New York Inspired... Granola

I came to the big apple claiming that I would live by my motto "a pancake a day keeps the doctor away" but I'm afraid I cracked. On day 5 it all just became too much and I'd already loosened my belt too many notches to feel anything close to the sexy city girl. One Girl Cookies was my salvation.. and inspiration for this recipe. Along with the cakes and other sweet treats, they also sell bags of their own yummy granola.

Now, everyone seems to have their own definition of granola so I'm prepared to be shouted down, but in my view, granola is made up of crunchy clusters (best eaten with yoghurt - yeo valley natural's my favourite), whereas muesli is full of a mix of individual flakes (best eaten with milk). A lot of granolas seem to hit the middle no man's land of crispy individual flakes, undoubtably lovely, but I've added a little more honey and oil to the recipe to help it clump into bigger clusters.

This is my adaptation of the One Girl Cookies 'Honey and Apricot Granola' recipe from their cookery book.

Serves about 15
Pre-heat oven to 110 degrees C (fan if possible)

225g rolled oats, toasted (optional)
50g flaked almonds, toasted
20g chopped brazil nuts, toasted                                                      
25g pumpkin seeds, toasted
25g desiccated coconut, toasted (watch out, it's very quick)

---- Combine in a large bowl ----

1 quarter of a flat tsp salt
75g honey (it makes it easier to stir in if you warm it slightly)
40g sunflower oil
1 quarter of a tsp vanilla extract
1 quarter flat tsp mixed spice
Zest of a quarter of an orange

---- Stir into the dry mixture. Pour mixture onto baking tray (with non-stick paper) and pat down (to help it form clusters). Cook for about 1 and a half hours, checking every 30 mins, turning and breaking it up into clusters after first check----

40g chopped apricots
20g dried cranberries

---- Combine with the baked mixture and pour into large, airtight jars once it's cooled to room temperature. It can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks ----

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New York (2)

From the compulsory New York breakfast of pancakes I was off to find 'the road less travelled'... so I headed off 5th avenue and ventured out to Brooklyn, DUMBO to be specific (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). To create some room for my next foodie stop I decided to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge (although I used the Subway from York Street to get back) and yes, the views were stunning! I can say without hesitation that I fell in love with DUMBO, it had such character and personality (but NOT in a scary way I might add!)... streets of converted warehouses and beautiful red-brick buildings filled with art galleries, artisan shops and, of course, cafes! Just by chance we came across One Girl Cookies and I was sold straight away... it was the type of place I dreamed of running but, with that being currently impossible, I decided to settle with eating there instead. Great high ceilings, fab wall art and huge windows looking out towards the water - I was in heaven. The staff were all really friendly and the food was incredible. I had a pumpkin whoopie pie and an iced latte, although, if I hadn't already eaten so many pancakes, I could have emptied their stocks! The DUMBO cafe is actually the second venture for Dawn and Dave, whose original cafe is in Cobble Hill and their story makes for part of the magic. They have a fantastic book out 'One Girl Cookies' which contains all the fabulous recipes and their story, as well as plenty of gorgeous pictures (amazon seems to sell it at the best price).


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New York inspired... Pancakes

In my humble opinion, the only successful cure for New York withdrawal symptoms is pancakes... not fancy crepes, but those thick rounds which just shout 'comfort food!' I've tried and tested all the fancy methods: buttermilk, folding in whisked egg whites... the list goes on. But from seeing the beauty of humble simplicity in the NY supermarket/cafe, I decided to take it back to basics. After all, pancakes are not about pomp and circumstance, they're built to cheer you up, to throw in the middle of the table for everyone to snatch.

Serves 3

100g Plain flour
100g Milk (I used semi-skimmed)
1 egg
Half tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half tsp baking powder
1 Small pinch of salt
10g Melted butter/spread
... yes, that's it.

Just whisk/blend them all together to beat out the lumps... once it's smooth, it's done.
Now here's the key: leave it to rest in the bowl/in a jug for 30mins - 1hr before frying dollops (don't flatten them) on a hot pan (with only a very thin spray of oil to stop them sticking). I don't know why, but it just seems to stop them from being heavy.  When frying, they're ready to turn once the edge starts to form a slight 'skin' and bubbles form on the top - you'll get used to your own pan's heat after the first couple. If I'm feeding a crowd I keep a pan of water on the boil with a plate on top and put the pancakes on there (with some form of lid on top to keep the steam in) to keep them soft and warm as I cook the rest.

Serve with whatever you fancy, here's a couple of my favourite toppings:

The New Yorker:
Maple Syrup with crisp pancetta.

The Chocoholic:
Hazelnut chocolate spread with sliced banana.

The Healthy(ish) One:
Summer berries with natural yoghurt, toasted almonds and a swirl of honey or agave nectar.

The Custardy One:
Stewed apples with advocaat swirled in in the last few seconds of cooking to form a slightly tipsy custard, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - recipe from The Sherwood Forest cafe which featured on Nigel Slater's TV programme.


But those are just my ideas so have an experiment and let me know if you stumble across something genius, I'd love to hear from you!


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