So Nate and I did something a little crazy last week.
And no, we didn’t eat half a batch of granola in the course of 24 hours. (That was the weekend before.) But we did sign a lease on a new apartment!
Eek.
We were planning on staying in our current apartment for another year, partly because it’s pretty nice and partly because we’re lazy, when our lease is up at the end of this week. I’ve been meaning to email our landlords to tell them so for months, but somehow I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. And then out of nowhere we found ourselves at an open house one night last week, falling in love with a gorgeous remodeled apartment in a big old Victorian house in our neighborhood. You guys… it is so pretty. High ceilings, beautiful crown molding, subway tile, two bathrooms… and the kitchen? I would think I was in heaven if I hadn’t just written a check for the security deposit.
Somehow we were able to get out of our lease on 9 days notice, extend it a few days until our new landlord puts the finishing touches on the renovation (like installing a new washer and dryer in our unit! pinch me!), and are planning on moving next week. Such a whirlwind!
We have two weekends in between when we decided to move and the actual move date, so hopefully that gives us plenty of time to pack up. In addition to starting on the packing and cleaning out this weekend, I did get some cooking done, so I hope to continue sharing recipes with you throughout our move! And then we’re gone for the three weekends after that… so we’ll see how far I can stretch these recipe posts, ha.
It’s amazing not only how much stuff I’ve managed to accumulate during two years in our current apartment, but the kinds of things that made the cut on my last move. Do you think it’s finally time I got rid of my college German textbooks? Or do you think I’ll be wanting to sit down and enjoy some Ernst Toller and Hugo von Hofmannsthal in the near future? I can’t believe I hauled those things across the country. Toller and von Hoffmansthal, this time I’m saying goodbye to you.
In any case, you know what makes for a great snack in between boxing up books and transferring your electric service? Granola!
Granola is a delicious high-energy snack, not to mention breakfast or dessert. And to make it even better, this granola is healthied up with… quinoa! That’s right, I put quinoa in your granola.
Now if you think putting quinoa in granola is the weirdest idea ever, I’m right there with you, sister. What makes it even weirder is that this quinoa is uncooked. Just raw quinoa mixed in and baked with the rest of the granola! I was skeptical the first time I made this, but I quickly became a believer: the uncooked quinoa isn’t hard like you might expect. It’s actually quite edible and adds a nice crunchy texture to the granola, quite unlike anything else I’ve ever added to it. It’s awesome! I guess it makes sense, because quinoa is a seed, and you would totally add other types of seeds to your granola without thinking twice. Hmm. So don’t think twice, just do it!
I often forget how much I love granola, and it’s all downhill as soon as I remember. The best/worst thing about this stuff is that you can cover up your snacking so easily. Sneak a spoonful before you put it in the oven? No one will know. Grab a few pecans from around the edges while it’s cooling? No big deal. Then all the sudden you get carried away, and have to break up the chunks and spread it all around a bit to hide the fact that you just ate a quarter of the pan. Not that you would do that or anything!
After baking, you press this granola down with the back of a spoon to help stick it together a bit more and form those big granola clumps we all love. You end up with a combination of big chunks and smaller pieces, perfect for picking at. And burning your fingers. And spreading the granola out to hide the bare spots. And then picking some more.
This quinoa granola is unbelievably delicious, especially given the fact that it’s vegan and stuffed with healthy things like quinoa and oats. I’m not saying the end result is healthy, but you know, you gotta live on the edge sometimes. You end up with a granola that’s sweet and nutty and maple-y and perfectly crunchy. It is so addictive with that yummy quinoa crunch! My favorite way to eat it is by the handful/spoonful right out of the jar. But I can also vouch for the fact that it’s delicious with milk, or with yogurt and berries. (And I think it’s especially pretty that way!)
Break off a clump and dig in!
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (I used red quinoa)
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients (oats through salt). Pour in maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla and stir until well-combined.
