August Staff Selection

Read on for staffer Melissa Yen's selection this month:

I love putting out the word about things that I am passionate about, which is (mostly) always food. Picking a staff selection was a pretty difficult thing to do, because Provenance carries so many great items. I tend to go home with something new every week. Nothing like leaving your paycheck at work! Speaking of work, I have two jobs, the other being at Milk and Honey Granola. I love working at two amazing, small local businesses, both run by incredible women. You see where this is going, don't you? Yes, Milk and Honey Granola is my staff pick, with full disclosure of course.I am just that honest. I really won't eat any other granola. You know the problem: no one else bakes it enough. All other granolas taste like raw oats to me! I have ranted and raved about this before. People are afraid to put color on their baked goods, cookies, pies, and granola. People, that is where the flavor is, in the caramelization of those lovely sugars. Don't be afraid to leave it in the oven for five more minutes. It's not going to hurt it.

I have spent many a shift making that lovely caramelized granola, back in the day when there was only one flavor and we shared a space with Terry's Toffee, another great product that Provenance carries. I won't tell you how many pieces of toffee I "sampled", McCall's Dark is my favorite. One day I baked granola for eight hours straight by myself! I think we were making the granola in thirty pound batches back then. So thirty pounds times at least five times; I don't even know how many batches that equaled. Math is not my forte, plus I lost track. The hardest part was not losing track when I counted cups of oats and honey and brown sugar. My mind tends to wander, as you may know if you read my blog, That's Not Lettuce. It tends to have lots of tangents, like this one here. Back to the important business at hand, Milk and Honey Granola. Funny, the part I remember most about that day is all the sheet pans I had to wash! I don't do any of the baking these days, but I do smell it baking all day long. Do you know how hard it is to resist that smell every day. Believe me, I don't. I can usually make it until after lunch, but then I break down and have to have at least a handful or two or three.

Eating Milk and Honey Granola right out of the bag is one of my favorite ways of enjoying it, although I would like to leave you with other ways to use granola, besides a snack or a topping for yogurt.

The easiest way to switch up your breakfast granola routine is to serve it hot, like oatmeal. You might want to try this once the temperatures drop a little. Just bring one cup of any type of milk to a simmer on the stovetop and add in half a cup of Milk and Honey Granola. Cook to desired consistency. You may need to tweak the recipe to fit your tastes. I like the combo of Vegan Papaya Cashew with almond milk.

Another way I love Milk and Honey granola is in cookies. How could you not? Why use boring old oatmeal, when you could add some crunch and excitement with granola! You can use any flavor, but I like the Blueberry Pecan best. You have to remove the dried blueberries as they have been baked into the granola. If you bake them again, they will get very hard. (I learned this the hard way. Poor little tooth!)


Chocolate Chunk-Granola Cookies
4 cups flour
4 cups Milk & Honey Blueberry Pecan Granola (remove dried blueberries)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 lb unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and both sugars together in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture. Add dry ingredients until just blended. Add the chocolate. Spoon onto buttered or non-stick cookie sheets and bake in heated oven until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.


In this fruit crisp recipe, feel free to sub out whatever fruit is in season, as we just missed strawberries and rhubarb. I think this would be great with peaches and the Cinnamon Raisin Granola.
Carol's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp


I thought this last recipe was so cool and very creative. And it showcases that granola is not just for breakfast anymore! It makes the perfect homemade gift. You can get some pretty ribbon at the fabric store and cellophane bags from the container store and you're in business! You do need a candy thermometer for this recipe, but don't let that scare you. You can pick one up at Sur la Table or The Chopping Block.
Happy gift making!

Maple Granola Brittle
Special equipment: nonstick bakeware liner (Silpat), candy thermometer, parchment paper
3 cups of original mix Milk and Honey Granola
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ tsp salt
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Line a baking sheet with nonstick liner. Cook brown sugar, syrup, orange juice and salt in a 4 or 6 qt heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon (be careful of splatters; mixture will be extremely hot) until the thermometer reads 285 to 290 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add the butter and stir until butter dissolves. Then, quickly add the granola and stir until well coated. Immediately pour onto the liner, then cover the mixture with a piece of parchment paper. Roll out mixture with a rolling pin to ¼ inch thickness. Peel off parchment paper. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Break brittle into large pieces.