You don’t need to tell me that it’s a bad habit. I can’t help it: I climb in bed, half-planning to go to sleep, but then plug in my earbuds, and end up watching a Netscape movie on my iphone. This week it was Kiarostami’s Certified Copy (about as awful a title as Abbas Kiarostami is a wonderful name; and bravo to Netflicks for actually making some interesting stuff available for streaming, although who are the jerks that gave it 3.5 stars?--Juliette Binoche deserves at least that just for being Juliette Binoche). This is a little film. No crashes. No gunfights. Perfect for an iphone with earbuds in bed.
Read MoreSo here's my very own recipe for the Praline Nuts I used in (yet another) batch of Pecan Bourbon granola yesterday. (Our granola has honey, so it's not technically vegan to purists, but for the sake of shelf life, we don't use dairy. The nuts are vegan, but that word doesn't always sound great in recipes. (I wonder if there would be more vegans if someone would come up with a more appetizing word for vegan.) Let's face it, praline might be a bit better with a ton of cream and butter. This is almost more of a candied nut. We have other agendas here.)
Read MoreEvery time you buy a bag of granola you are making an impact. Every time you stop by a farmer's market and chat with one of our employees you are extending hospitality and helping teach English. The donations, the encouragement, the tweets, the referrals, the advice, the gifts (like free table space at the Holiday Market), the access to resources (like Amos House), the Facebook mentions, the articles (and reporters who seek us out) and blog posts, big and small. We've wanted to grow and move forward in a way that keeps us connected to the people who make it possible. Talk about "watching out"! Your involvement is watching out for us.
Read MoreI bought a jug of Wild Turkey and we made our first Bourbon Pecan granola of the season. First we made a vegan praline using Sucanat and coconut cream, mixed in the toasted nuts, and dusted them with sea salt. We then made Wild Turkey flavored granola using the nuts and Ghirardelli chocolate. History in the making.
Read MoreIngredients: Oats (org), honey (pesticide-free from Aquidneckhoney), canola oil (org), granulated cane juice, coconut (org), sesame seeds (org), barley (org), almonds, cherries, apples, peaches, blueberries, nectarines, plums, pears (some fruit contains sulphur dioxide and potassium sorbate), oat bran (org), wheat germ, pecans, sunflower seeds (org), flax seeds (org), walnuts, oat fiber, sea salt, cinnamon, almond ext., vanilla, rum, nutmeg.
Read MoreJob opportunities for people who lack English, literacy, and are strangers to American culture and job market expectations are not plentiful, especially during a recession. Even with wonderful job placement and education services for newly-arrived refugees, few businesses have a vision to employ or accommodate these needs. Recognizing this gap gave Ben and Keith an idea: what if Rhode Island’s great need—job creation—could align with refugees’ needs? Then perhaps the most efficient way to make a positive difference would be to start businesses that hired refugees.
Read MoreOne of our motivating convictions is that work is far more than a paycheck, but rather a vital expression of being human, of having and using gifts. If this is true, then motivated people who desperately want to work (such as refugees) should have access to work as a basic need or right. For someone who has never worked in the US, the first step is any work; a foot in the door of the job-market. A secondary step is meaningful work, which is why we’re so interested in business incubation.
Read MoreWhile we are the tiniest of companies, we are increasingly confident that we’re pioneering an effective and efficient model for improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our country. And if we can figure out how to do this, we could enable other communities serving refugees to adapt or replicate our efforts. Little steps towards big goals. For our fans spread out around the country and the globe, maybe someday you’ll find refugee-made granola at your local farmer’s market.
Read MoreA few facts: Around 8,000 refugees have been settled in Rhode Island since 1983. Up until 2005 these came from (by population size in descending order) USSR, Liberia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hungary, Poland, Albania, former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Ethiopia/Eritrea. This is one of the great things about living in Providence. Even if you don’t have the money to travel the world, you still don’t have to live in a cocoon. The world is right here.
Read MoreCherry Chocolate: Oats (org), honey (pesticide-free, Aquidneckhoney), cherries (w/ sugar, sunflower oil), canola oil (exp pressed), granulated cane juice, coconut (org), sesame (org), barley (org), cranberries (w/ sugar, safflower oil), almonds, oat bran (org), pecans, wheat germ, sunflower seeds (org), flax seeds (org), walnuts, Ghiredelli chocolate, glazed orange peel (sulphured), oat fiber, kirsch, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, almond extract.
Read MoreWe’ve been silent for a couple weeks… but here’s our big news: this morning we finally launched our new website at http://providencegranola.com.
So please come visit. Scout around. Learn more about our mission and the refugees who work with us. Find out where you can buy granola. Check out the pictures, blog archives, and links to interesting places. Read some very nice articles written about us. See if you can find our brand spanking new Ginger Zinger label (thank you Becky Joy). Follow us on Twitter if you’re so inclined; sign up to be on our email list (if you’re not already). So much to do, so little time.
Read MoreOats (org), honey (pesticide-free from Aquidneckhoney), cranberries (cranberries, sugar, safflower oil), almond oil, canola oil (org), granulated cane juice, coconut (org), almonds, sesame seeds (org), barley (org), macaroon paste, pears, oat bran (org), wheat germ, pecans, sunflower seeds (org), flax seeds (org), nectarines, plums, amaretto liquor, oat fiber, sea salt, cinnamon, almond extract, nutmeg, cloves.
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Learn how to make an apple crisp recipe using our granola... And, yes, go right ahead and laugh your butt off.
Read MoreM: I was on the bridge. I was going to see my cousin. Suddenly I hear a shot. That’s what’s happening—I mean it’s still happening in my country. The terrorist people shooting the new army, because they say the new army, they are lying with the American military, so we have to shoot you. There was a checkpoint in the street to make safety. I was on the bridge. I don’t have any place to run away. The checkpoint started to shoot random. So I get one of the shots.
I think other people they got shot too. But my lung it was safe. If my lung has hole, then I was gonna die. The lung would fill with water and blood and…” (He grabbed his throat.)
Read MoreI asked Maitham all kinds of things ranging from getting shot in Iraq, to escaping to Syria and the troubles and family members still there, to his ill-fated attempt to request asylum in Sweden, to how he feels becoming an American and the hopes he has for his new life in Rhode Island.
Read MoreThis is also an even longer way of reminding you that Providence Granola is at the ready to service all your granola needs.We’re very busy, but eager to be even busier.The web store is open. A Granola of the Month subscription, in particular, is a one-of-a kind gift that can keep nourishing and delighting year round.
Read MoreIt is especially fascinating to be working with Burmese during the very week that our Secretary of State was making the first official US visit to Burma in over a half-century. Seeing Clinton hugging Aung San Suu Kyi on the evening news nearly took my breath away.
Read MoreWe know our granola is a premium product, but we also know that it's a good deal. Our overhead is about as low as a company can get. If you went out and bought the same high quality raw ingredients and tried to make it yourself, you would never be able to make it for this price.
Read MoreHere’s another idea. A number of our frequent customers have told us that they now take a bag of granola as a gift to dinner parties. The last dinner gift I took someone was a bottle of (relatively cheap) Yellow Tail, so with this in mind, I put together a little head to head comparison:
Read MoreWith the holiday season around the corner, we thought we'd give you an additional option for gift-giving: the official Providence Granola Project t-shirt!
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