biscuits and gravy

I could have sworn that I blogged about this, but I guess not. Anyway, way back in April I had a craving for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast. After reading a post about baby biscuits and gravy on Disgustingly Good, I entered the kitchen ready to cover the counters in flour.

His recipe uses all white whole wheat flour. I've always preferred biscuits with white flour so that they'll stay soft and tender, but what the hey, let's try something new.

The dough was easy to work with and pretty tasty on its own. (I have this thing for eating raw doughs, I don't know where I picked that up from.) The white whole wheat flour I used gave it a really nutty flavor that worked really well with the gravy.

I cut my biscuits into mini squares using the square cookie cutter set my great aunt gave me a while back. It's a nice change from the standard circular biscuit.

As you know, to make a gravy you start with a roux. This roux uses white whole wheat flour, just like the biscuits. I followed the recipe as written, except I subbed a tablespoon of butter for bacon grease, which I highly recommend doing.

Again, just like for biscuits, I prefer to use white flour in rouxs because it's flavor neutral. However, the flour gave the gravy a toasted nutty flavor that I really enjoyed. So don't shy away from using white whole wheat flour, and if you don't have it I suggest you buy some before you make this. If you need another use for it, try my coconut biscotti.

The recipe suggests using as much milk as you need to reach the consistency you desire. I may have used about 3/4 cup total, but it's been so long that I can't remember now. Eyeball it.

Once your gravy reaches the desired consistency, season with good salt and cracked black pepper.

Finally, plate up with some softly scrambled eggs and enjoy your breakfast! And in case you like to read while eating, here's this article from NYT informing us that we're making our biscuits wrong.

homemade quinoa granola

I hadn't planned on blogging about this granola. I made it on a whim for breakfast since cereal isn't very filling and I don't always want to eat eggs (hot oatmeal doesn't do it for me). This is probably the least complicated recipe I've made, but it is one of the best. It has quinoa for a little protein, and is packed with fruit and nuts. I didn't use much much quinoa because I wasn't sure of the proportions, so next time I'll add more.

To make this granola, dry ingredients, minus the dried fruit, are mixed in a large bowl. The wet ingredients, butter, pancake syrup, and a little orange juice, are heated together until the butter is melted, then poured over the oatmeal and mixed until coated thoroughly. Little clusters will begin to form. Simply spread it out on a greased baking sheet and bake for a quick thirty minutes. The granola will be lightly golden.

I like how the clusters of oats are studded with quinoa. The quinoa doesn't have too strong of a taste when it's eaten like this.

I've been craving crunchy granola bars and I just might have to play around with this recipe to see what I can do about it. The quinoa will definitely help with the crunchiness.

When I think of granola I think of crunchy clusters of sweet, crispy oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit. Well, there are clusters here - many of them. It ended up not being as sweet as I expected, but the sweetness of the dried fruit helped out. Instead of using honey like I normally do I subbed it with pancake syrup. That's probably why it wasn't as sweet.

I ate a bowl with Greek yogurt, milk, and fresh fruit. I didn't mind that the granola itself wasn't very sweet because I don't want to ingest a sugar bomb so early in the day anyway. Try it out for yourself if you want a healthy, tasty granola.

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homemade quinoa granola
Recipe by Christina Provo

Yields 4-5 cups

Ingredients -
3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pancake syrup
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons orange juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Grease a rimmed baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oatmeal, quinoa, and almonds.


2. In a medium, microwavable bowl, heat the pancake syrup with the butter, orange juice, and pinch of salt for 2 minutes on high heat, stirring occasionally until butter melts. Pour over oatmeal mixture and stir until oats are coated and clusters begin to form.


3. Spread evenly onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and stir granola. Bake for an additional 15 minutes; granola should be lightly golden and crisp. Let cool for 10 minutes before mixing with dried fruit.

Liege Waffles

A very long time ago, I bought a box of pearl sugar at a local gourmet store. I had made Liege waffles once before, but that time I just used granulated sugar. Only now did I get around to making them.

What is a Liege waffle, you ask, and why do you need special sugar? I will tell you that a Liege waffle, popular street vendor fare in Belgium and other countries, is a type of enriched yeast waffle made with butter, eggs, and milk. How these differ from standard waffles is the pearl sugar, which is mixed in after the dough has risen. This technique keeps the sugar from combining with the dough, which it would if it was added earlier. As the waffles cook, the sugar exposed to the hot iron is caramelized, while the rest of the sugar remains whole, lending sugary crunch to the waffle.

