i'd rather be baking

I needed a baking break! For a solid two weeks there has not been a blessed thing I’ve wanted to bake. It’s a strange and disturbing feeling…but it has finally passed! On Friday while at work I saw the phrase “carrot cake granola” somewhere on Twitter and my brain exploded. I have been obsessed with the thought ever since and finally got around to making some yesterday, and all I can say is HOLY YUM.

If you’ve read here long at all, you know that I am a granola junkie! I love granola and almost never buy it, because it’s so easy to make and because I like to know exactly what I’m eating. This is my favorite granola recipe to date…and quite possibly the healthiest I’ve ever made! I dragged myself out of bed this cold and rainy Monday morning with the promise of granola for breakfast. It definitely helped.

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I broke into my pumpkin stash last week. I had one can left from pumpkin hoarding 2010 that I hauled from Salt Lake to Portland because you just know I wasn’t letting that go to waste. I’m so ready for fall, I can taste it! It was time.

So far I’ve only seen a slightly creepy looking generic can of pumpkin in my usual grocery store, but I’m hoping the real deal shows up soon! Otherwise it’s okay because I now have 3/4 of a can in my freezer. Let pumpkin hoarding 2011 begin!

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Here’s the thing. Sometimes your house is covered in dog hair, and your hair really needs to be colored. Sometimes your clothes all feel weird but new ones are expensive. Sometimes your laptop commits suicide in the middle of a blog post. Sometimes you bake things that you think will be great and they taste like cardboard. It happens.

So sometimes, I think the best thing to do is make granola. It’s hard to mess up and takes very little energy. And I’m willing to bet at least a dollar that you have enough random things in your pantry to make a pretty good granola. Doesn’t that just sound like a relief?

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After the said lovely family visit, I got up at the crack of dawn to decorate a zillion cupcakes at the bakery, and then passed out in a glorious nap. It was much needed. And then I woke up hungry for this granola from Peas and Thank You. I mean, really: it was the first thought on my mind when I woke up.

However, I didn’t have cherries or almonds. But I did have cranberries and pistachios, which just happens to be the best and prettiest granola I’ve made yet. And I like to make do. That’s just how my momma raised me.

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