It’s hard for me to post a recipe for granola without thinking back on the first granola recipe I shared.
It was a disaster. Tragic, even.
There was nothing wrong with the granola. No, that was great: full of sweet spices, dried apricots, and candied ginger. No, I was the disaster. I had just launched my blog and was feeling this very strange pressure to get myself out in the world at lightning speed. It was suddenly incredibly important to make the world’s best granola, photograph the whole process, write something über-charming about it, and release it to my 2-person fan base, asap. I thought there was a lot riding on pressing “publish” before I ran out the door to work. My kitchen was a mess and I was tripping over my dog and dirty dishes, with a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth, when the unspeakable happened.
I dropped my camera. I watched it plummet from the counter all the way down to the floor. It replays in slow-motion every time I enter the kitchen armed with my camera, the tipping off the edge of the counter, my dramatic dive across the room, the loud, echoing thud of it hitting the ground. I remember thinking, maybe it’s fine, maybe, please, please, please. Of course, it was not, and I sat on the grimy kitchen floor, cradling my camera with its jammed lens, cursing myself.
Thankfully, my blogging style has grown up a little since then. I now realize that creating, photographing, and writing a recipe can’t happen in the 45 minutes before you need to get your butt to your real job. Also, bad things happen way more frequently when you’re a complete mess. You’ve got to keep up with the dishes and you’ve got to shoo your dog out of the kitchen. And the toothbrush? Girl, you’ve just got to get yourself together.
In honor of my blog growing up, I have what feels like a very adult granola recipe to share with you. It’s an extra crunchy granola, flecked with flax seeds, rosemary, and quinoa, loaded with hazelnuts, almonds, and dried figs. It is every bit as delicious as the first granola I shared with you and I went through a heck of a lot less heartbreak to get it onto the blog.
