From Greg Atkinson

While developing recipes for our blog partner, Organic To Go, I tested a lot of different versions of this grab-and-go breakfast, which is almost ubiquitous at Northwest coffee bars. Along the way, I discovered that stacked in a tall glass, the basic breakfast trinity of yogurt, fruit, and granola is transformed into something greater than the sum of its parts.

If the granola is layered with the yogurt and fruit the night before, moisture from the yogurt softens the granola. The result is reminiscent of muesli, a Swiss dish of grains and fruit made tender by soaking overnight. If you prefer the yogurt crunchy, stack the ingredients just before serving. Very simple dishes like this one demand the most flavorful ingredients, and more often than not, organic tastes better than conventional. Using homemade granola and homemade yogurt (see below) makes this simple dish extraordinary.

Makes 4 servings

2 cups organic plain or vanilla yogurt
2 cups granola (made with organic oats)
1 pint organic strawberries, sliced

1. Distribute half the yogurt among four 12-ounce parfait glasses or standard drinking glasses, putting ¼ cup in each glass.

2. Distribute half the strawberries over the yogurt, and then put ¼ cup of granola on top of the strawberries in each glass.

3. Top with the remaining yogurt, then the remaining fruit, and finally the remaining granola. Serve at once or, if a softer texture is desired, cover and refrigerate overnight.
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Homemade Organic Yogurt

Making your own yogurt can be as simple as putting a spoonful of store-bought yogurt with live active cultures into warm milk and keeping the milk warm for a period of several hours, but the results can be hit or miss. Less-than-perfect conditions can render homemade yogurt too thin, and off-flavors can result from improper handling. But by paying close attention to the temperature and following a few careful steps, you can make a yogurt that is as good as any you can buy. Sterilizing the jars and using previously unopened plain yogurt as a starter will ensure that no uninvited bacteria set up camp in your yogurt. The process makes for a fun one-time science project, even if you don’t make it a habit.

Makes about 6 cups

5½ cups whole milk, preferably organic
½ cup plain (unflavored) yogurt from a brand new container

1. Sterilize 6 half-pint canning jars by simmering them in boiling water. Turn off the burner and let the jars stand in the water undisturbed while you prepare the yogurt. Preheat your oven to the lowest possible setting.

2. Stir the milk in a soup pot and heat until it just begins to boil. Remove the pot from the burner and cool the milk until it registers 115°F. Then stir in the yogurt.

3. Pour the milk-yogurt mixture into the sterilized jars, filling them to within ½ inch of the top, and seal the jars with new lids. Put the filled jars back into the pot in which they were sterilized. There should be enough hot water around the jars to almost cover them. The water around the jars should be at 115°F. Put the pot with the jars into the warm oven; turn off the oven and close the door.

4. Check the temperature of the water every hour, and if necessary add a little hot water to bring the temperature back up. After 6 hours, move the jars from the pot in the oven to the refrigerator and chill the yogurt for several hours or overnight. The jars of yogurt will keep in the refrigerator for 10 days.
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Homemade Organic Honey-Vanilla Granola

Dry cereal has a long and colorful history in America. A hundred years ago, Kellogg’s Cornflakes and Post Grape Nuts were the health foods of their day. But their products spawned a plethora of packaged, ready-to-eat cereals that were loaded with sugar and synonymous with junk food. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, healthier homemade granola was so closely linked with the natural food movement—with all its cultural and social implications—that “granola” became an adjective. This granola is easy to prepare, and it makes a wonderful breakfast or snack. Dress it up with toasted nuts or coconut and dried fruits if you like. Properly dried and cooled before it’s packed, homemade granola will stay fresh for at least a week. Serve it with cold milk or yogurt.

Makes about 16 cups

8 cups organic rolled or quick-cooking oats
1 cup organic peanut or canola oil
1¾ cups honey
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups slivered almonds or coconut, lightly toasted (optional)
2 cups raisins, date pieces, or dried cranberries (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and pile the oats into a large mixing bowl.

2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the canola oil, honey, water, vanilla extract, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to prevent it from boiling over. Pour the syrup over the oats and stir until the mixture is well combined.

3. Spread the granola onto 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Rotate the pans, exchanging the top for the bottom and the bottom for the top. Bake for 5 minutes more, then stir in the almonds, if desired.

4. Return the granola to the oven and after 5 minutes stir in the raisins, if desired, and turn the oven off. Allow the granola to dry out in the residual heat of the oven. This ensures that the cereal will be dry enough to keep. Transfer the cooled granola to an airtight container.
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See also Jeff’s What’s the world’s best coffee?
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Greg Atkinson is author of West Coast Cooking and lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
© Copyright Greg Atkinson
Image Credit: © William Berry | Dreamstime.com
OrganicToBe.org | OrganicToGo.com
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