Wednesday, February 8, 2012


A few new things that are making my mornings brighter:

New teapot...from For Life...love.

New tea...finally got around to ordering great loose leaf tea from Upton Imports . My favorites are Bond Street English Breakfast and River Shannon Irish Breakfast. Both make a good, strong morning cup.

New granola recipe. Homemade granola is one of my favorite breakfasts. It's sooo much healthier than store bought and it's really easy to make. After making my tried and true recipe for 2 or 3 years, I came across this one via Orangette. But after making it, I realized it was way too sweet for me. So I tried again, this time cutting out over half the sugar. And guess what? It was just as good. Here's my altered version of the recipe.

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grade B maple syrup (using grade B is important, it gives a richer flavor)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add olive oil and maple syrup and give a good stir, until all dry ingredients are moistened.
Spread granola in an even layer onto baking pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until granola is golden brown and most of the moisture has evaporated.
Remove from oven and let cool all the way before storing in an airtight container.

Very easy and delicious. And healthy.

5 comments:

angela said...

Hello Jill,

Love the assembling of photos from the 2011. You had a full year! missing you, maybe we can get togehter during school winter break? let's talk.

Jo said...

I love your tablecloth. Is it linen?

Jill said...

thanks, angela! yes, let's get together over winter break. will be nice to see each other again and hear about rome :)

hi jo, the table cloth is from fog linen and yes, it's 100% linen!

kate said...

yum, the granola sounds great. I have been looking for a good recipe, so thanks!

Jo said...

I thought it was FLW!
Can you believe that years ago I lived in Shimokitazawa (in Tokyo) which is where the Fog Linen shop is? The area was full of fantastic little shops and cafes and I remember it so very fondly.