Peanut Butter Granola
and thoughts on morning sun, springtime, and seasonal menu shifts
No matter the season or the weather, I spend my early mornings on the front porch watching the sun rise. This time of year, I am dressed in layers, sometimes wrapped up in a blanket, with a hot cup of tea in hand. Some mornings, the sun’s rays barely peek through the clouds, and on others, it emerges from the tree line, basking me in a cascade of glorious, healing light. This rhythm has become a sacred place of solitude and prayer - nourishment from which I begin my day. Not to mention the circadian rhythm calibration from just a few minutes of morning sun - our bodies need the light!
Over the past few weeks, I have observed the start of the seasonal shift toward spring - the sun rising a bit earlier, the birds becoming more active, the crocuses and daffodils breaking through the soil. While I can say I have fully enjoyed the gift of winter this year, I am very much looking forward to springtime, gardening, and living outdoors a bit more.
I love that the changing seasons invite us to adjust what is on our plates. I find myself craving foods just before I realize they are coming into season. This will vary, of course, depending on your location. I believe God made certain foods to thrive in specific latitudes for a reason. Right now, almost everywhere (in the USA at least), carrots are growing in abundance and are so delicious. I’m back on my raw carrot salad kick and loving it.
I just picked up a 50 lb. bag of hard white wheat berries earlier in the week and am ready to dive into testing some new recipes. I have a few ideas, but would love to hear from you - what recipes does your family enjoy most? Overnight proof, discard recipes, sweet or savory, non-sourdough recipes? All of it?
I am planning a new series called “A Week of Meals”, which will be journal style entries of everything I am cooking in my kitchen for one week - with tidbits and recipes sprinkled in. Last night, I made a very basic charcuterie tray and reheated leftovers - just keeping it real. The night before, I tossed a frozen chuck roast in the dutch oven with some spices and orange juice, and it was ready and perfectly tender in 4.5 hours. I look forward to sharing this series with you all in the coming weeks - thank you for being here.
I am still working on a couple of sourdough recipes for you - stay tuned for those. In the meantime, here is a peanut butter granola recipe that my family has been loving. It’s not what I’d call a nutrient dense food, but it’s not full of seed oils and refined sugar like the granola you’ll find at the grocery store.
My favorite way to eat this is sprinkled over greek yogurt with banana slices and bee pollen. Enjoy :)
Peanut Butter Granola
INGREDIENTS
4 cups rolled oats - these are my favorite, I get them from Costco
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup peanut butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
a pinch or two of salt
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large saucepan: melt the butter, peanut butter, and honey over medium low heat until combined and pourable. Add the vanilla and salt and pour the oats into the saucepan. Stir well, until the oats are coated, then pour onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Stir and rotate the pan, and bake another 5 minutes.
Press down on the granola with the back of a spatula and let cool on the baking sheet before transferring to an airtight glass jar.
Please don’t hesitate to hit reply and say hello!
-Hannah
The American granola is quite interesting, because to me it’s like a slice (do you call them that?) which is then broken up. I make a muesli, which I used to call granola and then realised it was a totally different thing. So now I just call it toasted muesli - it’s always loose even though it’s cooked. Not sure if any of that makes sense 🙄
I love the idea of writing up what you eat all week and I often thing I should do the same but then forget to do it!! It’s always good to see what other people eat everyday, rather than fancy meals only. It shows more people how to eat well all the time without expectations that you need to spend hours in the kitchen. So I naught take your lead and do the same. And I don’t know what I do t know about sourdough so am happy for you to take the lead on that one. I recently made some sourdough pastry but it was very breaky! I’ve made it before but I used my same problem wheat so I’ll need to keep trialling different wheat or flours until I get it right!
We love granola but have never had peanut butter to it! Yum!