So I found myself, on a rainy, dreary Sunday, putting together the dough for Liege waffles. I used the recipe from the back of the box. It was a little vague, so I used my own technique (not one I actually created), and the only modifications made were to use a stick less butter and add lemon zest.

After the yeast is proofed in lukewarm milk, it is added to the flour along with beaten eggs. The mixture was really shaggy and wasn't smooth, but once I kneaded in the softened butter, the texture changed dramatically. Once all the butter was kneaded and the dough came together, I stopped and let it rise for a brief 30 minutes. I probably didn't knead it for 10 minutes, though I didn't feel it was necessary in this instance.

Once the dough has risen, the pearl sugar is kneaded in. The recipe called for the entire bag, but I felt that ended up being a little excessive. I had a bit of difficulty getting the sugar thoroughly mixed because there was so much of it. Next time, I would try it with just half a bag and see if it yielded good results.

When the sugar is mixed in, the dough gets portioned into 3 ounce pieces. I got exactly 13 dough balls out of this batch. There is no second rising, so now is the time to heat up the waffle iron while you do this.

Now. My waffle iron is a very basic, nonstick machine. It has no brownness setting or timer, save for the green light that turns on and off when a waffle is supposedly done. Because of this, I timed the waffles manually, cooking them for 4-5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack. You don't want to overcook the waffles, lest the sugar cool to be rock hard. At the same time, you want the inside of the waffles to cook. To note, I didn't close the waffle iron completely to allow for the waffles to expand. I was able to barely latch the hinge without letting it flap open.

Did that even make any sense?

And there you have it. With these waffles, you don't need syrup. However, they'd be good with hot fudge, ice cream, jam, or whipped cream. I really liked them, and they're a lovely treat.

The only downside is the cleanup. I wet a double layer of paper towels and put it inside the waffle iron, closing down. This released some of the sticky, caramelized sugar. After that, I ironed bread slices, which seemed to work better than the paper towels. Since it wasn't quite cleaned, I let it cool completely (after unplugging the machine) and got to work wiping between the grates. Now I remember why it took me so long to make them.

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Liege Waffles
Recipe by Lars' Own, modified by myself

Makes 12-13 waffles

Ingredients -

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Grated zest of one lemon
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (I used instant)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick unsalted, softened butter, diced into half inch pieces
1 bag Lars' Own Belgian Pearl Sugar (I would probably use less next time)

Directions -

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk and let proof for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly. Add the yeast mixture and the eggs to the flour, mixing with your hand until a shaggy dough forms. Working with half of the butter, knead it into the dough. The dough might fall apart before it comes back together. Once a cohesive dough is formed, repeat the process with the remaining butter. Knead for 1 minute. Cover with a damp cotton dish towel or plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.


2. Preheat waffle iron. Add Belgian Pearl Sugar, kneading just until combined. Portion dough into 3 ounce balls and place on a baking sheet. When waffle iron has heated, cook the waffles for 4-5 minutes. Carefully remove from the iron and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before eating (the caramelized sugar will be very hot).

Serving Suggestions
In Belgium, sugar waffles are eaten at any time of the day - breakfast, coffee breaks, or dessert. Sugar waffles taste great and remain crispy either cold or warm. Serve plain or drizzle with warm melted chocolate or caramel. Also try them with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Granola with Crisco Imported Olive OIl

Fall is all about pumpkin. You'll see it in breads, pies, drinks, and more. You've probably also seen it in oatmeal. I can't do that, because it still tastes a little raw that way, but it does give baked goods a great flavor. So, I created a batch of pumpkin oatmeal. This granola is packed full of oat clusters, nuts, pepita seeds, and dried fruit, and will be the highlight of your breakfast.

Since the granola I make has oil, I used Crisco Imported Light Tasting Olive Oil instead of vegetable oil. I received these bottles from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, only they arrived a month after the deadline to post a recipe. However, being grateful for still having received them, I wanted to use the products in a recipe. Olive oil has many benefits, and by using it in granola you have an even healthier start to the day.

The light tasting olive oil is neutral in flavor, making it perfect for baked goods. A too pronounced olive taste, like from extra virgin, just wouldn't pair well with the sweet flavors here.

