{"id":3873,"date":"2012-04-11T17:01:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T15:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/?p=3873"},"modified":"2012-04-11T17:38:09","modified_gmt":"2012-04-11T15:38:09","slug":"homemade-quinoa-granola-recipe-and-a-road-trip-to-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/11\/homemade-quinoa-granola-recipe-and-a-road-trip-to-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Quinoa Granola Recipe and a Road Trip to France"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve cooked with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/17\/a-quick-quinoa-lunch-a-food-blogger-on-a-diet\/\" title=\"A Quick Quinoa Lunch &#038; a Food Blogger on a Diet\">quinoa<\/a> for a while now, and I keep finding ways to use it in savory dishes. But what about sweet? I wanted to start using quinoa as a porridge in the mornings as I had been reading about, but since I have quite a lot of oatmeal around the house, and not much granola, I decided to make that instead. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet tw-align-center\">\n<p>Quinoa granola. Yum. House smells awesome!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sara Rosso (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/rosso\">@rosso<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rosso\/status\/170881975761125376\" data-datetime=\"2012-02-18T14:46:52+00:00\">February 18, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/6921629820\/\" title=\"Homemade Quinoa Granola Recipe by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7082\/6921629820_819d5a0044.jpg?resize=500%2C363\" width=\"500\" height=\"363\" alt=\"Homemade Quinoa Granola Recipe\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I find that granola is more personal than asking people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/15\/how-to-order-an-italian-coffee-in-italy-the-ebook-on-amazon-kindle\/\" title=\"How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy: the ebook on Amazon Kindle!\">how they take their coffee<\/a> &#8211; everyone has a different answer. So make sure you tweak my recipe and any other you find until it&#8217;s your perfect blend. On the first try of this quinoa granola, I quickly discovered I do not like the taste of crunchy fruit, so I left them out until after the main toasting in the oven on future batches.<\/p>\n<p>So what does granola have to do with a road trip? Just a few short days after getting back from a long <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/23\/sights-and-flavors-of-puglia-sapori-di-puglia\/\" title=\"Sights and Flavors of Puglia \u2013 Sapori di Puglia\">work trip<\/a>, I was on the road again, this time to France and to enjoy some wine country and visit a good friend. I thought bringing some quinoa would be a different kind of gift, and I found a pretty jar which I put it in. So the quinoa granola made the road trip with us.  <\/p>\n<p>We headed straight towards the Alps&#8230;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/6921721990\/\" title=\"The French Alps by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5194\/6921721990_76a4a9a022.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" alt=\"The French Alps\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;we went through the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fr%C3%A9jus_Road_Tunnel\">Frejus tunnel<\/a>, 12.8km \/ 8 miles of driving through mountains&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/6921722142\/\" title=\"The Frejus Tunnel, France by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5197\/6921722142_b022113e97.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" alt=\"The Frejus Tunnel, France\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and made our road trip&#8217;s first stop in <strong>Lyon<\/strong> for lunch, coffee, and a walk around before continuing. (a few more <a href=\"http:\/\/sararosso.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/05\/a-little-lunch-stop-in-lyon-france\/\">Lyon pics on my mobile photo site<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/7067803105\/\" title=\"In the center of Lyon, France by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5463\/7067803105_e07902d6c1.jpg?resize=333%2C500\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" alt=\"In the center of Lyon, France\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The road trip continued, but I want you to get straight to making the quinoa granola!<\/p>\n<h3>Quinoa Granola Recipe<\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/6921629492\/\" title=\"Homemade Quinoa Granola spread on a baking sheet by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.staticflickr.com\/5448\/6921629492_7ec4d4d13c.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" alt=\"Homemade Quinoa Granola spread on a baking sheet\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These measurements aren&#8217;t rocket science, so you&#8217;ll want to play with the ratios and insert the fruit and nut mixtures you like best. Some others to try for next time: dried cherries, walnuts, cashews. And for spices, add some nutmeg and\/or pumpkin pie spices, or even some ginger!<\/p>\n<p>This granola is also not your classic &#8220;big chunks of clusters&#8221; version but that&#8217;s fine with me, at least this time around. It is still quite crunchy, and I use it to give a little extra crunch to yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream and other desserts. If you&#8217;d prefer a more cluster-y granola, try increasing the amount of honey used and\/or experimenting with maple syrup and\/or brown sugar as the sweeteners. I wanted to keep the added sugar low on this version. <\/p>\n<p>1 c. raw\/uncooked quinoa (red\/white)<br \/>\n1 c. finely shredded coconut (unsweetened)<br \/>\n1\/2 c. rolled oats (larger flakes, the better)<br \/>\n1\/4 c. ground flax meal<br \/>\n2 T. chia seeds<br \/>\n1 T. cinnamon<br \/>\n3 T. Honey<br \/>\n1\/4 c. sunflower seeds (raw)<br \/>\n1\/2 c. almonds (raw, chopped)<br \/>\n1\/4 c. pistachios (raw, chopped)<br \/>\n1\/4 c. raisins<br \/>\n1\/4 c. dried cranberries<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Preheat oven to 300F \/ 150C.<\/li>\n<li>Mix quinoa, coconut, oats, flax meal, cinnamon and chia seeds together.<\/li>\n<li>Add honey, mixing well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add chopped nuts and mix to evenly distribute the mixture.<\/li>\n<li>Spread out the mixture onto a cookie sheet (with a lip) lined with parchment paper.<\/li>\n<li>Cook for 30-45 minutes. After 15 minutes and occasionally after if needed, take out the pan and stir the mixture so it gets browned evenly. Keep a close eye on the mixture and don&#8217;t let it burn! You may not need the entire 45 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Let the quinoa cool for 10 minutes, then add in dried fruit and toss to coat evenly. Let cool completely, and you can store it in a glass jar or plastic container\/bag in the cupboard.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>How would you make this quinoa granola recipe your own?