food & photography
Granola is my favorite go to midweek-breakfast or a snack-at-the-work-desk choice. It’s even better if it is homemade. I do prefer to bake my own granola at home. All because I can control the purity of ingredients and the amount of sugar that goes into making one….
I am back with another drink recipe, because soon it’s going to change to sveltering Summer from the amazingly pleasant Spring. And right when you’d need more water replenishment for your body. It was last week only when it was amazingly pleasant, the kind of weather you’d expect to remain throughout the year. And within a matter of couple of days, it has started getting warmer now. I generally am not a fan of fizzy drinks in summers. I would rather splurge on a glass of calming buttermilk or a glass of fresh lemonade. That reminds me of the Strawberry and Orange Lemonade I made last week. I am still dreaming of it’s tangy and refreshing flavor. And I am happy that I have stashed away a big bag of strawberries in my freezer so that I can enjoy that lovely lemonade again when it is going to be extremely hot and I would need it terribly. Thanks to the summers, I am onto a constant search for new and refreshing drinks recipes. This time I am here with this pure and soothing vanilla almond milk. Oh my, I have become a great fan of this. This requires the almonds to be soaked in water overnight and I believe that mostly every Indian would have some connect with the overnight soaked almonds. We used to be fed soaked almonds in months of winters by our parents, for their purity and health benefits. And I like to chew on those lovely nibbles all through out my day during those days. Those memories make me so nostalgic and I wish that time could come back when you would know for sure that you’ve been taken care of. This soothing and light vanilla almond milk is one such drink which would take you down the memory lanes and you’d surely feel better after having this. I infused the milk with fragrant vanilla beans. You could use any spice you like; cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or rose water for that matter. Because, breakfast is the time, when I like to sip on a glass of milk, I made this nutty espresso granola to make it a perfect power packed start of the day. Homemade granola is incomparable and you know what you are eating. You’ve got to try it once to believe it, if you haven’t baked your own granola at home yet.
Mincemeat Granola Snack Bars! Right when you would be thinking about what to do with the leftover mincemeat from your Christmas fruit cake and mince pies you had made last year. I know, it sounds a tad bit late, but you know, I am quite lazy in cleaning up my fridge sometimes. And some of the times, it might take a couple of months too. Now that might look gross to you, but thank God, stuff like mincemeat keeps pretty well even for that long a duration. Last year I had made leftover mincemeat fruitcake cookies with this gorgeous stuff from the holidays. And I love mincemeat filling, it tastes just divine and takes you back to the holiday time once again. And that is the reason, every year I soak the dry fruit more than what I would need for a certain recipe. Last year, when I was done baking enough of Christmas Mince Pies, I was still left with it which was good enough to bake a smallish fruitcake. I wanted to do so, but then that just kept on getting procrastinated. And with each passing day, I had lost the feel of baking fruitcake either. I always struggle to make a good breakfast on a work day in winters {too lazy to leave the blanket and get up on time, you see}. That is when these yummy mincemeat granola snack bars come really handy. A glass of milk or a shot of espresso with these hearty fruity granola snack bars saves my day very well. So that is the reason I keep on baking granola so often at home. Homemade granola has got no comparison at all. The stuff is awesome and so healthy that you wouldn’t even mind binging on them. While I was mixing the granola, I got reminded of few of the food gifts I got from my dear blogger friend Deeba, few days back. So in went some lovely chocolate chips and the rind from the kamquats to make them little indulgent and citrusy at the same time. Chocolate and orange marry so well! And it becomes all the more special when you get that as a gift. These snack bars are sweetened by the sweetness from orange juice which went into making the mincemeat and some honey. You may skip the chocolate chips completely, if you want them strictly healthy. But I guess, that much chocolate would no harm. In fact, your kids would love them, if you pack these in their lunch box.
