breakfast

Crispy Peanut Butter and Honey Granola

September 20, 2013 by Erica

Crispy Peanut Butter and Honey Granola // Coffee & Quinoa

We are on a biiiit of a granola kick lately. First there was my Quinoa Crunch Granola, then there were the MixMyOwn custom mixes I mentioned yesterday, and now this delicious Crispy Peanut Butter and Honey Granola. What can I say? When I find a breakfast that my non-breakfast-eating boyfriend adores, I will knock myself out trying new combinations.

My lovely mother had the pleasure of developing this recipe with me in her kitchen, where I am definitely not used to cooking. Is it just me, or is cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen always a recipe for disaster? Not knowing where everything is makes me so frazzled. We added, we mixed, we tasted, we added and mixed and tasted some more, and still weren’t quite happy with the results… and then I burned two batches. Whyyyy. Somehow 30 minutes seemed like a totally acceptable amount of time to bake the granola without checking on it. Hmm. As you can see by the 15-minute cooking time in the recipe below, that was definitely not the case.

Crispy Peanut Butter and Honey Granola // Coffee & Quinoa

Back at home in Salt Lake, my kitchen is still somewhat unfamiliar, too, as we have yet to spend a weekend in our new apartment. The counter space, small to begin with, is still covered with dishes I haven’t found a place for yet, and all my dry goods (ahem, everything used to make granola) are in bins on the floor. Sigh. I am determined to get my kitchen ship-shape this weekend!

So yes, even during a third trial of this recipe at home, I was feeling frazzled. Luckily I kept my wits about me enough to try the addition of Rice Krispies – the ingredient that ended up totally making the recipe! They lighten up what is otherwise a very dense granola – mostly peanut butter and oats – and add a great crunchy texture. I will say that I’m not usually a fan of Rice Krispies in granola… I feel like they’re just a filler that is cheating me out of the other good stuff in there! But here, because everything is coated in a layer of gooey peanut butter and honey, that is definitely not the case. The peanut butter-drenched Rice Krispies stay a little chewy even after they’re baked, making this into a cross between granola and puppy chow, texture-wise. And the taste – yum. Peanut butter and honey is one of my favorite combinations (I eat it on my oatmeal practically every day!), and it provides the perfect balance of salty and sweet for this granola. You have to try it! It is totally addicting for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert.

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Coffee Banana Breakfast Smoothie

September 13, 2013 by Erica

Coffee Banana Breakfast Smoothie // Coffee & Quinoa

Sometimes I say that I want summer to stick around forever.

Sometimes I then get to relive my childhood summer nights, trying to find the cool side of the pillow on the third floor of my parents’ un-air-conditioned house.

Sometimes I need a really cold breakfast.

Coffee Banana Breakfast Smoothie // Coffee & Quinoa

Yes, if I’ve learned anything this past week, it’s that moving to a place where all buildings are air-conditioned and driving (and parking!) everywhere is easy has made me downright soft. Not that my parents are exactly living in the dark ages in New England, but A/C… you are now a non-negotiable for me.

And if I can’t have you, I definitely need this smoothie.

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Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

August 19, 2013 by Erica

Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

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.

Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

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.

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Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

July 31, 2013 by Erica

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

When was the last time you went berry picking?

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

Mine was years ago, when my family came to visit me in Germany at the end of my semester abroad. It was late summer, and we were set on berry picking. We drove about an hour just to pick some raspberries. I probably have vivid memories of it mostly because it is well-documented – my dad likes to take lots of pictures when the family is all together.

Aaand this is reminding me of many funny things that happened during that visit – my sister falling off a folding bike (she didn’t think it was too funny at the time), my dad whipping the cream to go on top of those berries by hand because he couldn’t find an electric mixer, our crazy German relatives… good thing I am with my sisters this week, because we have some reminiscing to do.

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Lemony Rainbow Chard Egg White Frittata

July 8, 2013 by Erica

Lemony Rainbow Chard Egg White Frittata

Since embarking on my ice cream journey, I’m become something of an egg white master. You see, every ice cream recipes involves egg yolks, and lots of ’em, but never the whites. So it’s no surprise that I have tupperwares full of egg whites in my fridge, just waiting to be whipped up into something tasty. Breakfast burritos are my go-to egg-white-user-upper-recipe. But they don’t contain nearly enough produce when you’ve also just received your very first heaping CSA box!

Lemony Rainbow Chard Egg White Frittata

This past week was my first CSA delivery of the summer. I’ve never tried out a CSA before, so I was super excited to receive all this gorgeous fresh produce straight from a local farmer. In addition to the above picture, I also signed up for a box of berries every week (blackberries this week, mmmmmm) and a dozen eggs every other week.

As excited as I was for all these goodies, I was also slightly intimidated. What do you do with turnips? What do spring onions taste like? (Answer: really strong green onions!) How long is this chard going to last in the fridge? Should I eat these beet greens or toss them? And how am I going to eat all this stuff on my own while Nate is in Peru for the next week?

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