Homemade Granola

Hello from quarantine. What a crazy time we’re living in right now. My biggest weekly adventures are walking over to Cafe Besalu to pick up pastries and taking Toaster for evening walks (or sniff outings). I know everyone is eager to get back to their normal life. I am too. But I’m more than content staying home because I know it’s the right thing to do right now. And I’m very fortunate to have a job that makes it possible to work remotely. After 11 weeks of working from home, I finally came to my senses and realized that working from my dining room table is not sustainable for months at a time, especially with a growing baby belly. I purchased a desk and office chair and created a micro office in our living room. Here’s a sneak peek of the setup. I went with a fairly small desk by iMovR that doesn’t take up a ton of space and can convert from sitting to standing, and I purchased a Steelcase Series 1 chair. Both have been great so far and I’m already loving my new space.

In addition to setting up a new office for myself, we’ve been researching all the baby items and working our on registry. We’re also been figuring out how to convert Evan’s office to a nursery, while still maintaining an office for him and a workout space elsewhere in the house. I’ve been going through everything in our house trying to downsize and make room for the all baby items we’ll slowly be accumulating over the next few months and years. Is this what nesting is?

Aside from running around the house, decluttering and organizing, I’ve been trying to test out a few new recipes. I recently tried a new pizza recipe for pizza night and Evan thinks it’s the next best thing to Bottineau’s Pizza Inn pizza (his favorite pizza place in his hometown). The pan pizza recipe is from Serious Eats and if you have time to prep the dough the night before, I’d highly recommend checking it out. I also recently bought a cast iron skillet, which makes this recipe even better.

In addition to new pizza recipes, Evan and I have been making a ton of smoothies. I wouldn’t say I’ve had many cravings during this pregnancy, but any type of fresh fruit or fruit smoothie always sounds amazing. Whether I’m eating smoothies or yogurt with fresh fruit, I always like to add some granola. Instead of resorting to store bought granola, I decided I needed to start making my own. And to be honest, I don’t know why I waited so long to give it a try. It doesn’t require many ingredients and it is so simple to make.

Homemade Granola

To begin, add whole pecans to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Transfer chopped pecans to a large bowl and add slivered almonds.

Then add in oats, salt, and brown sugar.

In a small bowl, combine honey and coconut oil and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until mostly melted. Stir to combine, then add in vanilla and almond extracts.

And the liquid to the bowl of oats and stir to combine.

Transfer the oat mixture to a lined baking sheet, pressing down to ensure a nice even layer.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and give the granola a quick stir, pressing down again to ensure an even layer.

Return to the oven and make another 5-7 minutes, until the granola is golden brown.

Let cool, then break the granola into small clusters.

My favorite way to eat granola is sprinkled on top of a bowl of yogurt, topped with fresh fruit.

Store in an airtight container, like these OXO cereal containers; I love mine and would highly recommend them.