granola pancakes

not sure why

i seem to believe that

every time i make and/or eat pancakes

it is a blog worthy event

even i

am beginning to tire

of me

*grin*

but listen

the reason these pancakes are so special

is because they were inspired by breakfast 

at a general store 

in 

noank, connecticut

when we walked in to

Carsons General Store

it was like walking back in time

except

today, it represents how

people in this small tourist town outside of mystic, connecticut

still commune

we sat at a small table at the back of the store

watching the morning ritual

old-timers chatting and gathering their morning read

carafes of coffee emptied as the village crier

did her position proud

we sat and listened

asked a bit about the place

family owned for over 100 years

and

ate pancakes

delicious granola pancakes

Carsons is a place

that you want to be a part of

or if you are me

you wish you owned

which is highly unlikely

since i couldn't even get them to give me the recipe

so this version is my own

and also quite good

especially when drenched in maple syrup

Granola Pancakes
(printable recipe)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3-1/2 cup dark brown sugar (i use less sugar because we use a lot of maple syrup around here, and i don't like them getting too sweet)

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup (approx) granola

(for my recipe click here)

butter or pan spray for cooking

mix all ingredients except the granola together and let rest for about 30 minutes.  after you pour the batter to the desired shape/size sprinkle granola across the top--it will cause the pancake to spread a bit.  cook as normal and flip when ready.  serve with a bit of butter and lots of maple syrup.  

garage sale granola

i had convinced myself

and hubster

that the secret to my happiness

would be

selling all our clutter

in a 

garage sale

i was merrily making my way

through the rooms of our house

tagging and boxing

until i hit

the kitchen

so many things caught my eye

the things i could be making and baking

i stopped all the nonsense

and made granola instead

while i was toasting and mixing

i thought to myself

would i rather

spend a weekend sitting on the lawn

haggling over a quarter

or 

call the charity truck

and spend a weekend

at the sea

eating granola

i chose

crunch over cash

granola
(printable recipe)

4 cups of old fashioned oats

1 cup grape nuts cereal

1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries or chopped apricots

1 cup toasted almonds, chopped into large bits

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped into large bits

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped into large bits

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup maple syrup

finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 Tbs vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

place the oats, grape nuts, fruit and nuts in a large bowl, tupperware or zipoc bag. spray a measuring cup with non-stick food spray and add the honey, maple syrup, orange zest and juice, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and ginger.  pour over the oat mixture and shake or stir until everything is well coated.  pour out onto 2 sheet pans lined with silpat or greased parchment.  place in a 350 oven. check after 15 minutes to see if it is starting to brown. if not, stir and place back in the oven and check on it in 5 minute increments.  * if you don't like sticky chewy fruit that can possibly pull out your dental work...put the fruit in after you bake the granola.  sometimes i do half and half.  store in airtight containers.  i love to eat this with ice cold milk poured over it.

i am sharing this at cocina diary