A little breakfast treat for you this morning, friends. I made this seeded granola from Good to the Grain, Kim Boyce’s excellent book about baking with whole grains, as part of a mass Sunday afternoon prep-for-the-week cooking extravaganza last weekend.

I’m trying to get good at walking the walk, and actually making big batches of stuff to get me through five lunches at work and frantic I’m-so-hungry moments. I’ve been making simple quinoa salads on Sundays like it’s my job, and it really does make a difference to have a healthy lunch ready everyday.

This granola doesn’t really fall into the “healthy” category but it is easy to grab and super delicious. It’s less clumpy than normal granola (boo), probably because it’s made from seeds and oats and lacks bigger flakes, but it’s super tasty and full of brown sugar, butter, and a kick of cayenne powder that pretty much makes me want to marry it.

Seeded Maple Granola
adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

Ingredients

Dry mix:

• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 cups whole rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/8 cup flax seeds
• 1.5 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder

Syrup:

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1.5 oz unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F/165C. Toast the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes then remove and set aside.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the pumpkin seeds, mixing thoroughly with your hands.
3. Make the syrup: combine the butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and salt in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Place on the stove top over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, bubbling all over.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately stir into the dry ingredients, using a rubber spatula to completely cover and coat. Spread the mixture onto a Silpat-lined (or buttered) baking sheet in one uneven layer and bake for 30 minutes, removing to stir and turn every ten minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let rest for a decent amount of time on the baking sheets so that those glorious clumps of granola form. Stores in an airtight container for about a week.

I have something very exciting up my sleeve today: a copy of the brand new book, My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) from Luisa Weiss, who many of you will know better as The Wednesday Chef.

My Berlin Kitchen tells the story of how Luisa grew up with her heart split between two places, shuttling back and forth between her dad in Boston and her Italian mother in Berlin. Luisa was working as a cookbook editor in New York when she decided to bake, roast and stew her way through a massive collection of newspaper clipped recipes, which she’s since documented on The Wednesday Chef.

The one place she could always look to for steadiness and comfort was the kitchen – something I think so many of us can relate to. I know that when I make shepherd’s pie or eat a really good bacon sandwich, I’m transported back to England in an instant. It’s a powerful thing.

It seems that Luisa (isn’t she cute?) never really stopped hankering for Berlin, and My Berlin Kitchenis her story of finding her way back home (and falling in love along the way), complete with recipes in every chapter.

If you’d like to win a copy, please leave a comment below telling me which two places (metaphorical or actual) your heart is torn between when it comes to cooking and baking.

For a maximum of two additional entries:

1. Tweet about the giveaway (e.g. “I’d love to win a copy of @wednesdaychef‘s new book from @angharad_guy! http://bit.ly/Rnn5L8″)

2. Link to the giveaway on Facebook (my facebook page is @EatingforEngland if you’d like to tag me in your post; Luisa’s is @The-Wednesday-Chef).

**Leave additional comments here telling me you posted it on facebook or twitter.**

This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and will close on Tuesday, September 25. Good luck!

Update:

The winner is comment number 7 (generated by random.org): Annie! 

“I’m continually torn between the meat and potatoes food model of my relatives from rural southwestern Minnesota and the vegan-ism I’ve come to appreciate in my current urban life!”

Congratulations Annie! Email me your address and I’ll get Luisa’s book out to you asap!

The opening ceremony of the Olympics is tonight and I have to say, I wish I was in London with all my friends. I hate to miss these big British celebrations – the Royal wedding last year; the Queen’s Jubilee; now the Olympics. It’s a weird thing to feel so far away and yet so connected to it all.

Anywho. In the spirit of the Games, a little self promotion. My Earl Grey Chocolate Cake was included in this Olympics-inspired PBS Food feature. I have to say, that cake is quite lovely, if you haven’t tried it.

And finally, some great posts from around the web this week…

101 simple salads for summer.

The pub food Olympics!

These corn cilantro cakes look bloody amazing.

Blueberries galore.

That summer in 2005…

A different kind of cobbler.

Summer panzanella.

How to eat like an Olympian.

What to do when a vegan comes to dinner.

The prettiest food blog for miles around.

(Photo of my Earl Grey Chocolate Cake taken by my friend Tiffany Rodgers.)