Well, we made it back from our 10 days on the road no worse for wear. Our trip was amazing and I still have a ton more photos to upload onto Flickr. The painted hills in Oregon were beautiful, we had a great warm night of camping in the Washington Okanogan, we drank delicious beer at the Silver Moon Brewery in Bend (and also had some really good Hawaiian beer & my birthday dinner at the Kona Mix Plate)…and then there was Portland! Oh boy, do I love that city. We ate at Pine State Biscuits twice for breakfast, thought we might win at trivia at the Basement Pub (we didn’t), played many games of darts at various locales, and drank my favorite beer at Amensia Brewing (their Copacetic IPA, if you must know).
But now I’m back home, the weather in Vancouver is not only sunny but HOT. Hooray! I made this granola a few weeks ago, but like all granola, once it’s tightly put away in a cupboard it can last ages. And oh boy, it was the perfect breakfast treat to make a Vancouver homecoming breakfast truly worthwhile. I took Nigella’s recipe for cocoa granola and omitted the peanuts (but golly, that sounds good too!) and added coconut and almonds instead. So far I’ve eaten it with strawberries while the husband enjoyed his with bananas…but the best was scooping up the deliciousness with Granny Smith apple slices. No spoon required! It also helped that I was eating my granola with my favorite store-bought yogurt, Liberté’s coconut yogurt. It seriously made the chocolate and coconut in the granola just a bit more special.
While you might think this is a decadent breakfast (and it is), it’s also low fat. There’s applesauce instead of a lot of oil and if you don’t have applesauce on hand, it’s really easy to whip some up. This granola was crunchy, sweet (but not tooth-achingly so) and if you wanted to make this all vegan, just sub in some more agave or brown rice syrup to replace the honey. I’ll definitely be making this again.
And if you want a bit more reading, why not check out my latest post over at the Food Network Canada blog, Bazaar. It’s a post about my favorite Vietnamese sandwich which is found in Vancouver’s Chinatown for a mere $3.15. And you can find out just how mis-named this blog really is…do I really like sandwiches? Find out now!
cocoa-coconut granola
1/4 c cocoa
4 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c shredded coconut
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1 c roughly chopped almonds
1 t kosher salt
2 t ground cinnamon
large pinch each nutmeg & cardamom
3/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c agave nectar
1/4 c honey
3/4 c applesauce
2 T olive oilPreheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together. In a small saucepan, heat up agave nectar, honey, apple sauce and olive oil just until extra runny and then pour over dry ingredients. Mix until everything has been coated with the wet sticky stuff. Pour into a large glass baking dish or several walled cookie sheets and place in the oven, turning over occasionally so that everything dries out evenly. After 40 minutes to an hour, remove from oven and cool on counter. Store in a tight lidded container.
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Oh wow! I’m a loyal reader of your blog and live in Bend. Perhaps our paths will cross here the next time you come to town!
Welcome back! So glad that you had an amazing trip :0) And speaking of amazing, that granola looks BEYOND scrumptious… yum!! Love Nigella-based recipes :0)
Glad to see you back! Those sandwiches sound marvelous.
There is something to be said about homemade granola. I have made various flavours of granola from extra nutty to super chocolatey…right now I’m working on a chocolate-coconut granola with actual chocolate chips inside..oh boy is it good! I will put your recipe in my favourites file for when I return from my trip.
Glad to hear that you had an amazing time in Oregon. The hills look beautiful. That state is next on my travel agenda and Vancouver too. The husband has been wanting to visit friends of his in B.C…you just never know, I might be knocking on your door real soon 😀
this recipe sounds so good, it might be the one that finally gets me to make granola (I’ve been meaning to give it a try for years)
This looks DELICIOUS! I’m always on the hunt for tasty yet healthy breakfast options–thanks for sharing!
Glad you had a great time on your trip. I love the Pacific Northwest…just got back from a weekend getaway in Seattle in fact, and had a lovely time myself!
