Chamomile Poached Pear and Warm Granola

In continuation of my "healthy" posts, here's a recipe that can act as both breakfast and dessert. The granola base is filled with all kinds of whole wheat goodies like oats, brown rice and nuttiness from roasted pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.  I wanted to make a huge batch of this so that I could fill up some mason jars and eat it throughout the week. I made enough to fill three jars and my roommate and I have already devoured two :\. 

I've been really into tea lately, and bought a lot of floral loose leaf such as chrysanthemum, rose buds and chamomile. I frequent Chinese medicinal stores to buy these in bulk, because they are so much cheaper than buying it in some specialty tea store like Teavana. I was comparing teas and a lot of their stuff have candied fruits and added sugar, which I wasn't crazy about. My mum has also taken to drying hibiscus flowers in the oven and they make the most beautiful hue of deep magenta when steeped! The best thing about floral teas are that they are drinkable at night if you are sensitive to caffeine, since they don't contain any caffeine. It helps soothe my throat, keeps me warm and relaxed during this cold winter!

For the poached pear portion of this recipe, I decided to poach it with chamomile tea. I received a tea infuser from Dreamfarm, which is the best for steeping loose leaf tea with. It's that bright orange infuser you see in the picture above and it's called teafu. The bright orange is a squeezable silicone that splits open to put lose leaf and you can squeeze the flexible pod to infuse your tea faster. It's like how you shake your teabag about, which doesn't quite do anything, but with the teafu, it forces the water in and out and through your tea leaves. The best thing is that once you're done steeping, you just squeeze it and lift it out of your cup, unlike a teabag dribbling all over the place! (also unlike the picture above, the loose leaf does stay inside the pod! There is loose tea in the photo because....artistic flair :P) So, now I'll be having chamomile poached pears, warm granola with a drizzle of honey and sweetened coconut milk for dessert. And I don't feel guilty at all!

Chamomile Poached Pear and Warm Granola

makes 3 servings

3 forelle pears, peeled

1/4 cup sugar

2-3 tbsp loose leaf chamomile (or as much as my teafu could contain)

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup rice crispy cereal

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup shaved almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup honey

3 tbsps coconut oil (or butter)

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 can coconut milk or cream

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Prepare a lined baking sheet
2. Mix oats, cereal, coconut flakes, nuts and seeds together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla and salt. Pour honey mix over oat mixture and stir to coat evenly
3. Spread to a thin layer and press into a the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 40-50mins, or until gold brown. I used a spatula and flipped the granola half way into the baking time to ensure both sides were nicely toasted
4. Meanwhile, place the peeled pears in a small saucepan and fill with water enough to cover the tops. Add sugar and the tea. Heat until it simmers and then gently heat on medium-low for about 1 hour or until the pears are very soft, translucent and a fork can easily pierce it
5. To serve, mix about 1/4 cup of the chamomile poaching liquid into coconut milk. Pour this over a small serving of warm granola. Top with the poached pear and drizzle with honey if desired!

I developed this recipe for Dreamfarm; all opinions expressed are my own. I love their cute and innovative kitchen tools and especially their clever names :) Thank you for the support!

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Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake

Yay I'm back from my cross country road trip! In one whole piece too. It was actually a lot of fun, with only some yelling and a few tears (ha!). Today is officially the start of classes and I just cannot bring myself to do anything productive. Yesterday, I watched Spiderman 2 during orientation but for Andrew Garfield...anything :D. The ending was so shocking and sad, and when it comes to sappy endings, I can't stop the flow of tears... even if I'm in the lecture hall :P Then my body felt like a jellyfish the entire night so no productivity there. I do need to get back to the grind though...because med school :(

I got a new 5 inch springform pan and other kitchenware stuff over the summer. Now I have absolutely no counter space so my mum made me put it all in a box in a living room. Soon half the living room will be filled with my stuff. Sorry, roommate! My first apology in the form of a cheesecake (with a oatmeal cookie crust! nom)

Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake

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Cranberry Sauce Oatmeal Muffins

Any left over frozen cranberry sauce in the fridge? There was so much cranberry sauce left over from our friendsgiving, I decided to make breakfast muffins out of them! The original sauce was made traditionally with orange juice, so it makes them citrusy and just sweet enough to balance the tart. I had some citrus haters and harsh critics eat them and they gobbled it up, so successs!! Offered me their fridge of frozen cranberry sauce..uh no...

Break is over, and now I'm back in class, and in Richmond, and away from the sun, and 3 hours behind. Gahhh, whine whine whine :D. It is far far too early to pay attention (clearly listening to the lecturer now). Back to the grind!

Cranberry Sauce Oatmeal Muffins

makes 14 muffins

1.5 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup cranberry sauce (mine was pretty congealed)
6 oz vanilla yogurt

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Mix the first 5 dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside
• In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy and then beat in the sugars until nice and light. Beat in egg, cranberry sauce and vanilla yogurt.
• Mix the dry mix to the wet mix until just incorporated.
• Bake for 20-25 mins or until tops are golden brown

Now wasn't that easy?

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