- Spread mixture on baking sheet and bake until golden-brown, 30-35 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Remove from oven. Using the back of a spoon, press mixture down into pan. (This helps form clumps).
- Let cool completely before breaking into chunks. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature. Will keep for a week plus.
Congrats on signing on the new apartment! Lots of fun! Your granola looks amaaaaazing! I’ve never tried quinoa granola and yours looks absolutely perfect!
This sounds so delicious! You basically used all of my go-to granola add-ins. Almonds, pepitas, coconut. Maybe if I close my eyes and pray I can walk down to my kitchen and a big bowl of this stuff will be waiting for me :) Wishful thinking! Guess I’m going to have to get cooking!
Beautiful Erica! The recipe, the pictures, the parfaits…yum!
I actually made granola this weekend too (totally different recipe) and I really struggled with photographing it. You made it look so easy, great job!
Thanks Sarah! Hope we get to see your granola recipe!
Congrats on the new apartment! It sounds gorgeous! That granola looks amazing and I’m excited to try it! I’ve never put raw quinoa in anything before but I’m thinking I’ll really love the texture. Great pictures by the way! They’re beautiful.
Thank you, Alex!
Ahh, exciting for your new adventure! I must confess that granola is very, very easy to eat half or whole batch, at least with a friend aka foodie!
I couldn’t agree more!
congrats on the new place!! Can’t wait to see photos of the kitchen. This granola looks amazing! I just made some too but I love the addition of quinoa in yours!
I love the idea of quinoa in my granola BUT I have a concern…
Recipes for cooked quinoa often say to rinse extremely well to remove a bitter, possibly toxic, coating. Do you know anything about this? I’ll check with Google to be sure this is correct…. I would like to add quinoa to my granola!
Hi Carola, you can buy pre-rinsed quinoa for this, if you’d like. I didn’t rinse my quinoa and didn’t have any problems with it. You could also rinse it yourself and pat dry – it should be OK if it goes into the mix a little damp. Thanks for your comment!
Never thought of making granola with quinoa… great idea! It looks yummy!!
Thanks Nathalie!
First congrats your new place to live. Very exciting and yes we do accumulate things, don’t we? I love that you added Quinoa to your recipe. My understanding is Quinoa always needs to be rinsed so it is not bitter. Did you use standard Quinoa or Quinoa that was pre-rinsed? Can I use standard without a bitter aftertaste?? Any advise would be appreciated … I really want to make this and make it right.
Hi Linda, you can certainly buy pre-rinsed for this. Mine was not pre-rinsed and I did not rinse it and it turned out just fine!
Thanks for the reply and good to know I can use regular because that’s what I have. Hoping to make this sometime this week! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
I’ve not been enjoying breakfast since the “Busy Bee Bakery” in Melrose closed a few weeks ago. How dare they close and stop making the granola I’ve been eating for breakfast for THREE YEARS! Like, what about my needs???? Since then I’ve made many trips to many supermarkets to buy many different batches of granola to try . . . all TOTALLY unsatisfying. So I can’t wait to try this, which seems like it is exactly what I’m looking for! Thank you!
Happily moving this from the “Recipes to Try” to “Recipes to Keep” folder! I nearly ate the whole batch before I baked it. Absolutely terrific — my new breakfast fave!
I am with you! And you know I made it because of your love for granola :)
I love the quinoa idea! Is most quinoa pre-rinsed or is this something I’ll have to go out of my way to find? Congrats on the new place, seems like such an important moment! Enjoy!
After following your blog and others like it for so long, I finally decided to start my own, http://adventurefaceliz.wordpress.com. I’d really appreciate if you checked it out!
Hey Liz, most quinoa is pre-rinsed (which is something I just learned!). Thanks for the comment and congrats on starting your blog! Checking it out now :)
Mom just baked her second (double?) batch of this granola. We are eating a lot of it because it is so good. Yummmm