snack » Living Lou

Pumpkin Spiced Granola

I’ve had this Pumpkin Spiced Granola up my sleeve for a while, but I wasn’t quite sure what to write about it. It hit me yesterday; I finally figured out exactly why I love this granola. Apart from being utterly delicious, the real reason why I love it is because I can eat it in my car.

Yesterday I tweeted* that I eat more meals in my car than anywhere else. I’m here to tell you that that is a fact. I tend to eat my lunch on the way to class from my internship or from class heading to my internship. However today, I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in my car – while driving. And this granola was part of all of those meals. It’s an easy thing to munch on while driving, every time I stop at a red light, I can grab a handful of granola. Plus it packs a nutritious punch – lots of nuts and seeds in there for that protein which is pretty important when constantly on the go. While this granola isn’t enough for lunch itself, it’s a good start. I like to pack a bunch of things in my lunchbox – I’ll show you all soon!

*Can’t believe I just said “tweeted”. All my friends know I can’t stand the word “tweet”. No.

Pumpkin Spiced Granola
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

3 cups toasted oats (toast for 15 minutes at 375 degrees)
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Preheat oven to 250.

In a large bowl, combine toasted oats, almonds, coconut, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and cranberries.

In a small saucepan, bring pumpkin puree, vanilla, canola oil, maple syrup, honey and spices to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir into dry ingredients. Stir in toasted oats.

Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and press the granola mixture into pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 250, then turn the heat down to 200 and cook for another 2 hours.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before breaking up and storing in an airtight container.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who eats meals in the car? If you’re like me, definitely pack this Pumpkin Spiced Granola along for the drive.

- Lou

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Hi Fall! While I don’t really enjoy your cooler temperatures, I do love all the pumpkins, sweet potatoes, soups and stews you bring. Your spices – cinnamon, cloves and allspice and I am in love with your cozy sweaters and jackets.

In Toronto, it seems as though the temperature has dropped 10 degrees within the past week. A little too much too soon if you ask me. We already have to withstand a gazillion months of winter, we shouldn’t have October weather in September. Last year I didn’t get around to making as many pumpkin/fall themed things as I wanted to, so this year I’m planning to do a lot of fall baking and cooking. What kinds of things are you all looking for this time of year?

To celebrate the beginning of fall I’m sharing a new recipe for Pumpkin Banana Bread – it makes use of seasonal pumpkin and those leftover bananas you have sitting on the counter right now. As I mentioned, I love fall spices so I really upped the flavor on this bread.

Pumpkin Banana Bread
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Butter the sides of a 9×5 inch bread pan.

Meanwhile, whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric mixer cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, pumpkin and vanilla.

On the lowest setting, mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Be careful not to over mix.

Pour batter into pan and smooth top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

I hope you’re as excited for Fall as I am, enjoy the season with this lovely Pumpkin Banana Bread.

- Lou

Mini Breakfast Quiches

OK, please tell me that I’m not the only one who struggles with breakfast? And when I say struggle I mean struggle. You see, in an ideal world, I would eat waffles and donuts for breakfast – everyday. I would also be a few inches taller and never suffer from a hangover, and did I mention eat a lot of donuts? Sadly, life doesn’t always go the way we planned. Are you still with me?

I knew for the Secret Recipe Club reveal of August, I wanted to make something to help my daily breakfast struggle. Especially now that school is starting in less than a month (Side note: how. what. why. when. no.) breakfast is pretty important. I’m also a big fan of sleeping, so elaborate breakfasts don’t really fit in to my schedule. I was thrilled when I saw my assigned blog Gluten Free A-Z Blog had a whole page dedicated to breakfast. Hello jackpot! Judee has a ton of great, and healthy recipes on her site and I knew right away that I wanted to make these Mini Breakfast Quiches.

Eggs are a great source of protein which is really important for breakfast. I added a few more vegetables and changed up the ratio of eggs to milk and I love the way these turned out. I can see myself making a batch of these on a Sunday and then enjoying them for breakfast throughout the week.

Mini Breakfast Quiches (makes 10-12)
Recipe adapted from Gluten Free A-Z

Ingredients

8 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozarella cheese
dash of hot sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl whisk eggs with milk. Whisk in remaining ingredients.

Lightly grease a muffin tin and ladle the egg mixture into the tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from the tin.

I’m a really big fan of these Mini Breakfast Quiches and I know they would make a great back to school breakfast!

- Lou

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini is everywhere right now, but after looking at hundreds of recipes online on other blogs, I realized that I’m really lacking in zucchini recipes on here. Gasp! But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve got a couple of zucchini recipes up my sleeve for those of you with bountiful zucchini growing in your garden or for those of you like me, who just really like zucchini. Zucchini Fritters are a pretty typical way to enjoy zucchini, I wanted to make mine a little different and I added fresh basil which compliments the zucchini wonderfully.

There aren’t many foods, other than the holy trifecta of bacon, eggs and toast, and we can’t forget pizza that you can eat for dinner and breakfast, but you can add these Zucchini Fritters to that list. I feel like these would even make a good packed lunch because they taste amazing when they’re cold. I like to eat mine with a little ketchup mixed with sriracha – it’s so good.

Zucchini Fritters (makes 6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 small onion, shredded
2 zucchini, shredded
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 egg
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 + 1/4 tsp salt
Oil for frying

Directions

In a colander lined with paper towels, place zucchini with 1 tsp of salt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, using more paper towel if necessary, squeeze out as much liquid from the zucchini as possible.

Combine zucchini with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Cover the pan with oil, heat over medium-high heat. Using an ice cream scoop, drop one scoop per fritter into the hot oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side. If you find that the fritters are cooking too quickly, turn the heat down to medium and continue frying.

If you’re looking for more ways to use up your zucchini, try my Stuffed Mushrooms.

- Lou

Roasted Eggplant Dip

When I received my July assignment for The Secret Recipe Club I was a little bit nervous. You see, I was assigned the lovely blog Smells Like Brownies which would normally be the perfect fit because I love brownies, but…

I’m in Greece! And baking on a small island in Greece is completely different from baking in Toronto. The flours are different and the sugar is different. What if I didn’t have the right tools? What kind of impact would the change in altitude have? Luckily, Melissa from Smells Like Brownies has such a variety of recipes on her blog that I found the perfect recipe, a popular Greek dip, Melitzanosalata, also known as Roasted Eggplant Dip. The best part – eggplants straight from the garden.

My grandparents grow a ton of vegetables. Talk about a food bloggers dream, literally having a farmer’s market in your own backyard. Typically a Melitzanosalata uses just parsley instead of rosemary, but I loved the addition of rosemary – plus we have about three massive bushes of rosemary growing in the garden. If you’re looking for another one of my favourite eggplant recipes, checkout my Eggplant Salad – it’s too good.

Roasted Eggplant Dip (Melitzanosalata) (serves 2-4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

Poke the eggplant all over with a fork and roast for 40 minutes or until tender.

Once eggplant is done, slice in half and scoop out the inside.

In a food processor, combine the eggplant, garlic, onion, rosemary, parsley and olive oil. Pulse until desired consistency.

Serve with crackers or pita, I served mine with melba toast and it was delicious.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Lou