Breakfast, DIY, Whole GrainsRebecca Shetler Fastoats, honey, almonds, coconut

Chewy Coconut Honey Granola

Breakfast, DIY, Whole GrainsRebecca Shetler Fastoats, honey, almonds, coconut
Chewy Coconut Honey Granola

Madeline's grandparents from Indiana arrived for a visit this week. It was lovely support to have in the midst of our coordination and response to Hurricane Mathew. With grandparents here to watch Madeline in the early morning hours, we made a big batch of Chewy Coconut Honey Granola to feed the early risers. This Chewy Coconut Honey Granola is our favorite here in Haiti. It is dead simple to make, and a fantastic balance between sweet and salty with a satisfying chew.

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Ingredients:

  • 4 1/2 cups oats, old fashioned rolled
  • 1 cup almonds, slivered or chopped
  • 1 cup coconut, shredded & unsweetened preferably
  • 1/3  cup  brown sugar, dark
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup oil, canola or olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, kosher
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 250.
  2. Mix dry ingredients (oats, almonds, coconut, and brown sugar) until fully incorporated.
  3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in honey, oil, vanilla and salt.
  4. Mix thoroughly and pour onto 2 sheet pans (clean up is much easier if you put down silicone baking sheets or parchment).
  5. Press mixture down firmly so that it forms a fairly solid even mass, this will help it to clump later.
  6. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotate baking sheets half way through the bake time to ensure even browning.  Note: I do not stir mine while it is baking in order to maximize the clumping.
  7. Remove from oven when your grains look golden brown (may be slightly more or less time then indicated depending on your oven).
  8. Transfer to a large bowl and add extra salt to taste if you like your granola on the salty-sweet side.
  9. Cool 10 minutes, pour into bowl, eat

DIY, Favorites, Whole GrainsPaul Shetler Fastoats, honeyComment

Paul's Honey Oat Bread

It is election weekend here in Haiti, which means comfort food is definitely in order. While elections anywhere can cause unease, unrest, and extreme emotions, in a country with few peaceful democratic precedents, a mood of wary watchfulness prevails. Back from travels and faced with an empty cupboard and blaring radio, I opted for one of my favorite comfort foods -- fresh baked Honey Oat Bread. This bread is easy to make, and the results are sublime. If you haven't made bread before, this a great place to start. Honey Oat Bread is fantastic as a sandwich base, as french toast, made into bread pudding, dolloped with fresh guava jam, or my personal favorite, smothered with honey and butter.

DIY, Favorites, Whole GrainsPaul Shetler Fastoats, honeyComment
Paul's Honey Oat Bread
Life & Travel, Whole Grains, Quick, DessertsPaul Shetler Fastoats, blueberry, coconutComment

Blueberry Coconut Baked Scottish Oats

If you are following Haitian news, you may have seen that the country is currently in political crisis; with violent and unpredictable protests shutting down normal life and movement. For our family, this has meant that we are in day eight of sheltering-in-place at our home in Port-au-Prince with our two little kids. We are safe, grateful, and praying for a peaceful resolution soon. As we pass the time and try to keep everyone’s moods up, and without access to stores or markets, we are digging deep into creative kid-friendly back-of-the-pantry cooking. Thanks to a recent family visitor’s gifts of dried blueberries and various breakfast grains, we were in luck. This morning’s raging success…Blueberry Coconut Baked Scottish Oats! This easy and adaptable dish is hearty, moist, delicious, nutty, and not too sweet. The Scottish oats and coconut give it a more chewy, dense, and moist texture. The kids were in heaven. And as parents…we earned 45 minutes of sweet, sweet peace and quiet together as they contentedly marched around our courtyard singing and stuffing their faces. So even if you don’t find yourself stuck at home for an 8th day of protests, consider this pantry-inspired take on classic baked oatmeal.

Life & Travel, Whole Grains, Quick, DessertsPaul Shetler Fastoats, blueberry, coconutComment
Blueberry Coconut Baked Scottish Oats
Breakfast, Whole Grains, DessertsRebecca Shetler Fastoats, chocolate, pretzel, peanut butter, maple syrup, pecan9 Comments

Dark Chocolate Pretzel Granola Bars

I have a family brimming with athletes; there are triathaloning uncles, cyclist aunts, a few who even go to iron man extremes, there are high jumping cousins, long distance winning boys and record setting girls.  This weekend is the Pittsburgh Marathon, where over 30, 000 people will race through our beautiful city, up hills, over bridges and across the three rivers.  Paul and I, along with our hounds, will be there to cheer on my sister as she continues the family tradition of athleticism and runs the half-marathon!  In the spirit of pre-race carb loading, (and middle of the race snacking for the loyal fans), we offer you these delicious dark chocolate-pretzel granola bars.  These granola bars are infinitely more delicious and healthy then their store-bought peers.  I like to make a big batch of granola bars and freeze them individually wrapped.  So while others race, jump, bike and swim, we will be happily cheering and snacking on these tasty bars!  

Breakfast, Whole Grains, DessertsRebecca Shetler Fastoats, chocolate, pretzel, peanut butter, maple syrup, pecan9 Comments
Dark Chocolate Pretzel Granola Bars
Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten Free, QuickRebecca Shetler Fastoats, oatmeal, cinnamon, coconut, almondsComment

Easy Coconut Baked Oatmeal

We have been in Honduras this past week for work meetings with our regional colleagues. One thing that makes our organization unique, is an emphasis on cultivating relationships and being a good host. In this spirit, our Honduras-based supervisors welcomed us into their home with delicious home cooked meals, among them a scrumptious breakfast of baked oatmeal with fresh strawberries. Not only did we stuff ourselves, but coincidentally, we had been experimenting with our own baked oatmeal recipe over the past month. Our version of Easy Coconut Baked Oatmeal is a hearty, crunchy, warm and filling breakfast. This simple to make breakfast dish will perfume your house with cinnamon and oats and is best hot out of the oven, doused in cold milk, a perfect meal to share with guests.

If you want to try out a spring-ish baked oatmeal recipe, check out our Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal.

Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten Free, QuickRebecca Shetler Fastoats, oatmeal, cinnamon, coconut, almondsComment
Easy Coconut Baked Oatmeal
Whole Grains, Breakfast, Gluten Free, AppetizersRebecca Shetler Fastoats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, maple syrup, vanilla2 Comments

Maple Granola

When getting ready for guests, we often whip up a batch of our favorite granola. Its a crowd favorite, easy to make in large batches, and it smells great baking (while you rush around cleaning up the house)! As side benefits, it stores well in the freezer for several months, makes an excellent last minute host gift, and serves as a handy snack.

Whole Grains, Breakfast, Gluten Free, AppetizersRebecca Shetler Fastoats, almonds, walnuts, coconut, maple syrup, vanilla2 Comments
Maple Granola