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Want more? Follow me on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/rosso\">Twitter @rosso<\/a>, Become a fan of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/msadventuresinitaly\">Ms. Adventures on Facebook<\/a>, and sign up for my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/24\/i-have-a-newsletter-wont-you-sign-up\/\">monthly newsletter with exclusive content<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve cooked with quinoa for a while now, and I keep finding ways to use it in savory dishes. But what about sweet? I wanted to start using quinoa as a porridge in the mornings as I had been reading about, but since I have quite a lot of oatmeal around the house, and not&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/11\/homemade-quinoa-granola-recipe-and-a-road-trip-to-france\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106,108,11,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-dessert","7":"category-france","8":"category-recipe","9":"category-abroad","10":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-10t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":527,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/19\/quinoa-and-salted-ricotta-for-livestrong-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":0},"title":"Quinoa and Salted Ricotta for LiveStrong Day","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"April 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: Barbara has extended the deadline to participate until April 27th! I don't normally post on a Saturday, but this is no ordinary Saturday. In a few minutes, I'll be leaving on a fast train (not a jet plane) to go to Florence, where some 30-odd expats will be getting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Quinoa and Salted Ricotta for LiveStrong with a Taste of Yellow","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2255\/2423969715_b5577ea775.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":629,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/06\/03\/quinoa-and-farro-salad-with-salmon-artichoke-hearts-tomatoes-and-basil\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":1},"title":"Quinoa and Farro Salad with Salmon, Artichoke Hearts, Tomatoes and Basil","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"June 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I mentioned Quinoa in April when I talked about LiveStrong Day, and when I made another dish this weekend using Quinoa, I had no idea I would be writing with a similar motive again today. I know Bri from Figs with Bri very little, but I often stop by on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entree&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Entree","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/entree\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Quinoa and Farro Salad with Salmon, Artichokes and Basil","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3271\/2547793560_5f6193b132.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3262,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/17\/a-quick-quinoa-lunch-a-food-blogger-on-a-diet\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":2},"title":"A Quick Quinoa Lunch &#038; a Food Blogger on a Diet","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"May 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"We're inching even closer to summer which means I start to avoid actually heating things in my apartment, including the oven. Salads and one-pot meals on the stove take precedence (who wants to wash dishes when it's nice out?) Ok, not so sssh, but I'm on a diet. One of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Food&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red and White Quinoa with baby zucchini and feta cheese","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3659\/5730162494_7443be76cc_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4056,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/28\/detox-raw-vegetable-salad-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":3},"title":"Detox Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"June 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the things I look for during summer is big platters of raw vegetables at parties, barbecues, and in supermarkets. They\u2019re not super popular here in Italy (though I sometimes see them at aperitivo), and when I see pinzimonio (raw vegetable appetizer with a dipping sauce of oil, salt,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entree&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Entree","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/entree\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrot Raw Vegetable Detox Salad Recipe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8002\/7461643184_a2e9df8c49.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6477,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/13\/a-summer-bucket-list-and-a-whole-30-summer-salad\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":4},"title":"A Summer Bucket List, and a Whole 30 Summer Salad","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"June 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeah, Summer! Want to be pen pals? I'm bringing back snail mail! I'd love to hear from you - a picture, post card, thought, question, photo, design, whatever you like! Send it my way and I'll send something back. https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BUxE1dLg6v2\/?taken-by=rossosara Sara Rosso P.O. Box 1058 Santa Clara, CA. 95052 Also,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entree&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Entree","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/entree\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Summer Fresh Salad, Ms. Adventures in Italy, by Sara Rosso","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SummerFreshSalad.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SummerFreshSalad.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SummerFreshSalad.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SummerFreshSalad.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SummerFreshSalad.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5472,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/28\/dark-chocolate-fondant-birthday-cake-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":3873,"position":5},"title":"Dark Chocolate Fondant Birthday Cake Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"October 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As I usually do, this year I baked myself a birthday cake. While the idea of someone else making me or buying me a cake for my birthday is exciting, baking my own birthday cake is\u00a0actually something I look forward to as it's something I can make completely selfishly and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chocolate&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chocolate","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/chocolate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Birthday Fondant Cake, Ms. Adventures in Italy by Sara Rosso","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/BirthdayFondantCake_SaraRosso.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/BirthdayFondantCake_SaraRosso.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/BirthdayFondantCake_SaraRosso.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/BirthdayFondantCake_SaraRosso.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3873"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3882,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3873\/revisions\/3882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}