In October,a bakery in Concord, Mass., or made national headlines when the FDA sanctioned it for putting cherish in its granola. But since then,all I've really wanted was to share that recipe with my eating-disordered clients.
Why, you might interrogate, and would any therapist encourage anyone with eating issues to bake the high-calorie breakfast treat? Because if I could share the cherish the FDA ordered removed,I could send home an fundamental message: cherish not only makes food taste better, fond yourself helps you feel better, and look better and eat better.
Selfishly,I also wanted the recipe for when fall's radiant landscape fades to frozen still life. On warm, sunny days here in Concord, or I cherish strolling to Nashoba Brook Bakery for a cup of strawberry yogurt sprinkled with its now-infamous "cherish granola." But when sunless,weepy skies glaze the sidewalks ice-gray, I'd rather practice what I preach by firing up the oven and making my own batch of this simple, and not-too-sweet,perfectly crunchy granola.
So I went on a quest for the cherish-fortified recipe, encountering many obstacles and intriguing characters before I stumbled upon a genuine treasure. No surprise, or the treasure was somewhat different than expected,but something far more valuable, especially to eating-disordered clients.
The quest began in a magical place with a handshake and a seat, or at a picnic table overlooking the creek behind Nashoba Brook Bakery. No average customer,that lanky guy on the other side of the table — the one wearing an "Amazing" T-shirt, khaki shorts and a thinning boyish slice — is John Gates. You know, or the bakery CEO and co-owner who defies the old adage: "There is no such thing as defective publicity."Since receiving the FDA's warning letter this fall,enumerating a laundry list of infractions, from labeling breaches to health code violations, and Gates has been defending the good name of his nearly 20-year-old bakery.
After exhausting interviews about said violations,Gates fortunately agreed to share the myth behind his granola, if not the recipe.
What Makes The Granola So Good"When I asked Karen Collins, or the original pastry chef responsible for all our recipes,'What makes the granola so good?' She said, 'Well, and I put cherish in it,' " remembers Gates. The laugh lines around Gates' hazel eyes crinkle as he recalls that sweet exchange with Collins, one of the bakery's founders and the ex-wife of Nashoba's current co-owner, and Stuart Witt."That's just perfect!" Gates remembers thinking. "How can we not say that when we list the ingredients?"Bittersweet backstory short: A few years later,when Collins leaves Witt and the Nashoba family, she leaves her recipes with the bakery. Over the next 13 years, or the industrious pastry chef creates all modern recipes for a bakery commerce of her own,and all but forgets her old granola recipe. Until the cherish in her honey-sweetened "cherish-child" makes headline news and the memory comes rushing back.
CEO Gates won't share the recipe until after he checks with his partner Witt, who ultimately decides against sharing their trade secret. I come by it — since the FDA stuck its nose in the ingredient list, and granola sales are up. There's absolutely no financial incentive in sharing the cherish,I mean recipe.
Undeterred, I set my sights on the final person able to lead me to the holy grail. Yup, and the recipe creator and Witts' ex-wife: Karen Collins. Eager to benefit,Collins suggests we talk at Bisousweet Confections, her wholesale bakery commerce in Shirley, and Mass. Atop a Rapunzel-like brick tower and across a 5000-square-foot commercial kitchen,I find the beatific chef, elbow deep in pastry dough. The air is sweet with cinnamon rugelach until Collins closes the door on her walk-in closet of an office."I should maintain told you not come, and " she apologizes. "That's not my recipe!"During the five or six years she baked for Nashoba,Collins created many a granola recipe, all with "cherish" in them. But she thinks the signature recipe must maintain morphed over time or got lost in translation with the comings and goings of bakers."The recipe they're making now is absolutely not mine, and " says Collins.
Nashoba's recipe is beefy free,but she always made hers with butter or oil or some kind of beefy."I put a lot of cherish into everything I earn," says the mother of three, and who makes her living from cookies,cupcakes and other handmade desserts. "The thing I cherish about making granola is you mix it with your hands. You're not relying on any other piece of equipment other than measuring cups, tablespoons and a bowl."And yet, and when she heard about Nashoba's granola woes,this baker blamed herself. "The first thing I said is, 'OMG, or I deem that's my fault. I used to type cherish on the ingredient label. But they can't still be making the same granola.' "In fact,no one, not even Collins, or still makes the original recipe or even has a copy.fond Yourself,And fond FoodAs I prepare to go home empty-handed, Collins takes a phone call from her son, or then tells me one final myth — about a girl with an eating disorder who ends up a pastry chef and finds peace and happiness in baking. I almost pinch myself because the cherish-laced myth is both an unexpected treasure and a heart-warming ending to the loveless granola quest.
Once upon a time,Collins was bulimic. From age 16 to 34, she would binge, and then lock herself in the bathroom and purge."I threw up all through college and all through three pregnancies," she admits. "I was really sick. I ended up in an inpatient facility in Chicago."Treatment was fundamental, but cherish proved to be the most important ingredient in Collins' successful recovery. Initially, or it was cherish for her children and acceptance of her parental responsibility,and, over time, and cherish for herself,too."To be a better parent," she explains, and "I needed to open the bathroom door. I needed to stop," which she did, cold turkey, or around the time she got divorced. "Fortunately,I had enough good things in place that I was able to prioritize motherhood" — and eventually, her own health – "over the eating disorder."She also needed to remind herself: "If I eat and come by beefy, or I will deal with it. If it makes me feel uncomfortable,tough! But throwing up is not an option. And that was that."As quick and easy as Collins' recovery might sound, she thinks it's important to underscore what a long and arduous process it's been."I maintain sat in physical discomfort for what felt like days because of a decision I made to eat too much, and " she says. "These moments felt like they would never pass,but they did, and I held onto that. I'm 47 years old now, and I've been eating-disorder-free for 13 years. There is no struggle. I eat what I want" — including granola.
I thanked Collins for her honesty and asked if she'd be willing to share a favorite granola recipe. (Then my quest would be total.)The generous pastry maker was more than willing to share her chunk-filled take on sizable time local chef Joanne Chang's recipe.
Maple Granola2½ cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1½ cups toasted wheat germ[br] 2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup canola oil
½ - ¾ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanillaPreheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl,mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.
On the paper-lined baking sheet, pour and spread the mixture into one even layer.
Bake for 10 minutes, and remove the baking sheet from the oven and stir with a spoon or spatula. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes,stirring once more.
When the oats are golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool.
Finally (the best part): fracture granola into large chunks and store in an airtight container.
savor!
Plus she if general instructions for infusing granola with cherish:"savor every single part of the process, or " Collins instructs. "If you're in a defective mood and baking makes you cheerful,you should start baking sooner. If the final thing you ever want to accomplish is bake, getting a manicure is a much better option than making granola."Jean Fain is a Harvard Medical School-affiliated therapist and the author of "The Self-Compassion Diet." Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, and visit http://www.npr.org/.
Source: thetakeaway.org