how to start the last day of 2016 (a.k.a. white tea granola with homemade coconut yogurt)

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this year passed by so quickly, lots of great events happend, but sadly also many bad ones. i really feel the need and desire to change something and put positive vibes out there. the world gets smaller, everthing and everyone is connected and it would be so essential to work togheter. unfortunately we as humans have the talent to feel the need to seclude ourselves in our safe homes and close the doors whenever our super confortable situations could get a litte bit less confortable. most of us forget that we receive in exchange for being open-minded and social are feelings and love you can't buy with any money. moreover, in my opinion everyone has a responsiilty to society and the environment and it's important that we take it seriously.

and then you hear about berlin, brussels or nice and you wanna shut the door, lock it and you start thinking about your opinion and attitude. i can understand this reaction and these thoughts shortly arised in my brain, too. but who wants to live in a world where hate and mistrust dominate our actions and thoughts? where you generalise and pigeon-hole whole groups of people?

(side note: in april 500 refugees drowend in the mediterrranean. a short article and we forget about it. it is not a matter of comparing events, but as soon as it doesn't concern us dircetly or, on the contrary, we don't want the see that we're directly involved, it seems to be less relevant...)

so my wish for 2017 is that we're attentive, open-minded, spread love and keep in mind which responsibilities we have.

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the granola recipe i'm sharing today gives you power for the whole day and its deliciousness is good for the soul and mind;) what ii love about granola is that you can pack it with healthy stuff, you have a whole bunch of options to eat it, wheter with some milk and fruit, straight out of the container, stired in some yogurt and topped with jam, it's crunchy and just damn tasty. I like mine not too sweet - in combination with some dates, bananas, coconut blossom sugar or maple it's perfectly balanced. and tea in muesli gives another dimension of flavour - i'm kind of addicted:)

this isn't everything, one of my favourite combinations to eat it is with coconut yogurt and since i never really found one with the perfect consistency (and they are so expensive!) i decided to make my own. if you give it a try you will end up with a yogurt that has a creamy consistency, doesn't have a super high fat content, a perfect sourness and this lovely coconut taste.

NOTES

_ you can easily substitute the white tea with earl grey or any other flavour you like.

_ i tried different thickeners for the yogurt and in my opinion agar agar or tapioca starch turn it more into a pudding-like consistency

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GRANOLA RECEIPE

_ 120g oats (i used a mix of rolled, old fashioned oats and spelt flakes)

_ 30g puffed amaranth

_ 2tbsp roasted black sesame seeds

_ 2tbsp chia

_ 20g spelt flour

_ 1/2tbsp coarse cornmeal

_ 2 tsp white tea (loose leaf)

_ 1/4tsp salt (or a bit more)

_40g chopped almonds

_ 30g almond butter

_ 30ml agave nectar/coconut blossom syrup

_ 30ml maple syrup

_ 10g coconut oil

preheat the oven to 150C/300F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

in a bowl stir togheter all the dry ingredients and in a small pan warm the wet ingredients slightly until it comes togheter. then add the mixture to the bowl and mix it. if you press the granola between the fingers it should stick togheter - if it doesn't - add a few teaspoons water.

now spread the mass on the baking tray and form it into a firm block (about 2cm high). bake it for 10mins

after 10mins divide it in bigger chunks (circa 16 pieces) and baked it for another 10mins, then break it up in small chunks and put it for the last 15mins back in the oven.

once cooled down you can store it in an airtight container. sometimes it happens the it's not crunchy enough after the baking time - simply bake it at 120-150C/250-300F for another ten minutes, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't get burnt.

COCONUT YOGURT

makes around 800ml - you can easily half the recipe

_ 400ml canned coconut milk (around 16% fat)

_ 240ml water (you should end up with 10% fat)

_ 20g cornstarch

_ 50g store-bought coconut or soy yogurt (with active probiotic cultures)

set your oven to 35-40C/95-105F. now combine the coconut milk, water and cornstarch in a pan and heat it up. once it boils let it bubbling away for 2mins. now take it off the heat and let it cool down to 38C/100F. meanwhile sterilize the containers with boiling water or put them in the dishwasher.

as soon as the coconut milk reached the right temperature stir in the store-bought yogurt and fill it in the glasses. put the lids on and place them in the oven. i usually let them sit there for 10-12 hours and because i like the yogurt quite acidic i let them at room temperature for another 10 hours.now it's important to place them in the fridge over night so the fat thickens the yogurt.

a great breakfast comb: sliced kaki, a few spoonful homemade coyo, a handful white tea granola and a drizzle of coconut blossom syrup - so good! (in the pictures)

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