I make a lot of granola. Like a lot, a lot. My husband eats a bowlful every morning with yogurt. Me, I just eat it by the handful. I’ve tried yogurt, I’ve tried milk and eating it like a cereal, even topped with bourbon peaches. But for whatever reason, I’ve never craved granola in the morning. It’s more of an after-the-gym or late night snack for me.
It really is true, that when you can’t have something, that’s when you want it most. That’s me and pancakes. I’ve never been a huge sweet breakfast fan. I know I’ve written in the past about my weekly Saturday pancake breakfasts growing up, which resulted in boycotting pancakes for years. Then, when I finally had the ability to stomach them again, I found I didn’t really need them. Savory eggs with bacon and potatoes became my breakfast of choice. For years I would occasionally order pancakes at brunch–the menu description just sounded so tempting–eat a bit and be done. Too much sweet.
I’ve literally been obsessed with coconut lately. I really don’t know what started the trend, but these days I just can’t get enough. Coconut milk smoothies in the morning, rich, coconut tapioca for snacking, creamy curries for dinner and coconut macaroons for dessert.
About six months ago I bought my first jar of coconut oil. It was about a year coming. I was dying to make something with it but never had a recipe in mind so held off buying some for a long time for fear of wasting it. After my first purchase of coconut oil, it continued to sit in the pantry for another several months, still no ideas flowing through my head.
Finally it was time to open the stuff. Baby steps. I cooked up some sautéed chicken with it. The second big step was granola. Replacing my standard canola oil with coconut oil in my simple granola recipe made the flavors burst. I was getting hooked. What happened if I baked with it? The Secret Recipe Club as always gave me a great base to experiment with.
Brooklyn Locavore 