Well that was unexpected

One of the symptoms some people experience with concussion is loss of taste. This didn’t happen to me.

Except for this one thing.

Ginger.

Weirdly, I’ve also been craving ginger.

One of my regular things to make and eat is granola, and it’s also (happily) easy to make and eat despite my injuries. You can do it all with one hand (recipe below). I switch up the nuts and spices, but usually make it with cinnamon (classic), sometimes nutmeg, or allspice, or cardamom (with pistachios!) I usually also make it with regular all-purpose flour, more butter, and more sugar, but trying to be a little more mindful of that stuff (concussion is largely about inflammation, so the more anti-inflammatory, the better).

My concussion pal had brought over a giant bag of frozen blueberries (so grateful!!) so making granola seemed like the obvious thing to do. This time, I was craving almonds and ginger. 

Funny thing, it didn’t taste gingery.

Next time I made it, I did the obvious thing—double the ginger. This time it tasted… kind of burn-y? I don’t really know how to describe it. There was heat, but no flavour. Then I thought back to one of my daily walks to a coffee shop with a friend—I had ordered a ginger cookie which had no flavour at all. Last time my kid (who goes mad for novelty flavoured chips) visited, I got the “Limited Edition” jerk chicken flavour, which similarly had a small amount of heat but no flavour—and ginger is often a component of jerk seasoning. All very suspicious…

Anyway I’ve still been eating my blueberries, yogurt, and gluten-free granola every day like a good girl, so I’ve run out again and need to make more. This time, I’m not using ginger, hoping for something flavourful. Wish me luck.

Home-made Granola

Granola

Ingredients:

1½ cups rolled oats
¾ cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios—whatever you like, or mix them up)
½ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp spice (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, even ginger would work in theory)
1 tbs chestnut flour (or all-purpose if you like gluten)
½ tsp salt
½  cup butter, melted

Directions:

Spread oats on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer.

Sprinkle nuts evenly over oats.

Combine sugar, spice, flour, and salt. Stir with a fork to ensure it’s evenly mixed and there aren’t any lumps. Sprinkle evenly over oats and nuts.

Drizzle melted butter over all. Stir gently on baking sheet to ensure even distribution.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Stir gently, then bake another 10 minutes.

Let sit for a couple of minutes, then use spatula to gently lift so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Allow to cool on baking sheet.

Store in a jar in the cupboard for up to a couple of weeks.