Granola

Of course this goes very well with 1/4 cup of yogurt, and it's an easy and tasty way of eating psyllium husks, which I just mix in with the yogurt. Quick, easy, delicious.

Number of portions: 16

Serving size: 57 g

Calories per serving: 236 kcal

Speed: Slow Food

Experienced cook (active time): 12–15 min

Novice cook (active time): 18–22 min

Total elapsed time: 1 hr 45 min – 2 hr 30 min

LHSS Score: 8.25 / 10

5 cups / 430 g rolled oats

4 Tbsp (40g) sunflower seeds

4 Tbsp (45g) pumpkin seeds

¼ cup (35g) hazelnuts 

¼ cup (35g) ground nuts, such as almond or hazelnut (can pulse nuts in blender until like coarse sand)

½ cup dried fruit (raisins or cranberries are nice)

1 tsp poudre douce or cinnamon

pinch salt

⅓ cup (55 g) brown sugar

2 egg whites (60 g), whisked 'til frothy 

¼ cup vegetable oil of your choice (50g)

¼ cup maple syrup or honey (75g) 

1½ tsp vanilla 

1. Preheat oven to 280°F. 
2. Line a large sheet with parchment.
3. In a large bowl combine oats, seeds, nuts + nut flour, brown sugar, spices + salt.
4. In another bowl whisk the eggs until frothy, then add the oil and sweetener.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and massage with your hands to coat evenly.
6. Spread granola ½–¾ inch thick on your 11x16" parchment-lined tray.
7. Leave a “donut hole”, approx 5" in diameter, in the centre for more even baking.
8. Press it down firmly with wet hands or the bottom of a pot.
9. Bake at 280°F for 45 min, do not stir.
10. Check at 35 min to ensure it's not burning.
11. When done, don't remove it from the oven, but turn the oven off and prop the door open. Let the granola sit in the oven until it's fully cooled.
12. Break into clusters, add the dried fruit, mix well and store in an airtight container.

Rolled Oat Porridge

It seems strange to put down a recipe to make what we always called plain old 'oatmeal', but like with all things, there are ways of preparing a meal that is 'ok', and other ways that make it a bit special. I've tried to provide both volume and mass measurements, but they will always be a bit off since it all depends on the kind of oatmeal you use.

⅔ cup (about 3oz) oatmeal (quick cook or rolled oats)
2 cups milk (or cream, for the decadent)
¼ tsp salt

1. Dry heat a saucepan on the stove top to very lightly toast the oats.
2. While stirring, pour in the milk. Bring to just before boiling point. Turn down the heat to the lowest point (if you have a diffuser, use it to avoid scorching the milk). Sprinkle in the salt and stir it in
3. Leave to cook for 10 to 20 minutes.
4. Put in bowls and serve with sweetener and cream on the side.

Types of Oats

I'm starting to experiment with recipes based on oats, inspired by the discovery that a little oatmeal in split pea soup makes for a smooth, unctuous texture (with no oatey flavour or texture). Turns out there are loads of grinds for oats that make a big impact on what you can do with them. I need a list of definitions to refer to until I become more familiar with the different kinds.

Oat groats are simply the whole grain, unprocessed except to have the tough outer skin removed. Think of brown rice.

Pinhead oats, Steel-cut oats, Coarse oatmeal, or Irish oatmeal, cracked groats, milled to varying coarseness: Pinhead (coarse or rough oatmeal, Low GI); Medium (most common in Scottland, 1 to 2mm in diameter, Low GI); Fine oatmeal or Oatmeal flour (not exactly interchangeable as the former still has the bran, Medium GI).

Rolled Oats, Jumbo, Old fashioned, Porridge oats, Flaked oats, (sometimes Quick oats or Quick Cook), where the groat is steamed then rolled flat to make a flake. Medium GI.

Instant Oats have been cooked longer and, because of the extra processing, is considered High GI.

Spiced Ayurvedic Porridge

This is borrowed and slightly altered from Amadea Morningstar's "The Ayurvedic Cookbook". It is a satisfyingly flavoured breakfast dish which is also excellent to give a patient with a bad cold and no appetite for heavy foods as a supper.

Enough for 2

⅔ cup dry oat flakes, regular or instant
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup raisins (optional)
the seeds from 1 cardamom pod
¼ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp powdered ginger
2 cups water

1. Combine all the ingredients but the water in a small saucepan. After mixing briefly, add the water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Leave uncovered and cook, simmering, for 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of oat flakes you use.
4. Serve as is or with ghee, butter, sweetener of your choice, and/or coconut.

Multigrain Bread

I think I may have found my ideal multigrain bread recipe. The combination of the reconstituted whole grain meal and flax seeds makes it moist and flavorful - I wonder if I could make a delicious, high fiber bread pudding with it? That is, if it lasts long enough to be old enough to use!

1 1⁄4 cups multi-grain hot cereal mix

2½ cups boiling water

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface

1½ cups whole wheat flour

4 Tbsps maple syrup (or honey)

1⁄4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter, melted and cooled slightly

2½ tsps instant yeast

1 Tbsps salt

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

1⁄4 cup flax seeds

½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

1. Combine cereal mix in bowl of standing mixer and boiling water in your main mixing bowl; let stand, stirring occasionally, until the mixture cools to about 100°F and resembles thick porridge, under 1 hour.
2. Whisk the flours together in a medium bowl.
3. Once the cereal has cooled, add the maple syrup, the melted butter, and the yeast and stir to combine until it forms a ragged ball covered in dry flour. Pour everything out onto a clean surface and knead - the dough will still be quite sticky, but keep kneading until all the flour has been taken up and dough is just clammy and firm. Return the ball to the mixing bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rest 20 minutes.
4. Combine the seeds and pour onto your work surface, as if you were spreading flour. Turn the dough onto the seeds, sprinkle it with the salt, and knead for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the seeds and salt are all taken up by the dough and well distributed throughout, the dough becomes a taut ball, and it springs back when you pinch it.
5. Grease a large bowl and place dough inside; cover ant let rise until doubled, from 45 to 60 minutes.
6. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat to 375°F. Grease two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans. Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface and pat into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle; cut the dough in half, roll each piece to make a 9" long log and roll in the oats OR to make buns, divide the dough into either 9 or 16 equally-sized pieces and wedge together in a 9x9 inch pan. Cover again with well dampened cloth and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30-40 minutes. Bake until the internal temperature registers 200°F on an instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and allow to cool on wire racks before slicing, about 3 hours.

Source recipe: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=7535