Along with the olive oil, brown sugar, honey, pumpkin puree and egg whites are mixed to create the glaze that coats the oats. Following the recipe I made for my Holy Grail Granola, vanilla extract and baking soda were stirred after removing the mixture from the heat.

Like with my other recipe, I used a combination of old fashioned oatmeal and coarsely ground oatmeal, since I didn't have quick oats. The finer oats help create the clusters. Wheat bran was added to give it more nutrition, and can be substituted with wheat germ or flax seed meal. For crunch, I chopped up walnuts and tossed in raw pepita seeds. The green color adds nice pop alongside the dried cranberries that are added later.

Since you can't have pumpkin without spices (well, you can, but it wouldn't be the pumpkin we all know and love), cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves are stirred into the oats. It smelled great then, but it smelled even better as it baked!

Stir in the liquids and watch as clumps of oats begin to form while mixing it all together. After its baked and cooled, the oatmeal crisps up. Dried cranberries are stirred in at the very end. This would also be tasty with dried cherries or blueberries, too.

Now that's my kind of pumpkin oatmeal.

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Pumpkin Spice Granola
Recipe by Christina Provo

A delicious autumnal granola flavored with pumpkin and spices

Yields many 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients -

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 cups quick oats (or old fashioned oats, coarsely ground)
1/2 cup wheat bran or germ
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raw pepita seeds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces dried cranberries

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oatmeal, wheat bran, nuts and seeds; stir in the spices until dry ingredients are evenly coated.


2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, pumpkin puree, and oil until combined. Cook just until mixture begins to simmer, and brown sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla and baking soda.


3. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the oats. Using a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir until the oats are thoroughly coated. Pour out onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or until granola is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. When granola has cooled, mix in the dried cranberries.

Swedish Rice Porridge

What makes rice porridge different from rice pudding? It's not as sweet and isn't made with traditional custard ingredients, such as milk or cream and eggs, as some recipes do. The recipe I use comes from an old American Girl cookbook. I used to make it twice a month, but stopped a few years ago. I thought about it again during the end of my run on Sunday because I was hungry, tired, and wanted something filling to eat. The only downside is that it takes an hour or longer to prepare, but I had no problem nibbling while I waited.

To begin, jasmine rice gets cooked with butter, a cinnamon stick, and water. As that mixture simmered, I prepped the remaining ingredients. I measured out 4 cups of milk, chopped an apple, and measured the brown sugar and dried cranberries.

I've really been loving the pinch bowls I got from Wayfair.com. They're nice for snacks because there are measurement markers, so you can easily figure out how much you're portioning out. For backing and cooking, I can dump ingredients right in according to the lines.

Once the rice is ready, milk is added and heated just until it begins to simmer. The rest of the ingredients are stirred in and the porridge is cooked for 30-45 minutes, until the consistency is of a thick pudding. You can cook it a bit less if you want a somewhat runnier consistency.

I always have trouble with this step. Milk isn't supposed to boil because it will curdle. The recipe tells you to reduce heat to low and cover with a lid, stirring occasionally. Even after doing this, the liquid still sometimes boils! I guess I should leave the lid off next time. However, it didn't get too curdled, though it took just 25-30 minutes instead of 45. I can deal.

This rice porridge is comforting, delicious, and lightly sweetened. You could drizzle the top with honey or stir in more brown sugar, if you'd prefer. It might not be the most nutritional start to the day, though if you used brown rice it would be better for you.

Recipe after the jump.

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Swedish Rice Porridge
From American Girls Cookbook

If you would rather use brown rice, try preparing it the day before, proceeding to step 2.

ingredients -

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup white rice
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups milk
1 large, firm apple, chopped
1/2 cup dried fruit, like raisins, cranberries, blueberries, or cherries
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract
Addition milk and sweeteners, if desired

directions -

1. Rub the finger onto the bottom of a 3-quart saucepan. Put the rice, water, cinnamon stick and salt in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed.


2. Pour the milk into the saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. When the milk begins to simmer, turn heat down to low. Carefully add the apple, dried fruit, and brown sugar. Stir gently.


3. Cover the pan and simmer the porridge for 30-45 minutes. As it cooks, it will thicken. Stir occasionally.


4. When the porridge is the proper consistency, take the pot off the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the extract. Serve with additional milk and honey.

banana buttermilk pancakes with caramelize cinnamon walnuts

I posted about banana pancakes a long time ago but didn't include the recipe. Thanks to a recent reader request I'm finally blogging about the them again, this time with the recipe.

