Grain Free Granola

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As you might recall, I've been living a grain free life for nearly two years now. If you're not familiar with my grain free decision, you can read all about it here. I'm very happy with my dietary decision, but there are days I really miss certain foods. One of those foods is cereal. I was a big fan of cereal before giving up grains. I thought I would never know the yumminess of a bowl of crunchy cereal with cold milk again. I looked through several Paleo granolas and then concocted my own recipe. The other members of my family eat grains, but they all love this grain free granola. The recipe is super easy. Even though it's technically "baking", you don't have to be as precise with measuring as you would with traditional baking recipes.

What you'll need: 

• 3 cups total of your favorite nuts. (I used pecans, cashews and almonds)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 T sesame seeds
• 3 T raw honey
• 2 T organic maple syrup
• 1 T madagascar vanilla
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup diced dried fruit (I like apricots and figs)

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Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 330℉
2. Chop the 3 cups nuts with either a knife or food processor until pieces are sized to your liking
3. In a large glass bowl combine the nuts, all seeds, pipettes and coconut
4. In a small bowl stir together the honey, vanilla and oil until well combined
5. Poor honey mixture over the nuts and seeds mixture until all things are evenly coated
6. You can add the diced dried fruit now if you like, but I personally prefer to add it after baking.
7. Spread evenly the granola mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
8. Bake for 12 minutes, then mix the granola, turning etc. and spreading out evenly. Again, bake for 12 minutes or until your granola is golden brown. Keep an eye on the granola for the last few minutes of baking. It can burn quite suddenly.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before breaking it apart and storing in an air-tight container. Store in the pantry for a few days (which is how long it lasts in my house) or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

We like to save Talenti Gelato containers. They're perfect for storing the granola. And speaking of gelato, this granola is delicious as a topping. I hope you try this recipe. It's delicious, full of healthy nuts and seeds, is free of processed sugars and grains. Give it a try! If you do, please let me know what you think.

Grain-Free Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Happy New Year, friends! I trust you had a lovely holiday. I, for one, enjoyed the break from routine and just doing nothing, really. Well, I hung out with my family and saw friends. I attended & hosted a party or two. Generally speaking, though, I relaxed! With temperatures around zero or single digits, I'm having a bit of trouble getting into gear! Here it is January 8th and I've only now returned to work. It's all good though. My January calendar is fairly full. I'm about to start working with a new client on her brand new business logo (my favorite!), I've got new customizable, pre-made logos about to launch and I continue to prepare yummy, whole food, for my crew at home. This brings me to today's topic: Muffins!

As you may know, if you're a regular visitor to my journal, I am a grain-free observer. I will have corn now and again (organic only), but all the other grains don't agree with me. So I'm getting creative in the kitchen when it comes to baked goods. Here's my latest recipe based on several flourless muffin recipes, but with my own twist. For example, I love adding extra eggs, vanilla and hazelnut meal whenever possible. This recipe is no acceptation.

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe banana
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup creamy organic peanut butter (I prefer using regular organic peanut butter when baking rather than homemade peanut butter. The homemade type tends to be too runny for baking in my opinion.)
• 3 tablespoons organic maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon madagascar vanilla (please use the real stuff)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup fine ground hazelnut meal/flour
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F.
• Using your stand mixer or hand mixer, combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips, and mix/whisk on medium low speed. Add the peanut butter once  you've added all the other ingredients to insure it doesn't clump and stick to the bottom of your bowl.
• When you've got your batter well combined, fold in your mini chocolate chips until incorporated.
• Pour into your muffin papers. I like using the larger variety, which makes muffin-tops.
• Bake for 17 minutes if you're using the larger papers. Your baking time will vary based on the size of muffin papers you use.
• Enjoy warm, fresh from the oven with a bit of butter on top. You can also keep them in an airtight container for 4-5 days, but honestly... who can keep from eating muffins that long?

I'm guessing you have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now, though maybe not the hazelnut meal/flour. If you don't have the hazelnut meal... go get some! It's a delicious addition to your baking. Especially if you're embracing the grain-free or gluten free lifestyle! Give this recipe a try. And if you do, please let me know, in the comments, how you like them!

Cheers!

-Patti

Baked Apples with Fresh Whipped Cream

Today was a beautiful Autumn day in New England. It is Sunday night as I am writing this, but I spent much of my day in the kitchen baking and cooking. There's something about blue skies, chilly temperatures and strong winds that make me want to nest! I started the day making my favorite breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and homemade potatoes (aka home-fries). I use to love going out for breakfast on the weekend, but now that our kitchen remodel has been completed, I can't seem to find a breakfast better than the one made at home. 

After breakfast was finished, I baked the rest of the grain-free chocolate chip cookie dough I'd made on Friday. So at this point my kitchen smelled like bacon, onion & potatoes and warm chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm.... works for me!

My husband and older son went for a bike ride, and they always stop at the local apple barn for the week's supply of apples. I'd realized that there were still a few Granny Smith apples left from last week, so I decided to bake them up for an after dinner treat. As you might already know from reading my journal, I'm grain-free, so apple pies aren't really part of the menu just yet. I'm working on figuring out how to make a grain-free crust. Until then, this is an easy and delicious apple treat.

Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare your baking dish with a piece of parchment paper.

Ingredients

• 5 Granny Smith apples (or your favorite tart variety)
• 2 Tbs. Salted Irish Butter (room temperature)
• 1/4 C. Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbs. Hazelnut Meal/Flour
• 1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon plus a bit for dusting
• 1/2 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 C. Pure Maple Syrup
• The Juice from 1/2 Small Lemon (about 2 Tbs.)

Directions:

Wash your apples and pat dry. Slice apples across the middle (so you can see the "seed stars" inside). Using a teaspoon, scoop out the center core and seeds. Place the apples on your parchment paper, cut side up. In a glass bowl blend the butter and all dry ingredients. Sprinkle the apples with the fresh lemon juice. Next fill each of the apple "wells" with the butter and spice mixture and drizzle with maple syrup. Dust with additional cinnamon and bake, uncovered for 7 minutes or until the apple meat is starting to pull away from the skin. Remove from oven and serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or let cool a bit and serve with fresh, homemade whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon. Enjoy!

Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie/Cake (for one)

I've found several chocolate chip cookie-for-one recipes on Pinterest, but they call for either  traditional grain-based flour, or they're made using all almond flour (which I don't care for the taste of that much). I've been playing around with my various grain-free flours and think I've come up with a winner! My husband and my boys all think this recipe is amazing as well, and they're chocolate chip cookie "specialists"!  Regardless of if you're eating grain-free or not, give this recipe a try!

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(and yes, a glass of cold milk goes quite nicely with a warm bowl of cookie-cake!)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp unsalted Irish butter (room temp. or slightly melted)
• 2 Tbsp organic brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp Madagascar vanilla (trust me... use the real stuff!)
• 5 Tbsp hazelnut flour
• 3 Tbsp quinoa flour
• 1 Tbsp almond flour
• 2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
• pinch of fine ground kosher salt

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in a small ramekin or microwave safe mug/dish/etc until well combined. Add the 3 flours (which basically equals a bit more than 1/4 C) and salt mixing well. Fold in your chocolate chips. Cook in the microwave for 60 - 90 seconds, or until you see the "cookie" edges have pulled away from the sides of the dish. Cool a bit and enjoy!

I've discovered Bob's Red Mill offers just about every kind of flour known to man, which I buy at WholeFoods. If you can't find them in one of your local markets, you can purchase online. Tell me if you give this a try. I'd love to know what you think!

Cheers!