extraordinarily good granola {and big changes}
Have you ever missed something before it’s even gone?
I’ve been doing a lot of “missing” lately.
I miss my ankles. I miss the way my face looked before I gained all this pregnancy weight. I miss sleep - and I’ll be missing sleep for the next year or so. I think this past year has induced a lot of missing.
Are you ready?
If you’re asking if this nine month pregnant lady that looks like she shoved a beach ball up her shirt is ready to have a third child the answer is unequivocally no. Lol
If you’re wondering if I’m one of those moms who has a beautiful nursery set up and a dresser full of neatly folded baby clothes, the answer is no.
My grandma once told me that with her third child she put a blanket in a drawer and laid him there every night until he outgrew it and then she transferred him to the crib.
It’s facts like these that make me understand where I came from.
I was feeling like I had my poop together until I realized I need a few more last minute things. (Like diapers would be good.)
If you’re wondering how I’m processing the huge change that is about to happen, I’ll tell you:
Great but also in slight denial about it?
My kids ask about their baby sister every day and anxiously wonder when she will come out. So far my son wants to name her Piano or Thomas and a handful of other names that actually might work ;).
My daughter repeatedly says “She luuffs me! Baby sister loves me!” when she touches my stomach. And both kids will shove things up their shirt and call it “baby” and ask me if I want to feel their baby kick.
That’s something I didn’t think about before: how excited my kids would be to welcome another sibling.
They give my belly hugs. They sing to her. They whisper "Do you want to watch Bluey with us?" And then have me sit right next to them on the couch. The other day my son insisted I shove a stuffed animal up against my belly and tucked into my pants for baby sister. “So she’s not scared in there.”
The way they love her already makes the swollen everything worth it. I’m totally a “less is more” person, but I know one more little addition to this family is the best thing for us.
I guess I’m already missing us as a family of four? We've spent some special time together before we all get hit with the newborn wave and it has me getting teary-eyed sometimes. Change is weird. It always comes with losing something.
But change usually comes with something better too.
Sometimes I forget that.
Hope you have a fun, boring weekend filled with this granola. It makes a great gift for someone who’s gone through big change. :) Like a mom who’s just had a baby, a new neighbor who’s just moved in or someone going through a loss. Just buy a huge jar, fill it up and deliver with love.
Love you friends. Thanks for baking with me. Xo
extraordinarily good granola
This granola is my staple granola. It’s not too sweet, but just sweet enough where my kids really love it. It’s crispy, chewy and plain so I can add it to just about anything and it sings. I am a little bit more generous with the salt as I really love a sweet and salty granola. It’s not salty by any means once it bakes, but you can taste the salt if that makes sense? I looooove the crisped rice in this and seem to always add it to my granola-things. It provides a lightness and a nice break from oats and nuts and seeds and all other chewy things found in granola, but if you don’t have brown rice crispy cereal, you can use rolled oats instead.
This granola makes a wonderful gift packaged up in a glass jar too. I’ve delivered it to a few friends in times of need and it’s always been received with enthusiasm and devoured quickly. Happy granola making. xo
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon / 75g coconut sugar ((if you don’t have coconut sugar, light or dark brown sugar would work really well too, just keep in mind that using it will make your granola slightly sweeter) )
¼ cup / 80g real maple syrup ((please don’t use that imitation syrup, okay? I love you.))
¼ cup / 60ml water
½ teaspoon Kosher salt ((you can add a little bit more salt if you want it slightly saltier))
3 cups / 270g rolled oats ((bob’s red mill has these organic thick rolled oats that are divine for this!) )
⅓ cup / 45g brown rice crisped cereal ((feel free to add a little more than this too! Measurement does not need to be exact) )
¾ cup / 87g whole walnut halves, chopped ((chop them however fine or chunky you want them!) )
½ cup / 87g whole pecan halves, chopped ((chop them however fine or chunky you want them!) )
½ cup + 2 tablespoons / 60g almond meal or flour
⅔ cup / 60g unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup / 80g whole golden flax seeds
¼ cup / 35g chia seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
⅓ cup / 80ml coconut oil (plus a little extra to coat your hands)
1 large egg white, beaten and set aside
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 325F / 160C and line a 13” x 18” (33 by 46 cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan heat together coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, water and salt. Stir until sugar is dissolved and it just starts to bubble. Take care that it doesn’t burn. You don’t need to heat it up too much or for too long. Tip: A heavy-bottomed saucepan helps prevent burning. Set aside to cool for about 5 mins.
In a large bowl, combine all of your ingredients except your eggwhite, vanilla. Just mix it all until it looks well combined.
Take your cooled liquid mixture and beat in eggwhite and vanilla with a whisk. You want to make sure your liquid isn’t too hot, or else it will cook the eggwhite. Then pour this mixture into the large bowl containing all of your ingredients. Mix with your hands or a spatula until all of the granola is evenly coated. Taste it, and see if it needs a little more salt.
Coat your hands with extra coconut oil and take the sticky mixture and press it into your lined baking sheet. The harder you press, the more “bark” like your granola will be - meaning it will all stick together. You can even take another sheet of parchment paper, lay it on top of your granola and press another sheet pan into the top of the granola to make it really all stick together. I never stress too much about it all sticking together because I end up breaking it apart for my yogurt bowl anyway. But, if you want a bark that REALLY sticks, press as hard as you can and try the sheet-pan-on-top trick.
Bake for about 30ish-40ish minutes or until nice and golden brown. I took my granola bark out around 32 minutes because I loved the golden brown color it was, however, had I left it in there longer it would have been a little more crisp. So if you find that yours is browning a little too quickly, you can tent it with foil and let it continue to bake so it gets nice and crispy - if you care about that type of thing. I personally don’t mind a slightly crispy-with-some-softer-bits granola.
Let it cool slightly before breaking it apart and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Store it in the fridge if you’d like to keep it longer. Serve with any type of milk, yogurt and berries, on top of a smoothie bowl or just straight up.
