Coconut-Turmeric Granola

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? We had a great time in Pennsylvania, though we skipped the Turkey Trot since with the wind chill, it was 3 degrees! On Thanksgiving, just after we finished baking the pumpkin pies, the oven started to malfunction, and could only make it to about 250°F for the rest of the day. We kept the turkey in the oven for almost 8 hours, which ending up being enough time, luckily. Good thing we had originally planned to eat at 4 and not 8! It seems the theme of the weekend was that lack of heat was the theme of the weekend. Aside from those adventures, all was calm.

We tried the 7-Minute Workout together as a family, which gave us all the giggles. And everyone improved their brain health by sampling ginkgo nuts my parents had collected in the park. (If you’re going to try this at home, make sure to roast them first, and don’t eat more than eight, as they can be toxic in high doses.) We enjoyed hearing my mom sing in the Holiday Spectacular concert with the York Symphony Chorus on Saturday night. The theater was almost full, which means there were nearly 1,000 people there! No photos were allowed during the performance, so here’s a festive picture of one of the trees in the lobby.

I also had a successful trip to a new-to-me antique store—the Lemoyne Antique Marketplace. I added two more Martha Stewart Christmas books to my collection (!!!) and acquired some VERY exciting holiday plates, which will make an appearance on the blog soon enough. Before long it was time to head back to Brooklyn and back to our routine.

Which brings me to this granola recipe! With all of the special holiday foods popping up right and left, it’s sometimes nice to have some basic fall-back foods around to eat in between the celebrations. Filling, healthy, and not too sweet, this recipe is a very loose adaptation of Alison Roman’s “Kinda Sweet Turmeric Granola” from her wonderful cookbook Dining In. It is delicious with yogurt, milk, or just munched on its own. Hope you enjoy!

Coconut-Turmeric Granola

• 3 cups rolled oats (gluten free if gluten is a concern for you)
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/2 cup buckwheat groats, hemp hearts, or sesame seeds (I used a combination)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together, then stir in the wet ingredients. Spread the mixture in an even layer on top of the parchment.
2. Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, using a spatula to turn the granola in sections every 15 minutes. Allow to cool, break into manageable pieces, and store in a sealed container for up to two weeks.