Colorful cooking between Provence and New York.
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Homemade granola
February 17, 2013
— 17 Comments
I hosted a lovely brunch get-together yesterday, with a simple, delicious menu that included freshly baked granola.
Wholesome, full of crunchy and sweet and salty flavors, it’s positively addictive.
Tips: I served the granola with greek yogurt, laced with fresh lemon curd and honey, but it is equally delicious with some almond milk and fresh berries.
Hope everyone is having a beautiful, brisk weekend!
Homemade granola
You’ll need:
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 3 T sunflower seeds
- 3 T sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup dark maple syrup
- 1 T raw sugar
- 1/2 t fleur de sel
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1/2 cup salted almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup red walnuts, roughly chopped
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a bowl, combine all of the above ingredients.Spread evenly on the baking sheet.
3. Bake the granola, ‘raking’ it with a fork every 10-15 minutes, for about 40 minutes until golden-brown.
4. Let cool as the granola crisps up.
Rhubarb with blackberries and ginger cookies
May 8, 2012
— 6 Comments
We have already established that I love Speculoos cookies, and I love finding new ways to work them into various recipes. Ginger and sweet and tart rhubarb compliment each other beautifully.
And you can have any leftovers for breakfast!
(adapted from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors)
You’ll need:
- 1 1/2 lbs rhubarb, trimmed
- 1/3 cup raw sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 t lemon zest (keep it in long strips)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 T vanilla sugar
- pint of blackberries
- cream/creme fraiche
- speculoos cookies (or gingersnaps etc.)
1. Chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces and arrange in an oven-proof ceramic dish or a gratin pan. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Toss rhubarb with lemon zest, sugars, cloves, and maple syrup. Cover with foil and bake for about half an hour – you’ll be able to smell it once it’s done, with the rhubarb softened and fragrant.
3. Layer blackberries on top of rhubarb and cover again with the foil – the heat from the rhubarb will gently cook the berries.
4 Garnish with whole and crumbled speculooos/ ginger cookies and serve with a dollop of yogurt or creme fraiche.
Pear and ricotta parfaits
March 22, 2012
— 23 Comments
Good morning!
Here is a pear and ricotta treat that, with the addition of maple syrup, I have decided can be made appropriate for breakfast.
It’s a gentle, comforting start to a morning, which, as we all know, can sometimes be a jarring time of day.
(adapted from this recipe)
Serves 2
You’ll need:
- 2 ripe Starkrimson pears
- 1/2 lb fresh goat’s milk ricotta
- 4 T skyr-type 0% milkfat yogurt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 t lemon oil
- 1 T raw sugar
- 1 t vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- granola for topping, optional
1. Peel, core, and quarter the pears. In a large saucepan, prepare the poaching liquid – maple syrup, water, lemon oil. Add pears and simmer on gentle heat for about 30 minutes, turning the fruit every so often.
2. In the meantime, whip the ricotta lightly – do not use a whisk unless you have a very fine one as ricotta will just clump and get stuck in it. I like to add the Icelandic/skyr yogurt to the ricotta and then just fold it gently with a spatula. Think of folding whipped egg whites.
3. Scoop the pears out of the poaching liquid and set aside. Bring the liquid to a boil and add sugar and vanilla. Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until the liquid has thickened into a syrup and reduced by half.
4. Assemble your parfaits – layer pears with dollops of whipped ricotta.
Drizzle with syrup and top with some granola for crunch (and virtuousness), if desired.
Brown butter, chestnut honey, and thyme roasted pears
March 9, 2012
— 8 Comments
These are, in a word, delicious.
How can they not be? You can cut through the pears like butter and oh, that great nuttiness of the butter and chestnut honey.
You already know I love chestnut honey, but you can always substitute a darker flower honey or maple syrup.
(adapted from Melissa Clark’s Cook This Now)
You’ll need:
- 2 slightly soft Bosc pears
- 3 T butter
- 2/3 cup chestnut honey
- 5-6 sprigs thyme
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 T lemon zest
- small pinch salt
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Peel and core the pears; cut them in half.
2. Heat up butter in an oven-proof skillet or deep pan, cook until frothy, then reduce heat and brown lightly, about 5 minutes.
3. Add pears, cut-side down, cook until golden about 2-3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side.
4. Take off heat. Add thyme and a small pinch of salt to the pan. Pour honey and lemon juice over the pears and flip back over so that they are cut-side down again.
5. Bake until just tender, about 12-15 minutes. I like to peek in on them and baste the pears in the syrup as they bake – the fragrance is just amazing.
Maple-glazed chestnuts and brussels sprouts
March 7, 2012
— 7 Comments
I’ve been on a real brussels sprouts kick recently – I guess making up for all those years that I decided I did not like them. And I had a packet of chestnuts leftover from the holidays so this dish was born.
It is a beautiful fresh, but wintry combination, with the tang and brightness of lemon balanced by the earthiness and slight sweetness of chestnuts.
You’ll need an ovenproof skillet or earthenware and the following ingredients:
- 16 oz fresh brussels sprouts
- 1/2 cup peeled whole chestnuts
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 T walnut oil
- 2 T olive oil
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2 T maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp pink peppercorns
- salt
1. Prep the brussels sprouts and chestnuts – I like to halve most of them but leave the smaller ones whole to break it up.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Heat up walnut oil in skillet and saute shallots until just golden. Add the brussels sprouts, cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add chestnuts and olive oil, mix together. Add salt, lemon juice, and chili flakes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes – you want to get a bit of a ‘sear’ on the brussels sprouts.
4. Take off heat. Add peppercorn and a drizzle of the maple syrup into the skillet and place into the oven for about 10 minutes to let the flavors develop and the brussels sprouts to caramelize lightly and finish off cooking.
It’ll be hard to stop eating them (see below!).
