CRUNCHY GRANOLA, WOODEN SPOONS AND AN UNLIKELY COCKTAIL SNACK.
It’s all about the simple pleasures this week - and why you should always carry a saw in your car.
Look at that spoon. Don’t you just want to reach out and touch it? I find myself stroking it, as if it were a wooden kitten. That there is such power, and such pleasure, in a thing as simple as a wooden spoon, kills me.
And, as always, there’s a story attached - of a pivot, of bravery, of putting yourself out there and owning your art and your craft.
But first, crunchy granola.
The operative word here is crunchy. Not muesli, which is like eating chaff. But store-bought granola can be too sweet, not crunchy enough, or come packed with so many exciting ingredients that it’s all a bit much early in the morning. Home-made is juuuust right, because it’s for Goldilocks, by Goldilocks.
First, the dry ingredients.
Combine 2 cups of rolled oats in a bowl with half a cup of almonds, half a cup of mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and a very important pinch of salt.
Half a cup of shredded coconut would be good, too, but don’t add any fruit at this point, because it could burn.
Second, the wet ingredients.
Whisk together 3 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil, 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey and 1 tsp vanilla extract, and pour over the dry ingredients, tossing well.
Heat the oven to 160C conventional.
Tip the granola onto baking sheets covered in baking paper and bake for 20 minutes, then keep an eye on it at 5 minute intervals for another 10 to 15 minutes, until it smells right. You’ll know: not raw, and not burnt. It will crisp as it cools, so don’t over-do it.
Leave to cool completely, then toss in half a cup of dried fruit – sultanas, currants, cranberries (avoid dried apple, the devil’s work) - and store in an airtight container. Spoon over yoghurt or bircher muesli (link).
Important: Don’t keep zhooshing it, or it won’t have a chance to clump.
GRANOLA HACK NUMBER ONE
If you have a large pack of boring supermarket muesli, either chew your way through it like a dutiful cow, or zap it into crunchy granola as above (but pick out the fruit first, and return it after baking).
GRANOLA HACK NUMBER TWO
If you’re ever caught short on cocktail snacks, toss your crunchy granola with sea salt and serve. It’s delicious.
NOW, ABOUT THAT SPOON.
It’s from Moo Spoons. My mother Rosemary picked it for my birthday last week from a selection made by Amanda Manifold of Moo Spoons, who lives on the land at Camperdown (Victoria, not the NSW one).
Unbelievably, Amanda hadn’t carved a spoon in her life until last year. As she explains, “my new addiction of spoon-carving came about after I smashed my ankle, and needed something to keep my hands busy”. She bought a few tools at the 2020 Lost Trades Fair in Bendigo, and is now well and truly hooked.
“I love making spoons and scoops with green wood, as it’s easy to carve and the tree isn’t harmed” she says. “Take what you need. Some of my wood has been collected from trees being removed on different properties around home and in town.”
“I always carry a saw in the car in case I come across something of interest, such as an apple or pear tree growing wild on the side of the road.”
As for ‘a room of her own’, she’s set herself up in a shed with a wireless ( a wireless!) and a little wood heater, and several dachshunds and kelpies, her constant companions whether she likes it or not. “The hardest part of the make is knowing when to stop,” she says, echoing every artist and craftsperson ever. “The wood itself helps you out with the design, and the creative side of it just happens.”
At this stage, she says, it’s just a hobby as she learns the skills (thank you, YouTube), but takes commissions, selling through her Instagram page @moo_spoons.
There are so many stories like this coming out of Covid, and I find Amanda’s story as inspiring as I do my little wooden spoon, shaped from a pear tree from the place I was born.
“Maybe one day it will go further” she says. “I love the creativity it allows, depending on what piece of wood I have in the pile. As long as my hands are busy, my mind is at rest.”
Credits: Thanks go to Mum for the prezzie, sister Dannie for taking Mum to Moo, and Moo for the spoon.
Thanks for reading (and liking, commenting, subscribing, knock yourself out).
Copyright © 2020 Jill Dupleix. All rights reserved. I live and work on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respect to elders past, present and emerging.