Out-of-the-Box Breakfast

I've had a small basket of fresh figs lingering in my fridge and so this morning I used them as inspiration for a tasty and simple breakfast that is a little unusual but super satisfying. I made a fruit pita pizza, first taking a whole wheat pita round, spreading it with some low-fat cream cheese, fig preserves and then halved fresh figs. I think you could swap out different jams and fruit for fun combos- I'm thinking about orange marmalade and sliced strawberries for tomorrow. I also have a friend who recommends almond butter and honey on warm pita for a sweeter option for breakfast. It's nice to break out of the cereal routine once in a while. Do you have any creative takes on the most important meal of the day? Let me know!

Granola Memories

I recently moved back down to school after spending the summer at home in San Jose. This transition is always a little difficult for me, since it means several "good-byes for a little while" to family and friends up there and also a definite shrink in personal space. Our LA apartment is teeny-tiny! Just about once a week at home this summer I made granola. Homemade granola compared to store-bought is like fresh produce and supermarket produce- the second is a woeful imitation of the first. Also, I love making granola in small batches because it allows you to change your combinations of fruit and nuts each week, meaning that you have a variety of custom-blend granolas always in your cupboard. Salivating yet? I also love this recipe for its source- I got it from the Mercury News but it was interestingly originally published in a pregnant woman's cookbook. If it's good enough nutritionally for those moms-to-be, I figure it has to be good for me too . So this week, in order to make the apartment feel a little more like home, I made some granola. The smell of the honey and oats baking is so wonderful that they transported me to my home kitchen. I hope you enjoy making this as much as I do.

Please let me know what combos of dried fruit and nuts, or other granola mix-ins, you like, or if you have a particular granola recipe you're a fan of. I recently changed the settings on the blog so anyone, not just blogspot.com members, can comment on the blog. I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Recipe: Fruit-filled Granola

Makes 5 cups

Ingredients:

Canola oil

½ cup honey, molasses or maple syrup or a mixture

¼ cup canola oil

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking variety)

½ cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup dried apricots

1/3 cup dried banana slices

Prep.:

Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with sides with the canola oil and set it aside.

Combine honey and oil in a small saucepan and heat just until hot. Place rolled oats and sliced almonds in a bowl and mix. Add honey-oil mixture and mix until well combined.

Spread granola mixture evenly on baking sheet. Bake about 40 minutes, or until light golden. It will still be soft when it comes out of the oven but will harden as it cools. Do not overbake, or granola will have a bitter, burned taste. Allow granola to cool completely.

Add dried fruit to the granola and mix well. Store in an airtight container or a zip-lock bag.

*I follow the measurements but then substitute whatever dried fruit or nuts I have on hand. It's a lot of fun to play around with the recipe! For example, in the above picture I added whole almonds, chopped dried figs and a dried fruit blend from Trader Joe's that has golden raisins, dried blueberries and dried cranberries.