Introducing "Wake Up Saigon"
A note from the cook: If you’re looking for a breakfast to give you a motivating kick in the ass, look no further. This is a granola that means business. It features a generous shake of Saigon cinnamon along with all-natural dark chocolate covered espresso beans. I'm not joking.I got home last night around midnight after making a hundred pounds of the stuff. This morning I fixed myself a large bowl and there’s been no stopping me. I weeded the garden, made French toast for the kids, delivered bulk orders, dropped by the bank, and got about 26 month-club packages to the post office… So much for a relaxing weekend. I was considering another bowl for lunch. Hmm, maybe I should wait until Monday.But don’t wait too long to get your orders in. This is probably my favorite of the 8 we’ve made so far and unless someone totally begs we're not planning any more than this one batch.
A note about Saigon cinnamon: when I was growing up in Vietnam, I remember my mother bringing bunches of bark back as gifts. It made no sense to me when America already had jars and jars in every store. What I didn't realize until recently is that Vietnam grows a uniquely powerful type of cinnamon called cassia. Most grocery store cinnamon comes from Ceylon, Mexico, or Indonesia. Cassia has much richer oil content and a hotter, sweeter taste.
You health nuts out there may have seen the research suggesting that cinnamon might lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.(This sounds suspiciously like offering those of us with high cholesterol an excuse to eat a lot of pastry.) But the scientific study I found particularly interesting was one suggesting that the smell of cinnamon can diminish road rage. If that’s true, thenthis could be perfect breakfast food:a healthy kickass granola that will get you going yet calm you down behind the wheel. Too bad we don’t all live in L.A.Still, there’s no harm testing the hypothesis.Take your bag with you to work.Open, take a big whiff, then drive. Let us know what you find out.
Ingredients:oats (org), barley (org), Sucanat (minimally processed cane sugar), honey (local RI), canola oil (expeller pressed), raisins, Craisins, sesame seeds(org), sunflower seeds (org), wheat germ, oat bran (org), walnuts, almonds, coconut (org), pecan meal, flax seeds (org), chocolate covered espresso beans, oat fiber, Saigon cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt, nutmeg, almond extract.