Better Than Granola?
2 Great Recipes & the FIRST Feedback Survey!
Welcome Friends, 🏝
We are taking a short break from all things Italy 🇮🇹 today.
There’s 2 awesome recipe drops for you today and then to finish, for the first time since launch, I’m asking for your feedback!
Yes… as we continue to cook together and explore the culinary world, I wanted to take a brief moment to get some answers on some specific questions of what kind of content you want to see more of as we move forward.
This will be very helpful to making this Publication as valuable as possible for you. I’m looking forward to seeing the results, but we’ll get to the details at the end of this post.
First things first…
A big “Thank You” to those who are taking advantage of the 🐙 Octopod Premium Coffee ☕️ offerings!
We’ve sold out this month’s allocation again. Customer base is growing, and most importantly: the feedback has been stunning!
Getting the highest quality, perfectly roasted, coffee’s ☕️ shipped directly to your door has a been a joy to see. Quality product has collided with customer enjoyment!
I’m already planning out the April offerings, and there might be an extra special offering that is extremely limited… so I’ll keep you all updated when I have more confirmation.
Let’s Cook!
Confession: I’m not crazy about Granola.
It’s nothing to do with the texture, as texture contrast is one of my favorite angles to include when eating delicious meals.
Granola has just always been a “take it or leave it” and “never seek it out” preparation for me.
As a snack bar… topping for fruit & yoghurt… or layered in breakfast parfaits… granola tends to be overly sweet.
Add to that, it’s really hard to find store-bought granola that isn’t laced with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) or Seed Oils. Sure, they’ll advertise honey but check the label to see what other sweeteners are added to bring the production cost.
Contrast the above, with a preparation I have an immense love for.
Fruit 🍍🍒 Cake 🎂
And before you X-out of this Substack, just bare with me… because I know that a lot of fruit cakes are overly sweet, texturally awkward and one-note. However, when made correctly fruit cakes care the perfect balance of sweet, slightly bitter and salty.
*Note: the best fruitcakes to be had are in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 or from Eilenberger’s Bakery in Palestine, TX <of all places! 😂 >
So the solution, and recipe that follows is for Delicious Fruit & Nut Bars… that blow away conventional granola, and bring the best qualities of Fruitcake to your taste buds!
The best part about this recipe?
Gluten-free, grain free, no HFCS, and just a tad of honey. Further, you can make whatever blend of dried fruit according to your own tastes (or change seasonally).
My favorites are listed in the recipe ⬇️
These bars have a more cohesive structure than granola so they won’t crumble apart on you.
In fact, you can cut them into breakfast bars (on the go), or break them up and top oatmeal or your greek yogurt… I like to eat a small piece with my morning Kefir…
But the absolute favorite way is serve rectangles topped with a spoonful of the Best 🍊 Marmalade!
Delicious Fruit & Nut Bars
*Notes:
As stated above, the fruits and nuts can be subbed according to taste. Here’s some ideas.
Fruit: Cranberries, cherries, dates, raisins, and apricots all work great. You could also try dried figs, pineapple, mango, papaya, goji berries, or currants. Skies the limit on Combo options! You can also use some “Fruitcake Mix” or what the Brit’s 🇬🇧 call “Mixed Fruit” in the mix as well. (Having the candied orange and lemon peel in the mix gives it that classic Fruitcake flavor.)
Nuts: Pecans and walnuts are favorites. However, feel free to try cashews, macadamia and peanuts.
INGREDIENTS:
Fruit-Nut Mix:
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c chopped pecans
1/2 c coconut flake (unsweetened; Bob’s Red Mill is a good brand that’s widely available)
4 c Dried Fruit Mix (Eg: 1 c sultanas, 1/2 c raisins, 1 c currants, 1 1/2 c Fruitcake mix)
Batter:
4 eggs (large)
1/3 c honey
1/3 c coconut flour
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
Misc:
*Maldon Sea Salt, for garnish (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 325F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
Combine all the dried fruit and nut mix in a large bowl and mix to combine.
Whisk all of the batter ingredients together until smooth.
Pour the batter over the dried fruit/nut mixture, and stir thoroughly to mix. Make sure the mixture is evenly mixed with no dry spots.
Batter poured over Fruit & Nut mixture Spread the final mixture in the prepared pan and bake for 40 mins.
Remove from the oven. Allow to cool until room temp.
Now you can slice into bars. Store at room temperature for 5-7 days (they won’t last that long). Of you can freeze some for longer storage, or portion control 😉.
Intrigued by the Fruit & Nut Bar with 🍊 Marmalade Combo?
Cool 😎 I dropped the entire recipe and process on Twitter last week! See below to get to the Thread 🧵 that has pics and videos accompanying the recipe.
I’m positive you’ll fall in love with this marmalade… better than anything you can buy in the store!
And to finish this Substack… I’m excited to get your feedback on what content you’d like to see more (or less of) as we continue our cooking journey together!
I’m opening this up to Paid Substack members… If you’re a Free Subscriber, consider upgrading to get access to ALL of the previous Paid Substack Recipes and Posts
For less than $5/month you’re getting recipes, tips and insights that people don’t even get spending $75,000 on Culinary Degree’s!
Now, onto the Survey! ⬇️