My mom created this recipe ages ago when she decided she didn't like traditional recipes. What makes these unique to your standard buttermilk pancake is that the fat isn't melted and mixed in with the wet ingredients, it's cut into the dry ingredients like you would for biscuits. This isn't to make flaky pancakes since the fat to four ratio isn't high enough, and because there's a higher liquid ratio, it's to create a fluffy and high rising pancake.

We kept making alterations to the master recipe until we got it how we wanted. With a bit of sugar, a combination of baking powder and baking soda, shortening, buttermilk and an egg, you'll have everything on hand to whip these up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The rules for pancakes are the same for any other quick bread in that you don't want to over mix the batter after you've added the liquids to the dry. The batter should be mostly mixed with possibly a few streaks of flour, but lumps will always remain. Don't worry about it. If you mix to the point of a completely smooth consistency you'll over work the dough, over develop the gluten, and the texture will be wrong.

After mixing the batter up, let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

I enhanced the recipe a little by adding caramelized cinnamon walnuts. It doesn't take very long to make and adds a great taste and crunch to the pancakes. Toast walnuts for 5-7 minutes in a skillet then add butter. When it's melted, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top and cook for another minute. Turn out onto a sheet of wax paper to cool and harden before coarsely chopping and adding to the flour mixture.

Each pancake is topped with five thinly sliced banana slices. alternatively, you can slice two bananas into small chunks and stir into the batter. They might turn brown, so add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the liquids if you do this.

The saying goes that the first pancake is always trashed. Well, it's a lie. If you properly heat the skillet up and spray with a light mist of cooking spray, you won't find yourself tossing the pancake out.

I don't often pay attention to cooking time with pancakes because they kind of show you when they're ready to flip. As you can see in the top right picture, the surface is beginning to erupt with bubbles and the edges are still raw. This is when you want to flip it. If the surface of the pancake looks dry, it won't rise as high after the flip.

Whatever you do, DO. NOT. PRESS. THE. PANCAKE. DOWN. WITH. A. SPATULA.

That's all there is to make delicious pancakes with a special twist to surprise your family this weekend.

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banana buttermilk pancakes with caramelized cinnamon walnuts
Recipe by my mom and Christina Provo

ingredients -

1 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup shortening (or butter, if you prefer)
2 cups buttermilk (I used half yogurt, half milk)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
Cooking spray
2-3 bananas, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Additional butter
Syrup

directions -

1. In a skillet over medium heat, toast walnuts until beginning to turn golden brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter to skillet and toss with walnuts until melted. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon; continue to stir with a spatula, coating walnuts, for 1 minute. Remove onto a sheet of wax paper. When cool, coarsely chop.


2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until flour resembles wet sand. Stir in chopped walnuts. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Pour into bowl with flour and stir just until combined. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.


3. Heat 2 skillets on medium. Spray surface lightly with cooking spray. Using a ladle, scoop no more than 1/2 cup batter per pancake onto center of skillet, spreading a little to create an even pancake. Top with 5 slices of banana. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles appear on surface (some will burst). Using a thin spatula, carefully flip pancakes and continue cooking for another minute. Place on plate, banana side up. Continue cooking pancakes in this manner.


4. Serve with butter and syrup. Batter can be refrigerated for up to 4 days in a covered container.

orange buttermilk scones with orange glaze

What better way to start a weekend breakfast off than with fresh scones? I've always favored scones as a classy breakfast pastry that can be prepared in under an hour (great for when you feel lazy!).

What I look for in a scone is a stand-alone pastry that doesn't need butter and jam. This means they have to be sweeter than a biscuit -- really, do you want to be eating a scone and think, "Hey, these would go great with a bowl of chili!" No. So I tend to favor scones that are on the sweeter side. A glaze is optional as long as it enhances the scone without taking it from pleasantly sweet to tooth-aching.

A quick bread means all the dry ingredients are mixed together before the liquid is added. The butter is cut into the flour mixture, helping the scone develop its flaky texture. I grated the butter and placed it in the freezer as I prepped the remaining ingredients.

Since the original recipe called for cream and not buttermilk, I replaced a 1/2 teaspoon baking powder with baking soda to help with the acidity. Also, I didn't have buttermilk. Instead of souring milk with a tablespoon of vinegar, which I find has a thinner consistency than buttermilk, I used a yogurt-milk mixture. It's made up of a 2:1 ratio of yogurt to milk, so 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup whole milk. This makes an excellent substitute for buttermilk.