I’m so glad someone else out there likes Granny Smith apples too. I thought I was the only one! The granola sounds great too…
Kashi has a new granola called Cocoa Beach which is delicious as far as the store-bought kind goes.
Oooooo, your trip sounds like it was fun! Welcome back—and the granola looks great, in a total “cuckoo for cocoa puffs” kind of way!
I, too, love Portand, Oregon. Have you ever been to the outstanding Pearl Bakery in Portland? By the way, chocolate for breakfast? Oh my!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
That granola looks awesome!
Not being vegasn, what would be an appropriate substitute? Maple syrup? Or corn syrup?
My kind of breakfast, Kickpleat – anything with chocolate is more than welcome! 🙂
Welcome back!!! That sounds awesome! hmmmm chocolate ..hmmmm hehe
aria, i don’t know when i’ll be back to bend, but if i go, i’ll post about it and we can meet up!
thanks veggiegirl! i agree, every nigella recipe i’ve tried has been amazing.
evidee, those sandwiches are amazing! yum.
bijoux, granola with chocolate chips? sounds interesting! i don’t know if i’d want that much chocolate for breakfast, but i certainly wouldn’t snub it if it was placed in front of me!
iris, granola is a no-brainer! what are you waiting for?
zentummy, roadtrips are the best! as for breakfast, this is tasty and healthy…a perfect combo!
helen, you are definitely not the only one. they’re my favorite cuz i love the tartness! yum.
trying hard, hmm, maybe if i see it around, i’ll try it out. thanks.
thanks veg*!
mireille, no i’ve never been to the pearl bakery. something to add to my list for next time.
thanks wheeler!
kali, you could just use all honey or maple syrup.
indeed, patricia!
thanks jenn, it’s good to be back!
Oh. my. god. You had me at cocoa-coconut. And do you really have access to coconut yogurt in Canada? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the States unless I’m clearly shopping in the wrong places.
I’m a first time visitor here but oh, I’ll be back.
Yum! that granola sounds fantastic – I’ve never heard of the combination before. Must get coconut and applesauce now!
welcome back!
this is my kinda granola. maybe i’ll FINALLY get off my ass and make some.
Yummy, yummy, yummy!
This looks like a wonderful indulgence that’s good for you, too. I hope you had a terrific birthday camping trip!
Your cocoa granola photos are going to be invading my dreams tonight! I’ve never made my own granola, probably because I never know what to do with granola because I don’t eat soy yogurt too often. Maybe I could try it as an oatmeal topper or layer it over some homemade soymilk pudding…
I liked your bahn mi article – there’s a post at swellvegan.wordpress.com about bahn mi’s and I’ve wanted to try one ever since! Now I just need to win some free plane tickets to Vancouver!
Glad you had a good time here, and I’m especially glad you made it to Pine State Biscuits. Good stuff, is it not? And I just have to say, I’ve won the trivia contest at the Basement, a couple of times, a few years back. Give a shout next time you’re in P-town, if you want a ringer on your team!
What a beautiful presentation!
cheryl, yes, we have coconut yogurt and it’s glorious! it’s made in quebec by liberte. they do sell in the states!
luisa, it’s a good combo!
thanks michelle. granola is a really simple breakfast. you can make it once a week and have it every day!
jessica, indeed!!
thanks lynn, it was a great trip 🙂
ruby red vegan, i had granola as a topping for my breakfast oatmeal today and it was perfect! give it a try! it’s also a nice crunch on top of fruit salad!
tommy, sadly i’ve never won, but the friends we went with did win once…unfortunately that night wasn’t our night.
thanks aly!
Oh YUM. I have to make this immediately! I’ve never tried agave syrup. What’s the flavor like? If I can’t find it, can I substitute brown rice syrup or something similar?
carrie, you can definitely use brown rice syrup or even maple syrup or honey instead.
Hi,
Your Cocoa coconut Granola looks wonderful!
Please respond as I have a question for you.
Thank you!