Maple Pumpkin Granola

Is it breakfast time yet?

As we get further into fall and closer to the holiday season I find that my ideas for recipes and blog posts are coming at me left and right. What's up with that? Autumn is one of my favourite times of year. Maybe that has something to do with. There's so much fresh local produce to choose from, pumpkin is in abundance, and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are working their way into everyday baking.

I'm keeping things on the simple side today. I've had this granola recipe in my head for a while now. I think I stumbled across a recipe online, and then again, while I was at the grocery store I saw some quinoa granola on the shelf. I thought hey that's a great idea, you can up the protein of the granola and add some extra crunch action at the same time. Brilliant! Quinoa is such a perfect addition to granola.

It's always more fun to DIY. Enter this recipe.

After I rinsed the quinoa I tossed it in with the rest of the dry ingredients, gently heated up the wet ingredients and mixed them together, I baked it to perfection without stirring. Instead, I rotate the pan in the oven once or twice for even baking. This way you get all those lovely clusters of granola. The only hard part is not touching it when it comes out of the oven and letting it completely cool.

After you feast your eyes on this homemade granola you'll be longing for lazy weekend mornings.

Maple Pumpkin Granola gluten free, vegan, vegetarian | makes about 5 cups

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinse
• 1/3 cup pumpkins seeds
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or other vegetable oil)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, salt and spices.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin purée. Pour over the oat mixture and mix until combined.
4. Spread the mixture out evenly onto prepared baking sheet, pat down, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle the dried cherries over top of the granola. Let cool completely, then break up into pieces and serve, or store in an airtight container.

*Tips*

• I find that not stirring the granola while it bakes is one of the keys to getting tons of clusters. So instead of stirring, just rotate the cookie sheet a couple times during baking to ensure even browning.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1/2 cup Calories: 275 Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 4.6g Cholesterol: 0mg Carbohydrates: 33.7g Sugar: 12g Sodium: 52mg Fiber: 4.5g Protein: 7g

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Well fall has finally arrived and the days have gotten noticeably cooler. As much as I love autumn it's still sad to say goodbye to summer. It's hard to believe that it is over.  *Le sigh*

On the other hand I kind of like the cooler temperatures for sleeping. It wasn't the best year in my garden for tomatoes; they had a slow start and took a long time ripening. The plants have finally fallen from the frost we had a few nights ago. Peppers were fantastic, even though they didn't grow very big.

It's that time of year again. Time to open my first can of pure pumpkin.... today we're talking about pancakes.

There are some recipes that you always come back to, and these pumpkin spice pancakes are one of them.

Pancakes don't happen nearly as often as I'd like in our house, but when they do it's magical. After-all, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes serves 2-3 (6 pancakes)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used pure canned)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or melted butter)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup 2% milk

Directions:

1.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, egg, oil, maple syrup, and milk until very well blended.
3. With a rubber spatula, fold wet mixture into dry mixture. Add a touch more milk if the batter is too thick to pour.
4. Heat a skillet (or griddle) over medium heat. When skillet is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan.
5. Cook 3 minutes until bubbles begin to form, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until cooked through.
6. Serve with maple syrup and cinnamon, or your favourite toppings. Maybe even a smear of maple cinnamon almond butter.