Edited to add: I've since been using a 1:1 ratio of yogurt to milk and find that it's not quite as thick as the 2:1 ratio but works just as well.

Use a light hand when mixing any type of quick bread, and especially biscuits and scones. Over-mixing over-develops the gluten and produces a tough pastry. Mix just until a dough comes together, then turn out on a lightly floured surface to pat down. I patted the dough into a rectangle instead of a circle and cut 12 scones instead of 8.

The glaze is just a mixture of confectioners' sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a pinch of salt. This didn't a thick icing, so if you want it thicker just add more sugar.

These scones baked up into a one of the best I've ever made. The texture was light, fluffy and flaky, and the outside had a nice crunch. The orange flavor came through wonderfully and was enhanced by the glaze. I liked the bright flavor. These would be perfect as miniature scones for a brunch or breakfast party.

The changes I made to the original recipe were to add the orange zest to the flour mixture. When mixed together, this helps the zest release oils, giving the scone more flavor. Since I opted to make 4 more scones than the original recipe, I had to pat the dough out a bit more, making the scones smaller in height than what they would have been. You could try patting out to 1 1/2 inches (a square, not a circle) and simply slice more than eight scones, but I didn't go for that. Otherwise, the height would have been incredible. Other than the glaze, I didn't differ much from the recipe except using buttermilk over cream.

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orange buttermilk scones with orange glaze
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.com

Yields 12 scones

ingredients -

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, grated and frozen
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup buttermilk, or 1/2 cup yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

glaze ingredients -

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

directions -

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder and soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in grated butter until mixture resembles wet sand.


2. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and mix just until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1/2 inch rectangle. Cut out 12 triangles and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the scones are a delectable golden brown.


3. While the scones bake, prepare the glaze. Mix confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and salt together to form a glaze. If you prefer a thicker consistency, add 1/2 cup more sugar and 1/2 a tablespoon to a tablespoon of extra juice.


4. Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a cooling rack. Let scones cool for 3 minutes before glazing. Put scones on cooling rack and place the rack on top of the baking sheet. This will help catch the glaze that drips down and minimizes a mess. Portion glaze out evenly amongst scones and spread with the back of a spoon. Serve with tea and enjoy.

Holy Grail Granola

So I've been on a bit of a granola kick. I don't enjoy a steaming hot bowl of oats during the summer (when it's hot), especially after running, and since I have been lackluster when it comes to breakfast ideas (waffles everyday is a fun idea that I get sick of) my best option is to bake a batch of granola that'll last me for long enough to not have to think about breakfast until it's gone.

And this is it. The best granola of 2010. I finally bought the proper ingredients and I mixed this and that together to come up with a granola that turned out exactly how I wanted. Granola clusters mixed with two nuts and one seed, plus some dried cranberries. All this is coated with a sweet honey-brown sugar mixture that transforms the mixture from dried to candied. Yeah, definitely not the healthiest granola on the block, but that wasn't my aim.

What I did differently with this recipe was make a sugared coating with the pecans, pepita seeds, and almonds consisting of a lightly beaten egg white, and sugar mixed with grated orange zest. I debated between baking it separately and mixing it into the oat mixture after it baked, but I wanted everything to be combined so I added the nuts to the oats after I mixed the oats with the oil, honey, brown sugar, and salt. I chose not to use orange juice in the syrup because it makes the oats soggy and requires longer baking time to dry out. I also used a mixture of whole oats and quick oats since I read that the quick oats makes better clumps.

Oh yeah. Whilst heating the syrup up in a saucepan I started thinking of caramel corn, and how you add baking soda to the caramel syrup after it reaches the correct temperature. I don't know why, but perhaps it aids in a harder coating without soggifying the popcorn. I decided to add a bit, about a 1/4 teaspoon, just for the sake of experimentation. Although I'm not sure if it helped, the consistency of the finished granola turned out exactly how I wanted and in the future I will not leave out the baking soda.

Because I finally made a successful granola recipe, I'm naming this "Holy Grail Granola", because it's entirely worthy of such a name. The oaty clusters are delicious with the dried cranberries, and it's still not so sweet that I'd only want to eat it with ice cream. This remains my favorite summer breakfast with fresh fruit and protein powder mixed into the milk.

Recipe after the jump.

