orange, brown butter and almond granola

Usually I make my granola with a almond-fruit juice-maple syrup mixture (like in these two posts). I thought I'd switch it up this time and use a recipe from Super Natural Everyday - with melted butter! I'm out of maple syrup, so I used honey instead, and decided to brown that butter, because everything tastes better with brown butter. It's a magical cooking technique that turns regular old melted butter (delicious all ready), into something nutty and complex - it reminds me of caramel and hazelnuts. In french cooking, it's called buerre noisette, literally 'hazelnut butter.'

Heidi's version in Super Natural Every Day has walnuts, currants and coconut. I went in a different direction, with almonds, currants and orange zest (actually, clementine zest, which was what I had). It tastes like christmas! Next time, I'm going to go decadent with walnuts, orange zest and chocolate chunks. Crazy. 

(There's just something about clementines - wooden crates, finding my winter coat pockets filled with dried-out peel, filling a bowl with the cheerful little fruit for my kitchen table. I know it's still technically fall, but as soon as I peel my first clementine, I know it's gonna be christmas soon... soon-ish.)

orange, brown butter and almond granola

adapted from Super Natural Every Day

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup wheat germ

3 tbsp flax seeds

1/2 tsp sea salt

zest from 1 orange (or 2 clementines) 

85 grams unsalted butter (just over 1/3 cup)

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup currants

Preheat oven to 350. Combine oats, almonds, wheat germ, flax seeds, salt and zest in a large bowl. Melt butter over medium-low heat. Continue cooking butter, about 5 minutes, until it browns and begins to smell like hazelnuts. Watch it closely, it can go from being browned to burnt very quickly. Add honey to butter, stirring until it's melted and combined. 

Pour honey/butter over the oats, and stir to coat the oats evenly. Spread on two parchment paper covered baking sheets and bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. Let cool completely on baking sheets, then stir in currants. Store in jars at room temperature. The granola will keep for a couple of weeks. 

Eat simply with milk, sprinkle on top of yogurt and fruit, or stuff into baked apples.  

baked oatmeal with raspberries and toasted almonds

As I've said before, breakfast is hands down, my favourite meal of the day. That's all well and good on the days when I work evenings - I can turn on the radio, laze around in my pyjamas and take my time: break out the waffle iron, turn on the oven, make some coffee. What about those mornings I have to leave the house before it's light out? I'm not a morning person, and I don't function well in the early morning: breaking things, pouring juice on my granola instead of milk, salt instead of sugar in my coffee. 

Early mornings are the reason I cook batches - I make a triple amount of waffles or pancakes, wrap them up, and throw them in the freezer. I toast up a giant batch of granola on the weekend, leave it in a jar on the counter. Or I make this fabulous oatmeal, from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day. 

But here's my latest version of the recipe. I like to change it every time I make it - it's just asking to be modified. Right now, I'm really missing summer berries, so I dug a bag of frozen raspberries out of the freezer. You can change up the fresh/frozen fruit, add dried fruits, use honey, maple syrup or different sugars, vary the type of nuts you use, or throw in other spices (nutmeg, citrus zest, ginger). Also, this recipe is almost vegan - you can replace the butter for oil (as I do anyway when I'm too lazy to melt butter) and replace the egg with 1/2 a mashed banana or a flax egg.

baked oatmeal with raspberries and toasted almonds

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day. Serves 6. 

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup almonds, chopped and toasted

1/3 cup demerara sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups milk

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

2 tsp vanilla 

1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a baking dish (9x13) or 5 or 6 small ramekins. I used an assortment of sizes - and canning jars are great here too. 

In a bowl, mix together oats, almonds (save a few tbsp for topping later), sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. 

Put the 3/4 of raspberries in the bottom of the baking dish (or ramekins). Top with the oat mixture, then pour the milk mixture on top. You might have to give the dish a few whacks on the counter, to help the milk move down through the oats. Top with the rest of the berries, the rest of the nuts, and a sprinkle of sugar. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the oats have set and the top is golden. 

This oatmeal keeps great in the fridge for a week. Just reheat it, perhaps with a bit of milk and maple syrup to help revive it. 

apple rhubarb crumble with raspberry frozen yogurt

Meet my favourite dessert of all time - the simple crumble. Can you tell? There's already two recipes on here: a strawberry rhubarb, and a raspberry pear. If I had to pick my last meal on earth, it would be a huge bowl of apple crumble with a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and a large mug of hot chocolate. So, why the crumble?

1. It takes less than 10 minutes of prep time.
2. Baking fruit makes the house smell lovely.
3. You can make it with or without butter - both versions are delicious.
4. Any kind of fruit works, whatever's in season or in the fridge.
5. The topping is forgiving and versatile.
6. It's impossible to make screw up.
7. It's DELICIOUS - nutty, sweet, warm!

Have I convinced you yet? Make this tasty version with winter storage apples and greenhouse rhubarb, and serve with vanilla ice cream for a treat. Or, feeling virtuous? Try a lighter accompaniment - a fast raspberry frozen yogurt.



apple rhubarb crumble
(adapted from Moosewood Kitchen's Cooking for Health. Makes 6 servings.)


2 cups chopped rhubarb
4 apples, cored and chopped
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375. Put all ingredients in a shallow baking dish, and toss to combine. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble the crumble:

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup grape seed oil
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse to combine, until nuts are chopped into a coarse grind. When fruit is done, remove from oven and spread crumble evenly over top. Return to oven for another 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

raspberry frozen yogurt
(adapted from Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes. Makes two servings - double or triple recipe for more.)

1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup yogurt
1 tbsp liquid honey


Combine ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the berries are pureed, and the mixture is a smooth consistency. Serve immediately.

crunchy granola

A long time ago, I posted this basic granola recipe. This one follows the same basic recipe of equal amounts of sweetener, juice and nut/seed butter. It's something I haven't made for ages, so I decided to bring it back. Perfect for the cold winter months, try pouring some warm milk over granola for breakfast. 

granola with apples, pecans and raisins

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla paste

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried apples

Preheat oven to 325. Combine juice, almond butter, honey and vanilla in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the mixture is smooth. In two 9x13 pans, combine oats and nuts. Pour liquid over, and stir to coat oats and nuts. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes. Keep a close watch, because it can burn easily. When mixture is golden and feels dry, remove from oven and let cool. Stir in raisins and apples. Keeps for a month or 2 in a sealed jar. Try with yogurt or milk, or by itself as a snack. 

Here, it made a great parfait with the rhubarb applesauce I made a few days ago. 

pear raspberry crumble

Crumble is my go-to dessert, because the ingredients are always in my house. Fruit? Check. Oats, flour and sugar? Check. Butter? Definitely check. This is a recipe for last minute dinners, unexpected house guests, and middle of the night cravings.


Pear and raspberry crumble

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter (or grape seed oil for a vegan version)
1/4 cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 cups raspberries
4 or 5 pears, chopped in 1 to 2 in chunks
(don't worry about peeling them)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, oats, sugar, butter, walnuts, cinnamon and salt in a food processor. Pulse until combined. In a greased baking dish, combine raspberries, pears, sugar and cinnamon. Toss to combine. Spread topping mixture over top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until top is crispy, and fruit is cooked through.