Cinnamon and Ginger

 I really like the colour of the underside of these dried magnolia leaves.  Don't you think it's the exact shade of cinnamon sticks?  Dried bits of stuff in this large vase are the perfect easy centrepiece for the piano in the foyer, requiring no upkeep whatsoever
The orange tree is another story, I had placed it on our bar cart during the holidays and sort of forgot about it.  I'm a terrible plant-owner to be honest, I never should have brought this orange tree home.  I doubt it will make it, the way it's been ignored.  I finally noticed it yesterday afternoon and gave the poor thing some water, and moved it to this sunnier location.  Fingers crossed for it!

I did another gym session yesterday and before I left the house I put together a bit of homemade granola.  I've been trying to incorporate hemp hearts into our diet: they are super high in protein and in omega 3 and omega 6, making them a terrific post-workout boost.  Mixed with some oats and almonds, and eaten with fortified almond milk they would also make for a densely nutritious breakfast.

Homemade granola is so easy, and in my typical slapdash fashion I don't do any measuring while concocting mine.  For this  granola I used approximately 1.5 cups of hemp hearts, 2 cups or so of oats, and 1 cup of sliced almonds.  I stirred through a teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger.
On the stove top I heated up about 3 tablespoons of maple syrup with a tablespoon of olive oil, then poured that over the lot, giving it a fairly good stir before spreading it out on a parchment lined baking sheet.

 I baked it at 325 for about 15 minutes, just until it was perfectly golden.
I don't care for dried fruit in granola for some reason, I prefer it rather plain.  But I did add some chopped apricots to about half of this granola before packaging that up for Middle Rascal to take with her back to school.  You could also add raisins, dried cherries or blueberries, whatever you fancy.

If you're on the East Coast I hope you've been surviving the Frozen Bomb Cyclone.  Yesterday at the gym Laura and I saw an old friend of ours with her Uni aged daughter, she won't be getting back to school in Halifax this weekend by the looks of it, it seems many flights were already being cancelled.
Tuck in and stay warm and safe Tooties!

Happy Friday,
xoxDani