Just tell them it's "burnt" granola...

The day before we left for China I saw a recipe for Chunky Chocolate Buckwheat Granola that sounded irresistible. Instead of waiting until we got back, I stayed up late and made a batch. I ate some, and then ate some more. Then I left a jar for John who was house-sitting for us and packed the rest into a baggie to take on the plane. It was gone before our first plane took off.

This stuff is seriously good. However, it is not a contender to replace my Olive Oil and Maple Granola that I made every other week and will never, ever, tire of. This one is more of a snack granola, best eaten out of hand, every time I pass the jar. It doesn't last long.

I found the recipe on Sarah Britton's My New Roots blog. She claims her recipes are all about making healthy choices everyday. I'm so glad she considers this granola healthy, as it tastes like a dark chocolatey sweet treat to me. She also admitted to telling her husband it was "burnt" granola and she was only eating it so as to not waste food. I love that. I made a batch this morning and I think I'll use the same line with Ed.

The recipe uses buckwheat groats, which, despite their name, are not related to wheat and therefore are gluten-free. Buckwheat is related to sorrel, knotweed and rhubarb and produces triangular seeds. I'm on the lookout for other recipes that include them.

A little research revealed that buckwheat is a short-season crop that does well on low-fertility soils. I'm thinking it might be an ideal crop to grow in our side field that suffers terribly from poor soil and hasn't supported anything that we've tried to plant there. I'm also thinking Maggie's bees might like a close-by field of buckwheat, as the nectar from their flowers makes a dark-colored honey.

I hope you will give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. And don't be shy about using that "burnt" granola line. Leaves more for you. Enjoy!

__________________________________

Chunky Chocolate Buckwheat Granola
Makes 8 cups

This recipe is adapted from My New Roots blogsite. I substituted walnuts, for hazelnuts. The first time I made it I used brown sugar – instead of coconut sugar. Turned out fine either way.

Ingredients
3 cups / 300g rolled oats (gluten-free if necessary)
1 cup / 200g buckwheat
1 ½ cups / 65g coconut flakes
1 cup /125g hazelnuts (walnuts are also delicious)
¼ cup / 30g chia seeds
½ tsp. fine grain sea salt
¼ cup / 35g coconut sugar
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup cocoa powder (organic, fair-trade if possible)


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl combine oats, buckwheat, coconut flakes, chia seeds and coconut sugar. Roughly chop nuts and add them to the mix.
3. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt coconut oil. Add honey or maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk to combine until smooth.
2. Pour liquid ingredients over dry and fold coat.
3. Spread mixture out in an even layer on a lined baking sheet and press firmly with the back of a spatula to ensure that the mixture is compact. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip granola in large chunks, and place back in oven to bake for another 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes until toasted and fragrant. The dark colour of the granola makes it hard to tell if it is cooked or not, so go by smell. Another good way to test it is by tasting a hazelnut, which takes the longest to cook – it should taste nutty and pleasantly roasted.