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Holy Grail Granola
Recipe by Christina Provo

Makes a ton

ingredients ~

3 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup raw pepita seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 eggs white
1/4 cup granulated sugar
grated zest of two oranges
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butte
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounce bag dried, sweetened cranberries

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Mix oats and wheat bran together in a large bowl. Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until just frothy, then stir in pecans, pepita seeds, and almonds to coat. Mix sugar together with orange zest in a small bowl, pressing with a fork to release oils and tint the sugar. Sprinkle over nuts-egg white mixture and stir to coat thoroughly; set aside.


2. Place oil, honey, brown sugar, butter, and salt in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, heat until brown sugar has dissolved and butter has melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Stir in baking soda and whisk until completely mixed (it will resemble liquidy brain matter until it blends together to form a tan, foamy mixture).


3. Pour over oats and stir until evenly saturated with oil-sugar syrup. Stir in nut mixture until mixed. Spread on baking sheet and place in oven. Lower heat to 325ª and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Lower oven to 300ª and cook for another 15 minutes until a deep golden brown. Remove from heat and place baking sheet on cooling rack. Stir once more, then let cool completely. Once cooled, break up granola, leaving many small clumps, and mix with dried cranberries. Store in a covered container or a zip-loc bag.

simple granola

Today is the last day to vote for me in the Recipe Rivalry! I really appreciate everyone's support this week in voting for me, and I hope you guys can spread the word one last time for a final voting push.

I've been having trouble with breakfast lately. The temperature has been heating up, and the last thing I want to start my day off with is a bowl of steaming oats. Instead, I could opt for a plate of steaming eggs. No. Or a heavy plate of pancakes. Pass. Waffles? For some reason that seems like a lot of trouble for a midweek breakfast. Clearly, my remaining option was to bake some granola.

In fact, granola is my favorite meal because it combines the best of crunchy cereal with the sticking power of oats. I still haven't perfect my recipe, but most of the formulas I've come up with have turned out tasty. For this recipe in particular, I used up the remaining pepita seeds I had and added sliced almonds and wheat germ. Since I hadn't any syrup or honey, I made a quick simple syrup with freshly squeezed orange juice and brown sugar. With the grated zest of the oranges mixed with the oats, the taste is light and citrusy and perfect for summer.

It seems that I never all the add ins I want when I make granola, or I purposely make granola when all I have are nuts and oranges. I would have liked unsweetened coconut flakes, an assortment of dried fruit, or some sort of COFFEE INGREDIENT! (I just got a brilliant idea to test out.) However, I liked how this batch turned out with the taste of the pepita seeds.

I've heard many people praise the taste of Greek yogurt, though I haven't tried it until today. Really good stuff! I loved the thicker, richer taste, though I added a bit of milk since that's how I wanted to serve it. And nothing pairs better with granola than fruit that's in season. I went with raspberries and strawberries for today's bowl.

Recipe after the jump

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orangey granola
Recipe by Christina Provo

ingredients ~

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
5 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup pepita seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp cinnamon
grated zest of two oranges
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 325° and spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring orange juice and brown sugar to a boil. Boil for 1 minute; remove from heat and let cool.


2. Mix together everything from the oats to the salt in a large bowl, making sure the ingredients are well distributed. Stir in the orange juice syrup and the vegetable oil and toss until the oats are thoroughly coated. Spread evenly onto baking sheet.


3. Bake granola for a total of 45-55 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. You're looking for an even golden tone and the oats should no longer feel wet. Remove from the oven and let granola cool on baking sheet to room temperature. Place in a container.

Can be stored, covered, for 1 week

william shatner's cappuccino muffins

I've been wanting to make these muffins for a while now, partly because I love anything coffee-related, partly because I thought it was cool how these might possibly be from William Shatner. Come on, the man was captain of the Enterprise. After retiring, he became a lawyer in Boston. He gets around, and he still finds time to be in the kitchen!

Of course, I changed up the recipe because I wanted to make these in the manner of a cupcake. Ideally, I wanted to brown the butter, let it cool, and beat with the sugar. I could have simply mixed the browned butter with the milk, but I was aiming for a lighter texture.

What happened next, since I was too hasty and didn't let the butter cool, is that the butter and sugar didn't whip properly because the heat sort of dissolved the sugar. After I added the egg, the mixture looked similar to a congealed mayonnaise mixture. In the end, the batter came together without a problem and resembled a pretty nice cupcake consistency.

