yummy morning

I woke up at 7:30 today to the sounds of...nothing.  No baby awake yet!  I'd been up walking barefoot in the cold, rainy street (no exaggeration for drama, unfortunately) at 3 am to get away from his crying/waiting to eat at 3:45.  So his sleeping until 8 was the first gift of the day. Time to make coffee!  Time to let Ellie out!  And let the cats in!  All without the baby on my hip.

I was so happy, I made granola from scratch.  (Sebastian laid on a fuzzy blanket on the floor and flailed at the ceiling fixture).

As I was writing out the recipe, wondering what to name this creation, the doorbell rang and it was the mailman (yay, let's hear it for the mailmen) with a package from Amazon.  It was a totally unexpected gift from a wonderful person who reads my blog and whom I've never met!  Gerald sent me the greatest book from my wishlist, called Wild Color.  How did he know I'd been discussing dyeing with M just a couple nights ago?  How I wanted to try it so bad?  How I have several of these plants in my own yard?  And how did he know that Monday was my day off of babying, which left me time to read this puppy In. The. Tub. ?

It made me feel so...well...happy.  Thank you so much Gerald.  I was just elated this morning. 

So I've named this Gerald's Granola. I don't know if you like any of the stuff that's in it, but I think it's delicious, one of my best recipes yet.

Gerald's Granola
5 cups oats
1.5 cups raisins
1 cup smashed macadamia nuts
1 cup olive oil
1 cup roasted-almond butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, gently packed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla

You’ll need 2 baking dishes, one 9 x 13, and one more either 9 x13 or smaller.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place oats, raisins, and crushed nuts in the large baking dish.
• Mix oil, almond butter, and brown sugar in a saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring to melt and incorporate the almond butter, just until the mixture bubbles.
• Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
• Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry oat mixture in the baking dish.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Remove some of the granola to the second baking dish, and spread evenly in each dish.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before stirring.  More time if possible. It was really good after 30 minutes and even better this afternoon.

By the way, that knitting in that picture?  That's Kepler in Tahki Donegal Tweed.  A color that patternworks calls "Beige" (they really outdid themselves with that one). 

I've come to realize there's a Law of Diminishing Finishes.  The chances of my finishing Project A are inversely related to the number of new projects I start before  A is finished.  It's sad.  But it's the damn truth.  I really want Kepler, so we'll see if I can hold off from starting anything else until it's done.  But I also want my Gibson Girl. Oh, I want so many things.  Duh.

Comments

[Gerald]

You're so very welcome! You made me happy too. You named food after me!

promise to share the colorful yarn you create!

Hugs to father and child and you.

[Vicki]

What a lovely day! Except for the raisens, the granola sounds divine. Now I just have to fin some almond butter. I'm sure Whole Foods will have something like that.

[Julia]

Yummy looking granola. I just added Wild Color to my wish list - it looks really great - please give us a review.

[Stephanie]

You get a day off from babying? no fair!!!

[Heidi]

Yummy yummy! And I can't wait to see your results with Wild Color--it's one of my most used references!

[sarah gilbert]

wow, how decadent - it sounds amazing. can't wait to try that granola - maybe I'll get a sleepy baby someday soon :)

[neysa]

Hey Larissa,

So many questions from one post. Well, just two, actually:

1. I have started a scarf with nearly the same celtic knot pattern as in Kepler. I just repeated the pattern, and there are these weird holes that I see no trace of in yours. Any tips on making it as smooth and beautiful as yours?

2. How do you manage not to babysit the granola for hours? i.e., how does it not burn in some spots? I've made it once, and my recipe had me bake it for about 1.5 hours on lower heat and stir it every 15 minutes or so. Yours sounds delightfully easy, not to mention delicious.

Thank you so very much for any help,
Neysa

[emily]

I made some Gerald's Granola today and it is really good. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

[Siri]

Aren't people just great? Gerald made my day, too.
Looking forward to seeing what you'll dye with first.
And granola....yummmm....might have to dig my recipe out, too, or try yours first.

[Kristin]

I just made Gerald's Granola last night, and it was fabulous. Thank you so much for the recipe!