Lil Duckie Arts

I made things that I never thought I’d make!  Check out this breakfast parfait; I made all of it from scratch!  Okay, I’d made granola before, but wasn’t doing it on a regular basis.. more of a once-in-a-blue-moon basis.  And I’ve definitely made fruit compote before, but not for a use like this!

Aaaand the kicker?  I went back 40 years and made yogurt!  Without a yogurt maker (so easy, you don’t really need one).

I call this my blueberry ginger breakfast parfait.  Today, while I was thinking about the recipes I used, it occurred to me that they’re all from the same blog!  Different writers, but the same blog.  You can find the originals all at Simple Bites!  Of course, I made some modifications, because I can’t help but change things up a bit.

Giant Batch of Customizable Granola

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup agave syrup, maple syrup, rice syrup, or brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamom (leave this out if it’s not your thing)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
5 cups rolled oats – not quick oats!
2 1/2 cups total chopped nuts or seeds, like almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, etc.
1/2 cup wheat germ or ground flax (you can easily leave this out)
2 1/2 cups total dried fruit or shredded coconut – be creative – dried apples, cherries, craisins, raisins, apricots, bananas.. I love a bit of candied ginger diced up in the mix.

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line two large cookie sheets with parchment, or spray them well.

Mix together the honey, agave, water, oil, and spices in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugars have dissolved, stirring occasionally.

Stir the dry ingredients, except for the dried fruit or coconut, which you will add towards the end.  Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Split between the two sheets.

Bake at 300°F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 275°F.  Mix up the granola on each sheet to help it bake evenly.  Rotate the pans, then bake at this lowered temperature for another 15 minutes.

Add dried fruit and coconut, mix well, turn off the oven and leave the granola in the oven until it’s completely cool – several hours.

I stored mine in 1L canning jars and got 3 jars’ worth!

For the fruit layer, follow This recipe from Simple Bites.  I used blueberries with some diced peach.

Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

1 litre milk – the higher percentage, the creamier it will taste.  Skim doesn’t work so well.
1/2 cup dry milk powder
2 Tbsp plain yogurt with active cultures, at room temperature – just set this aside to warm up while you’re heating the milk.
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar, honey, sweetener – it’s your choice

In a medium saucepan, stir together the milk and milk powder. Heat to 180 deg. F, stirring occasionally. This will be not quite simmering. Remove from heat and stir in your sugar/honey and vanilla.

Let the mixture cool to 115 deg. F – or until you can comfortably leave your finger in there for 10 seconds.  See, who needs a thermometer?!  It does help though.

Place the now-room-temperature yogurt in a small bowl. Pour a small amount of the cooled milk into the yogurt and whisk to blend.

Pour this yogurt mixture into the milk and whisk to blend really well. No clumps.

Pour the mixture into a clean, glass jar (or several if they’re small). Screw on the lid. Place the jar on a heating pad set to “low.” Wrap a towel around the jar and cover it with a large, inverted soup pot.  ***note*** this method didn’t work for me, since my heating pad automatically shuts off after 1 hour.

Alternatively: Put the jar(s) into a cooler, along with hot water.  Don’t disturb them.

Incubate for at least 8 hours.  This works really well if you make it in the evening, and let it incubate overnight.

Chill completely before serving.

Source: Adapted from Simple Bites