‘If you only master one spice in your life, master pepper, it has more power to transform a dish than any other’
I am not a big chilli eater, but I am a fan of spice. So often these two are mixed up. People say to me in earnest, I can’t eat Indian food as I can’t tolerate spice. There are all sorts of wrong with that statement and why they think they need to go out of their way to tell me, LOL. But that is a conversation for another time and blog.
Spicing is an art form.
Spices can be used to warm or cool you, to hurt or heal you.
In the summer I try and avoid to many heating spices and in the Winter, I add them in to warm up my digestive and metabolic systems. My favourites are cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, turmeric and mustard. I love them in chai, porridge and granola. This granola is also a little less sweet than normal and so I add it to savory dishes too. The spice is subtle, gently heating the more you eat. Mr B likes heat, but doesn’t like salty sweet, so for him I reduced the sea salt and increase the maple syrup a smidge.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups GF rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped nuts (e.g. pecans and walnuts)
- 2.5 tbsp. black/white sesame seeds
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. tamari
- ½ tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 300F
- Mix the oats, nuts and sesame seeds
- In a separate bowl mix the maple syrup, two sesame oils, tamari, ginger and black pepper
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients together
- Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper
- Sprinkle over the salt
- Bake for 15 minutes, then mix. Taste for salt and add if needed
- Bake for another 15 minutes
- Let cool. Store in an airtight glass jar.
