At the beginning of this whole pandemic thing, a doctor and climber friend of mine sent out an email about starting a pandemic journal to document his experiences at the clinic. He also suggested some pandemic reading to help put things in perspective. Needless to say, I have not pursued that heavy literature.
He has emailed just twice since that first message and his words mirrored what many medical personnel have shared in the last two months. But this last one caught my attention the most because it reflected the exact feeling I have been having lately.
We are in the boring stage of COVID-19.
The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason
of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous. In the memories
of those who lived through them, the grim days of plague do not stand out
like vivid flames, ravenous and inextinguishable, beaconing a troubled sky,
but rather like the slow, deliberate progress of some monstrous thing
crushing out all upon its path. -Camus, The Plague
Boring, yet dangerous as such is complacency. No time to let our guard down.
The last few weeks have felt crushing and heavy. All the loss of plans and time away from my family and friends has caught up with me. What was once a novelty is now drudgery. I will continue my new habits that help stop the spread the virus but it is hard to think this will go on for as long as they say it will. And I believe it will. Don’t get me wrong, I am getting out. I don’t feel limited by guidelines.
However, the world is not the same. Some days I am able to cope and others not so much. One more month until school is out and I can spend more time outdoors during the week. No weekends for me, the throngs of people I see swarming all over the trails is not worth it. It wasn’t before and even less so now.
Looking back at the beginning of the year I made a pledge to spend more time on hikes closer to me and stick to repeat hikes, something that is not a MO for me. I like to find new trails! Well, turns out that prophetic pledge is helping me keep my sanity these days as I head out each day to soak in what nature has to offer on trails within a certain radius.
Sometimes I find familiar views,
Sometimes it is about the climb,
Sometimes it is about the little details,
And sometimes it is just about getting some mud on the shoes.
I can do this. Here’s to the hopefully boring pandemic months ahead and more mud on my shoes.
#driedrhubarb #orangejuice #driedorangezest #orangejuiceconcentrate #walnuts #pecans #pumpkinseeds #flaxseed #coconutoil #honey #vanilla #seasalt
One of the things I am clinging to is the fact that nature doesn’t care about a pandemic and the season is offering up its annual treats right on schedule.
That means rhubarb!
Having so much more time at home means experimenting with new ways to use the rhubarb coming up in the backyard. I got to thinking about a rhubarb crisp granola and then I got to thinking about what fruit to go with it and I realized that oranges have little love here on the blog. So, a marriage was arranged!
My first steps were to dehydrate the rhubarb and orange zest. I diced the rhubarb up fairly small and marinated it in orange juice overnight. If you are in a hurry (and most of us are not these days) you can limit that to just a few hours.
I wanted the most bang for my buck on the orange flavor so I used a large holed cheese grater and zested the navel oranges to make chunky strips. The aroma of the oranges was intoxicating!
After the rhubarb marinated, it went on a tray in the dehydrator the same time as a separate tray with the orange zest. I was able to pull the zest out a little over 5 hours later but the rhubarb took about 9. The result was a tart burst of flavor that contrasts the sweetness of the granola. My rhubarb is not the super sweet kind, if you get the deep red variety, your rhubarb may have less of a bite.
Once dry, I was ready to put it all together with the rest of the granola ingredients. The zest of two navel oranges makes about 1/2 cup dried, same with 2 cups of rhubarb.
This is where things are similar to my Chocolate Paleo Granola or Lime Pineapple Coconut Granola. I use a flax egg due to food intolerances but you can use a whipped egg white if you like. The honey can also be swapped out for maple syrup but reduce the baking time a few minutes if you do.
You don’t have to lay the mixture out too thinly but even as possible is key. Set the oven timer for 10 minutes, flip the granola with a spatula and bake another 10 minutes.
Don’t forget to let the granola rest 10 minutes out of the oven so the granola can begin to clump together.
I love my granola with a little full fat coconut milk or just straight out of the bag. The best part of recipe development is repeat batches and having to redo photo sessions. Darn!
So, if you are like me right now and need a little pick-me-up, try some of this citrusy granola with bits of tang for your next breakfast. And try not to snack the whole batch at once like I might have done. Also, if you read last week’s email where I said vegetable recipes were coming, rhubarb is a veggie right?
Orange Rhubarb Granola
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Total Time
47 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Nightshade Free, Paleo, Vegan, Whole Food
Servings: 16 1/2 cup servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound rhubarb stalks roughly 2 cups
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 large navel oranges
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Dehydrating
- Clean and dice your rhubarb with a sharp knife.
- In a small bowl add the rhubarb and orange juice together to marinate for 2-3 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Use a cheese grater to zest 2 large navel oranges.
- Lay out the rhubarb and zest in a single layer on two separate fruit leather trays in your dehydrator.
- Let dry on the fruit/vegetable setting, drying time will depend on the thickness. The zest should be crispy in about 5-6 hours and the rhubarb should be dry through but chewy in about 9.
Granola
- Prepare your flax egg by adding 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water and set aside.
- In a food processor, grind the nuts and seeds into small pieces like pebbles. A few larger chunks is okay. Mix together in a large bowl with the coconut.
- In a small bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients with the flax “egg”. Add to the nut mixture with the dried zest and rhubarb and mix well.
- Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat sheet and bake at 320 degrees for 20 minutes until the edges begin to brown, stirring once at ten minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for ten minutes. Then, take a spatula and turn the granola up from the bottom to break it into chunks.
- When cool, add the dehydrated pineapple and store in an air tight container.
Trail
For the trail, divide into individual bags and add one tablespoon of coconut milk powder. On trail, add a few tablespoons of water to enjoy as cereal.
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