Aug 8, 2011

IHCC Dessert Week & Cookbook Sundays: Parfaits w/ Jamie Oliver's Granola

For six weeks at work this summer we were assisted by three high school students.
They had this amazing ability to make me feel young
       (no age limits for laughter and cuttin' up)
and old
       ("Dial tone? What's that?")
at the same time.

I told our students I'd make something on their last day as a thank you.  One of them asked for yogurt parfaits.  Very do-able, but these parfaits had to be special.  This was the best group of summer workers we've ever had.

Fresh cherries, blueberries, & bananas gave lots of color, lots of flavor.  Jamie Oliver's homemade granola made them extra special.

Notes:
I took advantage of what I had: pecans, walnuts, & peanuts.  Left out the dried fruit because I didn't have any--and there would be fresh fruit in the parfaits.  The shredded coconut was nixed since a few people I work with (namely me) don't like it.


The granola was good.  Not only did I use it for the parfaits, I also used it as a topping on muffins and as a topping on another dessert--a sort of peachy nectariney thing.
IHCC
This post is for Dessert Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  We are currently cooking the recipes of Jamie Oliver.

Also linking this with Cookbook Sundays @ Mom's Sunday Cafe



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Jamie Oliver's Granola
from Jamie's Food Revolution Cookbook

2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

1 heaped cup mixed nuts
1/4 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, poppy, pumpkin, sesame)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons maple syrup
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350°. Put oatmeal, mixed nuts, mixed seeds, coconut, and cinnamon on a baking sheet. Stir well; smooth out. Drizzle with maple syrup and olive oil; stir. Bake 25-30 minutes. Every 5 minutes or so take out and stir, then smooth down with a wooden spoon and put back in oven. When granola is golden, remove from oven, mix in dried fruit (roughly chop any large pieces); let cool. Serve with milk or yogurt. You can keep leftover granola in an airtight container about 2 weeks, but it's so delicious we'll be surprised if it lasts that long!

13 comments:

  1. Yep, those young kids make you feel both young and old at the same time, don't they?

    Love the parfaits. All that maple syrup in the granola seals the deal for me. I love anything with that maple flavor.

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  2. This is a good choice for the dessert week. I know what you mean by kids making you feel a bit old......my young sister-in-law once asked us what a typewriter was when we were talking about the days before personal computers!

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  3. Parfaits are the perfect dessert!

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  4. Oh my gosh, that actually looks really, really delicious...even though it's kinda healthy ;) And wait...is there no such thing as a dial tone anymore? I guess I never really thought about it. Cellphone thing, I suppose...ha!

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  5. I love granola, but have never made my own. This sounds so delicious and the parfaits look heavenly! Thanks for the great recipe!

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  6. WoW! looks very luscious.=0

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  7. I would have been thrilled to gobble up this treat! Homemade granola is the best.

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  8. Ha ha - I was ready to print this recipe until I realized I had the same cookbook, lol! I remember now I was eyeing this when I first got it and was flipping through it. This must be made!

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  9. Love the granola, and the way you combined it in a parfait with yogurt. So healthy and over the top delicious.
    Would love to join the cooking club, and will check it out!
    I thought I followed your blog, but now I made sure I did, and are very glad I am following you!
    Thanks for sharing:DDD

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  10. Wow! This is my kind of granola, thanks for sharing with Cookbook Sundays!

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  11. Homemade granola is always the best and you put it to perfect use with these parfaits. Great pick. ;-)

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  12. Good thinking to use the granola for sprinkles.

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  13. I love homemade granola - so versatile! Perfect looking parfaits. ☺

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