A zesty ginger granola is the perfect recipe for a simple Sunday brunch.

Brunch doesn’t always have to be an extensive affair. Sometimes you want something a little simpler than the standard rich egg dish. A glorified granola with fresh yogurt perhaps? This week we’re featuring Almond Ginger Granola with Blueberries from So Good and Tasty, the perfect recipe for an easy and healthy brunch this weekend. Of course, you can still make a side of eggs if you want.

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Do you ever go through food phases? I totally went through a granola phase for awhile. Then all of a sudden one day that ended and I haven’t made a single batch of granola for about a year… until now.

It’s not that I traded in my tasty homemade batches for convenient store bought versions. I just stopped eating and/or craving it for some reason. Then one beautiful late August weekend we decided to go camping with some friends of ours and they just so happened to bring along a nice large batch of granola. It was beyond delicious and I found myself shoveling handfuls into my mouth and wondering why (and how) I had gone so long without.

Fast forward to last week and I finally managed to get a recipe from my friend, which resulted in me making a large batch of the stuff on Monday, so that I’d have something healthy and delicious to snack on while flying to the east coast. In fact, I’m probably munching on some right now as your reading this and it’s good, very good.

I’ve made lots of changes to the original recipe and many of the changes are actually ones my friend made too. Substituting the peanut butter and peanuts for almond butter and raw almonds was the main change. I love that the ratio of nuts to oats makes this a great snacking granola, but definitely serve it with yogurt or milk too. I’m bringing it along on the plane, but I’m curious, what kinds of snacks do you travel with?

Almond Ginger Granola with Blueberries
inspired by the kitchn
about 8 cups granola

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups whole raw almonds
• 1/2 cup hulled raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.

In a small saucepan, warm the honey until very runny.  Turn off the heat, stir in the almond butter and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture. Pour in the oil, and stir thoroughly until everything gets wet.

Spread the oat mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, stirring twice while baking. Transfer the granola to a large bowl and add the dried blueberries, tossing to combine. Store at room temperature tightly covered.

Sunday Brunch is an ongoing series featuring brunch recipes from some of our favorite food blogs around the web. New recipes every Sunday, so that you’re ensured a gourmet weekend. Bon appetit!

Images: So Good and Tasty

The post Sunday Brunch: Almond Ginger Granola with Blueberries appeared first on EcoSalon.

When the weather is hot and sultry, what’s better than a cucumber? They’re refreshing, crunchy, cooling and in season now. (If only the weather were hot and sultry in the San Francisco Bay Area, but that’s another story.)

There are so many different varieties available these days in farmers’ markets. From Armenian to lemon cucumbers, you could try a different one every day of the week in salads, soups, pickles, and more. Here’s a rundown of recipes from around the web that celebrate cucumbers!

From Shockingly Delicious we’ve got a simple and super classic cucumber salad that sounds, well, shockingly delicious.

Over at The Kitchn they’re using up their abundant cucumber harvest by making cucumber juice. I see some vodka in there somewhere.

And Cooking with Amy offers up a gorgeous, smooth green soup with avocados and cucumbers.

Image: Swanksalot

The post When the Mercury Rises: 3 Recipes with Cucumbers appeared first on EcoSalon.

I know we just did squash but my plants are still producing like mad and who can resist a dish called Zuccaghetti? This salad-like concoction from Food 52 requires no cooking, so it’s great for hot days and it requires shredding, which will allow gardeners to work through their massive piles of squash.

Over at The Kitchn.com, they’re giving readers lots of ideas for picnic salads that aren’t the usual boring, dressing laden options. This crunchy cabbage and peanut slaw sounds like a mouthwatering Fourth of July pick to me.

As anyone who has ever tried to make red, white, and blue food knows, blueberries are pretty much the only option for the blue. This recipe from Food in Jars for Blueberry Butter uses a slow cooker to get the job done. How brilliant! You can be on grill duty while the blueberry butter makes itself.

Happy Fourth and Happy Cooking!

Image: Jeff Kubina

The post Tempt Your Tastebuds with Zuccaghetti, Crunchy Peanut Slaw and Blueberry Butter appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’ve been eating eggs on almost everything and anything lately. I’ll cook up a pot of beans just to have around and find myself heating them up and eating them with a fried egg on top and whatever leftover greens I have for a quick, filling meal. Brown rice and lentils also make a nice bed for a yolky, delicious egg. When you break the egg it coats everything in its own rich sauce, which tastes especially good if you use pastured eggs. I get my pastured eggs from my chicken and egg CSA at Soul Food Farm. Though my eggs and (insert a variety of items here) dishes tend to be impromptu, you could certainly plan yours out.

This Warm Fava Bean and Chanterelle Salad with Poached Eggs from Chow.com is a wonderful start. Bonus points if you foraged the chanterelles yourself.

The French certainly know what they are doing when they use duck fat to fry potatoes. It lends the richest, most addictive flavor and uses something that might otherwise go to waste. The Massa Organics duck I have in my freezer needs to be cooked this weekend. I’m going to save the fat and make these Crispy Potatoes with Paprika from Culinate.

I can’t resist posting another asparagus recipe before spring gives way to summer. This recipe For Roasted Radish and Asparagus Salad from The Kitchn is interesting because when you cook radishes, you get an entirely different flavor than you do when you eat them raw. It’s like buying two vegetables in one.

And this one isn’t a recipe but rather an inspiring post by Amy Sherman at Cooking with Amy that puts to rest the top 20 myths about cooking. Read it and you’ll find there are no more excuses for not cooking for yourself. Lots of links here to help you get started.

Image: Muffit

The post 3 Recipes to Try This Memorial Day Weekend appeared first on EcoSalon.

Recently when I was in Portland for the IACP conference, every menu seemed to have rhubarb on it. I ordered rhubarb crisp, rhubarb compote, rhubarb this and rhubarb that. Rhubarb is one of the shortest season produce items I know, which makes it all the more special. I’ve been hankering to make something with it myself and Mother’s Day weekend seems like the perfect time. I’m going to pick up some rhubarb at the farmers market this weekend and make this Spring Rhubarb Crisp, from fellow Oaklander, Romney Steele, out of her wonderful book My Nepenthe.

And while we’re on the subject of Mother’s Day, if your mom is a pancake fan, check out these genuine buttermilk pancakes from Culinate. You can mix the dry ingredients up the night before to save time. Why not make rhubarb compote to go with?

If your Mother’s Day brunch plans are savory, as are mine, this springy golden beet salad from The Kitchn is healthy, easy and super green. No waste here since you mix the beet tops in with the roasted beets and serve them all together. I’m serving this with my leek tart.

Image: garyknight

The post Three Recipes to Try This Week: Spring Rhubarb Crisp, Buttermilk Pancakes and Golden Beet Salad appeared first on EcoSalon.