Granola, Greek Yogurt & Coffee = Tasty, Portable Breakfast

I named this blog out of pure silliness. I’ve never actually burned cereal.

At least, I hadn’t burned cereal until last night.

Then I attempted to make granola, and burned it. Normally, I wouldn’t share a recipe that didn’t work. But this one wasn’t a complete failure. I ate it this morning on top of Greek Yogurt, which masked the slightly burnt taste. It is good, just not as good as it could be. I’m pretty sure I know what I need to change next time. Besides, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to blog about, well, burnt cereal.

Peanut Butter Granola
Makes 8 cups (which is a LOT of granola, by the way)

Ingredients
3 c. quick oats
2 c. unsalted peanuts
1 c. milled flax seed
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. natural chunky peanut butter (I like Krema, which I’ve started buying in 5 pound buckets)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. vegetable oil

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Combine oats, peanuts, flax seed, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a small saucepan, simmer honey & brown sugar over medium heat. Stir frequently. When honey and sugar are combined, remove from heat. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanut butter mixture then oil to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the uncooked granola over the baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring regularly.

Dry Ingredients, ready for peanut buttery goodness

Tips, Advice & What Went Wrong

• Lesson #1: This is loosely based on The Kitchn’s Peanut Butter and Honey Granola recipe. I took out several ingredients, added some of my own, and followed the cooking directions exactly. That’s where this went wrong. When I stirred the granola at the 30 minute mark, it wasn’t done. So I set the timer for another 10 minutes and went back to what had been doing. A few minutes later, I thought I smelled a burnt scent, which I stupidly ignored. I should’ve taken the granola out of the oven at that time.
• Lesson #2: The recipe I looked at called for 1 1/4 tsp. salt. I thought that seemed like a lot so I cut it down to 1 teaspoon. Jared and I both agreed that was still too much salt.
• Lesson #3: When I was mixing everything together, I originally tried to be prissy and do it with a wooden spoon. I quickly gave up and used my hands. I’ve done the same thing every time I’ve made Monster Cookies (maybe someday I’ll learn). It’s a more fun way to mix things anyway.

Part of a balanced breakfast. But only if we're balancing caffeine & sugar

Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes is probably not a book I would have ever purchased for myself. Yet I was excited when I received a copy as a gift. It seems like the majority of cupcake books and magazine articles provide cute cupcake decorating ideas, rather than actual recipes for cupcakes. I tend to do the same thing though. When making cupcakes, I focus on the decorations while using basic cake and frosting recipes. While those recipes are good, they can get boring. This is why I like Martha’s book. Her cupcakes are certainly attractive. But they are also different. There are lots of ways to make cupcakes that I had never thought of. For example, Streusel Cupcakes. These are essentially coffee cakes in cupcake form – the perfect way to justify eating cupcakes for breakfast.

Streusel Cupcakes
Makes 24

Cupcake Ingredients
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. sour cream

Streusel Ingredients
2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Milk Glaze Ingredients
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp. milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.
2. Make the streusel by whisking flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the butter and combine until crumbly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Using a whisk, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one-by-one, beating until each egg has been incorporated. Add vanilla. Finally, add flour mixture and sour cream. Mix to combine; but do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins. Top with half of the streusel, gently pressing topping into batter. Sprinkle remaining topping over cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
6. While cupcakes are cooling, make the milk glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle glaze over cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!

My Thoughts & Suggestions
The original recipe called for one cup of granulated sugar. In a lot of baked goods, I tend to prefer a mix of brown and white sugars. So I used a half cup of each instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe as it was given. These cupcakes came out moist and fluffy, and were a perfect morning indulgence alongside a cup of coffee.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes from the editors at Martha Stewart Living.

Fall is here, meaning it’s time for apples and pumpkins. While those fruits lend themselves well to pies and cakes, sometimes I want something a little healthier. Last fall, I discovered this pumpkin muffin recipe from Kristen at Cheap, Healthy, Good. These muffins are high in fiber, low in calories and fat and taste good. Yes, it is possible!

Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping
Makes 12

Muffin Ingredients
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cup mashed pumpkin
1 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Topping Ingredients
8 pecan halves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, oat bran, brown sugar, and baking powder.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the pecan halves, butter, and remaining brown sugar and whole wheat flour. Mash with fork until crumbly.
5. Grease muffin tin or line with 12 paper liners. Fill each liner 3/4 full with batter. Sprinkle topping evenly on muffins. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

My thoughts & modifications:
1. I added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the batter and made a little extra streusel topping.
2. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, just combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. I actually prefer this since I can adjust the seasonings to suit my taste.
3. Do yourself a favor and use fresh pumpkins. They taste much better than canned. There are several ways to prepare them, all of which are quite easy. I wash mine, halve them and scoop out the seeds. Then I spray them with cooking spray and microwave them for 7-9 minutes. Let cool, scoop out the pulp and use it like you would canned. If you have leftover, pumpkin pulp freezes very well.

Recipe Source: Serious Eats

It was a nice surprise to walk in expecting deli sandwiches and be greeted by the sweet smell of baked goodies. The French Loaf does serve soup and a few basic sandwiches like chicken salad, ham and turkey. But their specialty is obviously baked goods. They offer a variety of great-looking breads, cakes, cupcakes, pastries and several types of croissants. There are a few tables and chairs inside and outside of the store, though no one was eating at them when I was there around 2:00pm. I ordered my standard sandwich place meal, chicken salad with lettuce and tomato on a croissant. Being a sucker for chocolate croissants, I took a couple home with me.


The chicken salad was good, if a little heavy on the mayo. The lettuce was crisp and the tomato tasted quite fresh. But the star of the sandwich was the croissant itself. It was flaky and buttery with just the right amount of sweetness. This, of course, made me more excited about the chocolate croissant. I was not disappointed. It was large and filled with a generous chunk of dark chocolate that contrasted perfectly with the salty-sweet croissant. With a cup of black coffee, it would have been a great breakfast. Overall, I don’t know that I’ll get sandwiches at The French Loaf very often. But I’ll definitely go back very soon for the melt-in-your-mouth croissants and to try their other delicious-looking goodies.

French Loaf Info
Location: 1456 W. Fifth Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43212
Phone: (614) 488-6843
Hours: Tue-Sat 7:30am-7:00pm, Sun 8am-5pm, closed Monday.
Type of Food: Sweet and savory baked goods, light lunches

Link thanks to Serious Eats