Chocolate Cherry Granola

This granola recipe is ridiculously popular with my friends and family!


1/2 c raw honey  (make sure you know where your honey came from--lots of honey from the grocery store is actually high fructose corn syrup)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 c organic oats (you can use gf oats if you are making this for someone with gluten intolerance)
1 c nuts of your choice (I usually use 1/2 c almonds and 1/2 c cocoa nibs)
1/2 c unsweetened coconut
1/2 c dried fruit (I usually use cherries or cranberries)
dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, combine honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, and coconut oil.  Heat on medium low until melted.  Add oats, nuts, coconut, dried fruit and sea salt.  Be sure to keep stirring so that the cocoa doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and then spread the granola mixture over the parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes.  Take granola out of the oven and allow it to cool.  This is what will make the granola clump.  Once it is cool  and in chunks, you can store it in an airtight container.

Avocado Pesto with Dandelion Greens & Pasta

What do you do when your home city is struck by a senseless act of violence?
Try a new recipe and get back to blogging, of course.

At some point I'll use a real camera, but for now
food pics from the phone will have to do!

This one's inspired by Chef Chloe's recipe, but I made some tweaks.  Soooooo Good!  This is some of the creamiest, richest pesto I've ever tried.




2 Avocados
1 bunch fresh Basil
1/2 cup pecans (mine were roasted an salted, but raw ones would have worked fine)
2 fresh lemons
1/2c (plus enough for to saute the greens) olive oil
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 handful grated salty cheese, like parmesan or asiago (optional if you are going vegan)
1/2-3/4 lb of pasta (I used gluten free pasta, but any kind would work)


Boil the pasta in sea-salted water.

Meanwhile, cut open the avocados and mash them up.  Cut open one of the lemons and squeeze all the juice into the avocados.  Blend in the olive oil, basil, pecans, salt and pepper with a food processor or immersion blender.

Saute the dandelion greens in olive oil.  Dandelion gets really bitter, even when cooked, unless you use something to take away the acidity.   The other juiced lemon, salt, pepper, and handful of cheese will help cut the bitterness.

Drain the pasta, add the greens, and toss with the rich and delicious pesto.  Fab!

Chocolate Oat Apricot Nut Bars

Adapted from a recipe from Whole Living Magazine.  These bars are REALLY YUMMY.

Fruit, nuts, chocolate, coconut, oats and salt.
What could be better?

2 c dried apricots
1/2 c raw pecans halves
1/4 c unsweetened coconut + more for sprinkling
1/4 c quick oats (If you need this recipe to be gluten free, choose GF oats)
sea salt
1 1/2 oz melted dark chocolate (80% or more cocoa content)


Preheat the oven to 350 and break the pecan halves into pieces.  Pour the oats and the coconut onto a cookie sheet and then pour the pecan halves on top.  Bake for 5-6 minutes until toasted and aromatic.  Be careful not to burn.  When done, take out of the oven and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, put the apricots in a food processor with a dash of the salt.  Pulse until sticky and ground. Cool the toasted stuff and then mix into the apricots until well blended.

Line a pan with parchment paper and then press the mixture into the pan until flat.  (In my household, thinner bars are more popular, so I use a large pan.)

Drizzle the chocolate over the bars and then sprinkle with coconut.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until firm.  Remove and slice into bars.  I store these in an airtight container in the fridge.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

This granola is delicious, and even popular among the folks I know who are not into health food.  If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, just be sure that you get your oats from a gluten-free source.  

If you like your granola to have chunks of oats and nuts, the key to keeping that consistency is in the turn between bakes.  Use a flat spatula and simply flip the oats once, keeping the chunks intact.  Stirring the oats instead of turning them will separate the oats and get rid of the chunks.  

This recipe was adapted from the Whole Foods Market Anniversary Cookbook.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

Serves 6-8

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened organic coconut, finely shredded

Pinch of sea salt

2/3 cup maple syrup

6 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil plus enough to grease the pan

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Blend the oats, flour, coconut, and salt together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, and vanilla until completely incorporated.  Add to the oat mixture, stirring well to coat.  Place mixture on a large pan that has been greased with coconut oil.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Pull the granola out of the oven and add the pecans, turning the granola once to mix them in.  Continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Allow the granola to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator.