Food | Quinoa Granola

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."
~John Gunther



This week I’m in a breakfast kind of mood. I’ve been doing the breakfast thing for months now; but I’ve never truly illustrated my love. Although cheesecake smoothies for breakfast is nice; drinking a cream cake like rendition every single morning, is likely not a good idea. I used to be a notorious breakfast skipper; what can I say, I love sleep. But nowadays, I’ve learned to prioritize breakfast. For me to commit to something it has to be easy; breakfast was no different. Initially, I did the toast thing; toast is easy and it’s fast. And Nutella spread on toast is a glorious way to wake up; wouldn’t you agree?

But soon I grew bored with my elementary provisions; and eggs proved to be just as easy as the toast thing; but far more savory. Eggs became a regular morning feature; being scrambled, sunny sided and always served with toast. Then summer came along, and wine nights became more frequent; sitting on the patio, sipping on the white grapes is quintessentially summer- this also means I want more sleep time come 7:30 am. And I needed a breakfast that was just as fortifying as the aforementioned breakfast items; but effortless- completely effortless.

Enter Granola.

Granola is a pleasure to make, because it’s so bespoke; there are so many approaches to granola- it’s anything you want it to be. Don’t like nuts? Use seed; an aversion to dried fruit? Leave them out. See, bespoke!

And granola keeps for days; it’s unfussy like that. I make granola on a Sunday, and relish it all week- with yogurt, with milk and completely unadorned. Granola is everything; and it’s effortless.



Quinoa Granola
c/o Fake Ginger

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup dry quinoa rinsed and spread out to dry slightly
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup dried fruit cranberries
Preheat oven to 300.
In a large bowl, combine oats, quinoa, almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Set aside.
Stir together applesauce, cinnamon, vanilla, and honey. Taste and add more honey or cinnamon as needed. Pour over oat mixture and stir to moisten all of the ingredients. Spread the mixture onto a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until granola is golden and crunchy. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit. Let cool before serving.