine.

Whole Wheat Currant Scones

Although many scones have nearly turned into cookies these days, I'm a fan of the traditional, not-too-sweet variety. Creative flavors abound, which I both purchase and bake, but sometimes it's nice to go back to classics, the most traditional scones being currant scones. The simple flavor profile created by cream, butter, and currants is delicious, but the white flour traditionally used to make scones doesn't bring anything to the party in terms of nutrition or flavor, so I seek out scone recipes using whole grain flours. Whole wheat pastry flour gives these scones a wonderfully nutty flavor and light texture, a perfect contrast to sweet and chewy raisins or currants. And while cream lends an irresistible richness and decadence to scones, for pastries I plan on having for a regular weekday breakfast, I prefer the lightness and tang of buttermilk. Currants work best in this recipe, distributing tiny bits of flavor throughout the scone, but raisins or any other dried fruit you like (I recommend dried cherries or blueberries) will also work splendidly.

The next Saturday or Sunday morning you can have a little extra time, whip up a batch of these simple, flavorful scones and reward yourself with a hot breakfast fresh from the oven. If you don't have to share with too many people pop any leftovers in the freezer so you can treat yourself with a tasty breakfast any day of the week.

Whole Wheat Currant Scones
adapted from Bob's Red Mill
makes 8 scones

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2  teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup currants or raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Use an ungreased 10" x 15" baking pan.

2. In a bowl, combine whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. With 2 knives or a pastry blender, cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.

3. In a small bowl, beat egg with buttermilk to blend. Add egg mixture and raisins to flour mixture; stir just enough to moisten evenly. Scrape dough onto baking pan; pat into a 1" thick round. With a sharp knife, cut round into 8 wedges, leave in place.

4. Bake 30-35 minutes until browned. Cut or break scones into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Carrot-Oat Cake

I love dessert, and any day that includes some sort of indulgence is all the better for it in my opinion. Like the cookies I made last week, this cake is a way to indulge my sweet tooth but still sneak in some quality nutrition along the way. This cake is flavorful, moist, and everything I want in a snack during my morning break at work, but also healthy enough for breakfast or sweet enough for dessert.  If you're concerned about the amount of sugar in this recipe from the 1 cup of maple syrup (or simply don't want to use so much an expensive ingredient), substitute half of the maple syrup with unsweetened applesauce; honey could also be used in lieu of the maple syrup, also in combination with applesauce, if desired. Personally, I'm a sucker for anything with (real) maple syrup so I wouldn't want to subtract any of that wonderful maple flavor and aroma from this cake. Taking a few minutes to savor a cup of tea, this delicious cake, and a bit of calm goes a long way to breaking up the work day and keeping my sanity when things get hectic.

Carrot-Oat Cake
from Whole Foods
makes one 9x9-inch cake

Natural cooking spray
1 cup rolled or quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup dried currants
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a (9-inch) square baking pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

2. Pulse oats and walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well. In a second large bowl, combine carrots, maple syrup, currants, coconut and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to let cool before cutting into squares.

Currant Scones

You might be sick of recipes from Good to the Grain, but I most definitely am not. I had a froze the extra Strawberry Barley Scones I made last Sunday and had one for breakfast every day this past week, with the exception of Saturday morning at the farmer's market where I bought a whole grain carrot-raisin scone from Chris and Lori's Bakehouse. I indulge in a pastry every Saturday morning at the farmer's market; it's been a scone from Chris and Lori's Bakehouse every week for the past few months. As for the strawberry barley scones, I took one out of the freezer every morning after I finished my yoga and let it thaw while I took a shower, got dressed, and walked the dog (about an hour). I then heated them for about 5 minutes or so in a toaster oven preheated to 350 degrees. Although scones are best fresh from the oven, the scones reheat remarkably well, maintaining their flavor and texture. I plan to do the same with the extras from this week.

Spelt flour is not likely to be at your average supermarket. I found my Arrowhead Mills spelt flour at Whole Foods. Currants, on the other hand, are pretty likely to be available at most grocery stores; I got mine from the bulk bin at Whole Foods.

While they are certainly not savory scones, these scones are not terribly sweet, and that is by no means a bad thing. Spelt flour is mild with a slight hint of sweetness which pairs well with the tiny, sweet currants and adding a lot of sugar would only bury the delicious spelt and currant flavors. I think the American diet has become all too acclimated to sweetness since high fructose corn syrup is added to seemingly nearly every processed food out there.

Currant Scones
from yet again, Good to the Grain

When I was student, for a time, in Cambridge, England, I ate a currant scone every day of the semester. They were rough-dropped mounds, with crisp edges and studded with currants. When trying to recreate these scones in my kitchen, I reached for spelt flour. Its underlying hint of ripe fruit complements the sweetness of the currants. If you want more dried fruit, sprinkle a larger handful into the batter.

Butter for the baking sheets

Dry Mix:
1.25 c. spelt flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. kosher salt

Wet Mix:
2 ounces (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 c. currants
1.5 c. heavy cream

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Rub two baking sheets with butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any grains or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

2. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. With your hands, work the butter, pinching it until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal. Add the currants and stir to combine. Pour the cream into the bowl and stir the ingredients just until the flour is moistened throughout.

3. Separate the dough into 9 mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 4 inches between the mounds. Use your hands to break up any large heaps of dough and to tuck in the crumbs.

4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. You'll know these scones  are done when the tops and bottoms turn golden brown. The scones are best eaten warm from the oven or later the same day.