A Few Changes: Gingerbread Granola

-I've been a little busy as you can see...-

I'm not one for clutter. Once a year I gather up all the clothes I haven't worn in a few years, the books that I realize will never be read again for they have no great memories or adventures of our times together stitched into the bindings, and perhaps a strange and warped kettle I had in college that has survived all the previous moves. They get stacked into boxes (or tossed into a bin if it's really no good) and it goes to the Goodwill where I leave it on the step and never remember to get that yellow donation ticket for my taxes.

I don't do it for taxes, though. I do it for sanity. 

I thrive on order and am an apostle to cleanliness in the most archaic sense. It doesn't matter how beat I am when I come home, or how terribly sick I may be, or if my deadline is in, "Oh shit, I have a half hour before this is due to my editor!" I will flagellate myself on a stack of dirty dishes until they're properly stacked and each wine glass sparkles like my credit score.

I find clutter and disorganization to be a major source of stress and always have. I willingly inflict it upon myself, too. No matter how frustrated I am I will vacuum, scrub, wash, etc. Even miserably. I will bitch like no bitch has bitched before with a dishrag because it's not like my husband or roommate - god love 'em both - are gonna do it. 

I don't understand how they can so easily toss things on the floor or just let papers and boxes and folders and magazine and STUFF that never gets used pile up the way they let it do. How do these piles not build so tall they crowd in their sanity? Doesn't their shirt not being properly hung up bother them? (No.) If not, then why not?! (Because they are dudes.) All that malarky just makes me feel so claustrophobic.

Claustrophobic is a good way to describe how the blog has been making me feel. Outdated is another good word. I gave the blog a face lift four years ago and back then I seemed to like it. It was a fresh change and much easier to read. If you never saw it imagine a dark navy blue background, orange type, and clunky arrangement. The new design at the time was a revelation.

How things change... The last few months all I could see were kitschy designs and vibrant wallpapers closing in all around me. Ugly banners did not genially introduce you to the blog and my sailor's mouth, but rather blared at you like a buzzing vuvuzela. The towering and cluttered sidebars told you to look somewhere other than the content itself. 

-And let's not even get started on the STD of fonts that is Georgia. That bitch gets around.-

In addition to wanting something cleaner the blog needed to be more personal. I also wanted it to have some sort of thematic connection to my writer's website and to look more professional what with the book coming out.

So here it is. Clean, new, personal.

The blog theme was designed by Ana of Blog Milk, who crafts some stunning themes. She is kinda fucking amazing. I designed the banner with the intention of connecting to readers through my handwriting (something I feel very strongly on). 

You will notice the logo is simple and homey and doesn't make your eyes bleed. I went with a drawing because after doing this for seven years I can honestly say there is no way to photograph vanilla and garlic together and make it look half decent. 

The social media buttons are new and also personally drawn. They may undergo a second round but I like them for their uniqueness and c'est la vie. There is a new Instagram button as well, so that's nifty.

There's some other new bits and bobbles here and there. Hexcodes have been shifted, columns collapsed, and a bit of rewording for clarity.

I like it. I hope you do, too. I feel comfortable in my blog again and it makes me quite happy to say so. I've been in a state of blog ennui for a while and it's pleasant to say adieu to that. There are still a few tweaks to be made so pardon if in during your visit things wonk out a bit. I simply won't know what isn't working until thing go bollocks on someone. Apologies if that's you.

Tweaks and bollocks aside, I figure the best way to celebrate comfort is with comfort. Nooo, silly reader, I don't mean the Southern kind that comes in a bottle... but close. No, I'm talking granola. (So close to bourbon, right?)

This is a gingerbread granola. Gingerbread in that it has lots of ginger, molasses, honey, brown sugar, spices, and candied ginger to give it that classic sweet and bitter and spicy gingerbread taste. It's studded with cranberries, pepitas, and some pecans for extra crunch. Seasonally appropriate. Comforting. Outstanding drowned in some full fat yogurt with a splash of sticky and dark maple syrup because it's cold outside and why not, right?

Enjoy, everyone. There'll be no post next week because that day is Christmas and I'm taking a week off of all writing because sometimes even the writers need a vacation.

XOXO

Garrett Out.

Gingerbread Granola
Makes Plenty

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup pepitas
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup flaked coconut
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
2/3 cup honey
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons apple juice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup candied ginger, minced

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and adjust the top rack to the middle of the oven. Place the oats, coconut, pepitas, pecans, and spices in a large bowl and stir. Whisk together the molasses, honey, apple juice, vanilla, and brown sugar in a saucepan and place over medium heat until almost smooth.

2. Pour molasses mixture over oats and stir gently to combine and the oats are well coated. Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake for twenty minutes. Cool completely. (If some of the granola is still sticky and wet bake it for another 7-10 minutes.) Break into pieces and add the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.