Sunflower Granola

I've been in a granola daze lately... Granola, chocolate, fruit, and peanut butter. It seems like my diet has been based around those four things for the past couple of days. Perhaps not the healthiest diet, but it's better than what most eat, right?

I hadn't actually made granola for some time, and after doing some experimentation with granola bars (with a couple successful recipes, which will come soon!), I wanted just simple granola, so... that's what I did! :D

Sunflower Granola
2 C rolled oats
2/3 C sunflower seeds
1/3 C coconut
1/3 C grapeseed oil
¼ t salt
1 t ginger
½ C sunflower seed butter
½ C maple syrup
A few spoonfuls of brown sugar, if a sweeter granola is desired...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix everything together in a bowl, and bake for about an hour or so, or until it's the level of crunchiness you want. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes while it's in the oven, and enjoy! :)

Haitian-style Sweet Potato Cakes

We were learning about Haiti in French class when my teacher announced a project we had to do, not surprisinlgy, about Haiti. There were several options to choose from, but, again,not surprisingly, I decided to bake something...
I missed the day the food projects were due for familial reasons, and with snow days and midterms to follow, I didn't hand this project in until 2 weeks later... oops...

I first looked for Haiti recipes online, and although I did try out two of them (one of which was really tasty!), I wanted to make something that was mine. Using some of the staple ingredients in Haiti desserts (sweet potatoes, bananas, coconut), I decided to make little cakes!

Haitian Sweet Potato Cakes
2 C peeled and grated sweet potatoes

1 large banana
1/2 C vegan brown sugar
1/2 C vegan dark brown sugar
1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 C plain, unsweetened plant milk (I used soy)
2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white whole wheat flour
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

More cinnamon for top.

1.)Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.) Pour the sweet potato into a bowl, and mash in the banana. Add the brown sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla, milk, vinegar, and coconut milk.
3.) In a larger, seperate bowl, whisk together the flours, white sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and the spices.
4.) Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until well combined. Pour into a greased 9x12 inch pan. Sprinkle on top some more cinnamon.
5.) Bake for 35-45 minutes in the oven. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted, but the cake itself will be very moist- in a good way!


I made a sugar glaze to top over them once they were done by mixing confectioner sugar with some water and pouring over the top, and that definitely turned out well!

My french class seemed to like them, so hopefully you will too, Happy Baking!