TOASTED COCONUT PECAN AMARANTH CEREAL (GLUTEN FREE, VEGAN)
Scenes from this past week:
Crushing garlic and salt together in a marble mortar. Bluish evening light spreads itself into a dark kitchen. Stamping miso, vinegar, and sesame oil into the pounded mixture, and splashing it into a hot pot of noodles and kale.
A dull greyhound ride in the rain. Soft thud of the wheels over water-filled potholes.
Swiping my new Forest Things almond oil chapstick over my lips. Squinting up at bright sunlight as I walk home from the market. Smells of fresh turned earth, kombucha vinegar, fried dough and sugar.
Cutting off twigs of hot pink azalea blooms with a dull knife. Wrapping the ends with a sopping wet cheesecloth and sticking them in a mason jar -- ready for a long journey, eventually to be set beside my grandmothers hospital bed.
A haphazard yard sale -- dusty jewel toned books, antique bottles with yellowed commemorative scrolls rolled up inside, lonely plastic visors detached from their welding helmets, a pair of wingtip leather boots, a collection of three mateless brass candlesticks, a half broken picnic basket -- and on and on and on.
Toppled boxes of costumes at the flea market. A copper Moscow mule mug glinting on a grey plastic table.
Onlooking as our friends at Lobo Marino write the names for their just-planted seeds on broken slivers of wood they've stuck into rich, dark soil: "Tropaelum Magus," "Nasturtium," "NAS."
A long lazy worm pulling itself out of the grass and on to the side walk, slinking pink and lavender under our feet. I swerve the bike I'm walking home away just in time to look back and exclaim "WOAH, WORM!"
The recipe for my toasted coconut pecan amaranth cereal originally appeared on Relay Foods' Simple Living Blog here. Thanks to Relay Foods for sponsoring this post!
- 1 cup whole amaranth
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk + 1/2 cup coconut milk, to serve
- 3 tbsp honey + 1 tsp, to serve
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes
- Combine amaranth with 1 cup water and 1 cup coconut milk. Allow to soak overnight, or for a minimum of 8 hours.
- Place in a medium pot with pinch salt. Cook 15 minutes, or until amaranth seeds are tender. Stir in honey to sweeten.
- For topping, place a pan on medium high heat. Toast pecans 5 minutes, or until slightly browned and toasty. Remove from pan.
- Add coconut flakes and toast until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from pan.
- To serve, spoon amaranth into a bowl, top with a dollop of reserved coconut milk, a drizzle of honey, and plenty of toasted pecans and coconut flakes.