Besides the browned butter, I replaced the cinnamon (too warm a flavor for the current heat wave) with cardamom (probably the same thing, but it seems lighter) and used only 1/2 cup chocolate chips. For the crowns I sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon sugar on top of each cup to look pretty. Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I had ground coffee beans mixed with sugar, otherwise I would have gone with the gold.

Based on pictures of other bloggers' cappuccino muffins, I had high expectation that the crowns would beam up into epic proportions. And they did! One of the most beautifully baked up muffin recipes I've ever encountered, and I was pretty happy. I also didn't grease the sides of the muffin tins, which I think is a Cook's Illustrated technique as it allows the batter to "grab" the sides and rise higher, if I recall correctly.

The texture was soft and fluffy, with just enough sweetness to make it appropriate for brek-fast, elevenses, you name it, spread with a sweetened whipped coffee cream cheese-butter spread (which I just thought of at this moment). The espresso flavor wasn't particularly strong, and the cardamom wasn't detectable whatsoever, though I'm thinking the combination of the two flavors with the browned butter, accented by vanilla, is what made the muffins tasty. If you would like a stronger coffee flavor, adjust the amount of espresso powder to suit your tastes. Definitely a repeat worthy recipe, though next time I'll bake the original version for comparison.

Recipe after the jump

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william shatner's cappuccino muffins
His original recipe with my mods

12 muffins

ingredients ~

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature (you can refrigerate the butter to speed up the process, but make sure it doesn't completely solidify)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup chocolate chips
extra granulated sugar

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the bottoms of a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, cardamom, and salt.


3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until mixed. On low speed, blend in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Continue alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour. When a few traces of flour remain, stir in the chocolate chips just until mixed.


4. Divide batter evenly amongst all 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each top with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

i'm makin' waffles!

Move over, pancakes, and make room for waffles. I enjoy a nice stack of pancakes, but there's no denying my true love of the cratered, crispy waffle with moist and fluffy innards. I vary between recipes quite a bit, opting for a simple and quick buttermilk or regular milk version, sometimes whipping the egg whites separately from the yolks if I don't mind the noise and have time to spare.

My ultimate favorite kind of waffle, however, is a yeast waffle. In fact, what really separates a Belgian waffle from the normal version isn't so much the Belgian waffle maker as it is the addition of yeast to the batter. What you end up with is a waffle that retains its crispy outtards longer than most waffles with an incredible depth of flavor, a light sourdough essence. (And if you want a real experience, make some Liege waffles -- your world will never be the same.)

Normally, when I think ahead of time (which is always easier to do in retrospect), I make an overnight yeast waffles from America's Test Kitchen. When I don't, and this is my usual waffle experience when I want waffles NOW, I either resort to the quick, standard version. However, if you're not hasty and can spare two hours, you can most definitely enjoy yeast waffles TODAY!

I came across this particular recipe for yeast waffles through either Foodgawker or Tastespotting (yeah, that's some memory fail right there). After just one second of staring at all the pictures on her blog, there was no way I was walking away without the prospect of waffles in my immediate future.

There are so many different waffle toppings to choose from, like a "fruit salsa with a lime glaze", "ants" in the form of raisins and chocolate chips (I will give you a shout out on this blog if you order "ants on waffles" the next time you're at a restaurant), peanut butter, cream cheese or sour cream, various flavored syrups, chicken and gravy. When I eat yeast waffles, though, I prefer to keep the toppings at a bare minimum to keep from overpowering the flavor. A few pats of butter, maybe some fruit, a light coating of syrup (enough to mostly fill the craters), and a sprinkling of powdered sugar for beauty.

So GO. Waffles. Go eat some waffles!

(Recipe after jump)

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Print this recipe

yeast waffles
Original recipe here. Below is my modified version.

ingredients ~

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk, heated to 100-110
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

directions ~

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar with the milk. Set aside until bubbly, about 5-10 minutes.


2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the remaining sugar, cinnamon, lemon rind, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the butter and lemon extract until combined.


3. Stir the egg mixture into the yeast, followed by the flour mixture, making sure to mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for two hours; the mixture will be thick, elastic and bubbly.


4. Heat waffle iron. When ready, scoop batter into center of grid. Since this batter is thicker than that of normal waffles, it won't spread like you might expect. It will expand whilst cooking, so make sure to fill the grids about 3/4 full (experiment and find what works best). Cook according to waffle iron instructions. Serve with butter and syrup.