I’m Dreaming In Chocolate.

 

I think I have become obsessed—completely and hopelessly obsessed!—with chocolate.

I don’t think there’s any hope of turning back.

 

 

It all started with Valentines Day, and my bowl of chocolatey chip covered oats.

It continued on through pumpkin-chocolate breakfast cookies (more on that in future posts.)

And now, I’m moving on to chocolate granola.

I’m dreaming in chocolate.

 

 

The nice thing about granola is that a little bit goes a long way.  That, and the fact that it’s pretty easy to turn granola into a health food, while still including a bit of an indulgent flair.

Oats.  Cocoa.  Peanut butter = health food.

Coconut.  Butter.  Honey = indulgent flair.

 

 

Granola is so easy to make, I’m surprised at myself for not making it more often than I do.  The one and only glitch that I’ve found is in making sure that there’s enough fat to give the granola its expected crunch.   A little butter or oil does the trick.

Well.

Okay, there’s one more glitch.  Granola needs to be checked very, very often, in order to avoid scorching or burning.  It happens quickly.  Trust me.  I’ve made more than my fair share of burnt granola, when I decided to go off and do something “real quick.”  Let’s just say that I’ve learned my lesson, and now I glue my feet to the kitchen floor whenever I make a batch of granola.

 

 

I’m dreaming in chocolate.

And there’s no hope of turning back.

 

 

(p.s. My most current obsession is taking crunchy, toasted wheat germ…

 

…sprinkling it on top of some yogurt, and finishing it all off with a healthy scoop of “I Dream in Chocolate Granola.”)

I highly recommend it.

 

 

I Dream in Chocolate Granola

Feel free to add walnuts, chocolate chips, chopped almonds, and any mixture of dried fruit to this granola.  Just make sure you let the granola cool for several minutes before sampling, as it is very, very hot when it comes straight from the oven (i.e., painful…and I speak from experience. 😉 )

Serve this chocolatey granola on your favorite yogurt snack or sprinkle on your dish of morning oatmeal.  Enjoy! 😀

• 1/4 c. honey
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 2-1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1/4 c. coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Boil honey, butter, and peanut butter together for about 2-3 minutes.  Take off the heat and combine with oatmeal, cocoa, and coconut.  Place on baking sheet that is coated in cooking spray, spread out and bake for 8-12 minutes, stirring after every 3 minutes or so.  Check often to avoid burning.  Granola is done when it feels hardened and appears toasted.  ENJOY! 😀

Question: What is your favorite way to eat granola? I love going backpacking and waking up to a bowl of granola with hot milk and dried fruit on top!

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toodles to tahini

Back when summer was still here, along with its surrounding warmth and sunshine, I pretty much lived off of basil hummus.

Bunches and bunches of home-grown basil found their way into my heart, my home, my food processor.  I worried that the family would grow tired of this beautiful combination, but nobody every did.  We ate it with lunch.  With dinner.  And sometimes I even snuck in a spoonful or two for an afternoon snack. 

But when summer disappeared, so did basil hummus.  Until next year.

Tonight, I was craving hummus once again.  And since basil was no longer a viable option, I would simply have to discover something new and exciting. 

Secret ingredient of choice?

Yes, you actually did see that correctly.

Peanut butter.

The idea came to me while I was flipping through countless hummus recipes, all asking for ‘tahini.’  Well, I don’t commonly have tahini in my pantry.  Let me rephrase that.  I have never had tahini in my pantry. 

“So,” I asked myself.  “Why not peanut butter?”

I googled the idea—just to make sure I hadn’t completely gone off the deep end—and realized that other people have tried this before as well.  Some people claimed that the peanut butter flavor threw them for a loop.  Others said this peanut flavor disappears by the following morning.  Others said they preferred the peanut version over tahini.

That’s it.  My interest was piqued.  There was absolutely no turning back.

My dusty food processor was pulled out of hibernation and put to use, once again.  No basil this time.  Just peanut butter.

Zwurrppp…20 seconds in the processor.  The result was puffy.  Whippy.  Garlicky.  Tangy.  Soft. 

In one word: Interesting.

I couldn’t decide if I liked it on first bite.  So I took another.  And then I loved it.

Obviously, the hummus is finding its way into my lunch for tomorrow…

…along with some veggies and a slightly battered (but still delicious) apple. 

I’m kind of excited. 😀

Peanut Butter Hummus
This is definitely a complex and savory “peanut butter” flavor.  If “sweet” is what you’re after, you may want to nix the garlic and lemon juice.  Try adding some cinnamon or another common “sweet” spice to add some excitement. 😀  I also think this would go well with canned pumpkin.  Just sayin’.

• 1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 c. natural peanut butter
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt (less or more depending on sodium level of beans and peanut butter)
• garlic powder, sprinkled liberally

1. Process ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. 

 Question: What is your favorite flavor of hummus?  Have you ever tried an “unusual” or slightly “unexpected” flavor?