Petit déj' des marmottes : Granola

R.G. 2011

 No one can debate how rewarding it is to enjoy something you've worked hard on. What's even more rewarding, however, is enjoying something you've worked hard on a day or two ago but which required almost no prep work the morning of (because rewarding or not, your breakfast shouldn't cost the price of your morning to sleep in). 

Seeds and flattened super-foods

Granola is heavenly -- but it gets a bad rap because it can so quickly go from something well-meaning on the health front, to metabolic poison in homemade (and, more frequently, commercial) recipes that load up on sugar and fat. It's hard for a granola-muncher to live up to their name these days -- but this has yet to shake me from the cause. This recipe goes light on the sugar, allowing most of the flavor to come from other ingredients, and it uses coconut oil, which is infinitely better for you than vegetable oil or canola oil. The rolled adzuki beans also add a punch of low-on-the-glycemic-index sweet and ups the protein and other nutrients. If you can't find rolled adzuki beans, try to get your hands on some other flattened super food, like millet, quinoa, spelt or chickpeas. (If you live in France try La Vie Claire -- they typically have all of these.)



Egg-eaters



goose, chicken and tiny quail egg



Lots of egg talk because late last week I learned that it is currently egg season. In the spirit of local, seasonal and animal friendly (check out that article) Rémi and I headed out to the market Saturday morning to take advantage of what we'd learned. Not only was it an occasion for trying the enormous goose eggs sold by the cheese-people (the fromager, but whatever), but 18 tiny quail eggs, a 1/2 lb. of fresh butter with sea salt, one rich creamy cheese (whose name I've forgotten but who cares), some blood oranges, and a fresh loaf of crusty sourdough bread later, we had exhausted our brunch food fantasy list for the week. (Oh, and there was a melon. Mmmm, fresh, ripe melon.)

I spent a summer in Portugal not very long ago where I ate my fair share of quail eggs. I had first seen them in a restaurant served on a plate piled high with flor do sal and when I later found them in the grocery store it was hard boiled egg heaven for three months.



What to do with too many ... 3 recipes for chickpeas



Chickpeas soaked over-night



Soaking beans takes so freaking long. You're lucky to manage the successful execution of a plot to buy, soak and prepare beans in a 48-hour period. So, it's never a question of not soaking enough beans (could you imagine how frustrating that would be ??), but frequently of having soaked too many. Such was the case the morning after a kilo of dry chickpeas had been sitting under water on my kitchen counter.

Though preparation might be time consuming, it shouldn't be too much of an effort to figure out what to do with freshly cooked beans. Especially chickpeas -- hot, just-cooked chickpeas are so light and nutty, they don't need more than some olive oil, crunchy sea-salt and a fork and it's magic in a bowl.

(In case you missed it, that was recipe idea number one.)

Crunchy Falafel

The recipe this is based on the one from The Hummus Blog, though I doubled it, added some extra seasoning and omitted the bread crumbs. I think the falafel mix came out softer than it might with the bread, but for me this wasn't a problem because I found small patties easier to cook (with less oil) than balls (hehe "balls" ...). I listed a few examples of garnishes from all over but anyone with other ideas is more than welcome to comment.

Amaranth and blue cheese "risotto"

Amaranth "risotto"

I wanted the first recipe I posted to be a show-stopper.

But true to life and Murphy's law the recipe I had been dreaming about for almost a week never quite came to fruition. I mean, it was still good (really good ...) and definitely got points for being interesting, but we're aiming for incredible and this one didn't 100% make that mark. But there's so much potential ! Which is why this flawed recette is still totally post-worthy.* And who knows ? Any personal touch could be the one that changes a mediocre to recipe into a phenomenal one -- I'm including a list of notes and ideas for improvements. This is when thoughts are most appreciated by anyone compelled to try this premature recipe out !



Amaranth

Pan-glazed tempeh

Amaranth is super hearty, happy little seed that your body enjoys as much as your taste buds do and that jumps out all over the stove when you go to pour it into pot (fun, fun). When it cooks down it creates a super-velvety texture between the seeds, which is why it seemed perfect for a risotto-style dish.** We had it for lunch the other day with sauteed onions and mushrooms, a poached egg and heavy hand of Valentina.

Trying to figure out how I could up-grade a one-grain wonder to a hearty and sophisticated dish, I imagined finding something to enhance the creamy texture surrounding each seed and complementing the richness of the mushrooms and onions. Blue cheese came to mind -- well, because in the hamburger school of
thought, carmalized onions and mushrooms needs blue cheese ...