Sometimes less really is more. This peanut butter granola is just that — oats tossed in a peanut butter syrup and toasted, no fruit or nuts, a no-fuss kind of deal with a minimal ingredient list (which now, more than ever, is something we’re all needing). Brew yourself some coffee, spoon this over a dollop of greek yogurt and call it a morning well started.

Peanut Butter Granola

• 7 cups rolled oats

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• Salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla. If you’re having trouble incorporating the peanut butter into the mixture, gently heating it on the stove in a saucepan or in the microwave and whisking after it warms can help bring it together.

Stir the oats into the peanut butter mixture, adding salt to taste — I like my granola on the saltier side, so a few pinches of kosher salt usually does the trick.

Spoon the granola onto a baking sheet, patting it down with a spoon until it’s formed an even layer.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then take the granola out and stir it to ensure even toasting. Bake for another 15 minutes then allow to cool completely on the pans, undisturbed, so that the granola can clump together a bit.

Shakshuka is a one-pot wonder that’s equally great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s best served family-style, with the pan set on the table and a big wooden spoon set next to it, ready for scooping and sharing. Serve this with thick slices of toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of flakey sea salt on top, or go the flatbread route with hot torn pieces of pita bread or naan, all for dunking into poached yolks and scooping up sauce.

Chickpea Shakshuka

• 6 to 8 eggs

• One 28 oz can diced tomatoes

• 1 1/2 cups tomato puree or tomato pasata

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 onion, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• A pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (optional)

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Optional toppings: greens like arugula or baby kale, chopped herbs like cilantro or mint or parsley, feta or goat cheese

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil a large, shallow pan, adding the diced onion once it’s hot. Cook the onion on low to medium heat until it’s translucent and very fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, spices, chickpeas, and tomato paste. Cook until the tomato paste and onions just begin to brown on the bottom of the pan, then pour in the can of diced tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan, then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the tomatoes to sweeten and lose a bit of their acidity — I like to stir occasionally and use the bottom of a wooden spoon to smash some of the chickpeas to thicken the sauce. While the sauce is simmering, set out the eggs to that they are brought to room temperature (this helps with even cooking). After 30 minutes or so, create a well in the sauce with a spoon for each egg to cook in and crack the eggs into the holes you’ve made in the sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium and cover, allowing the eggs to poach in the sauce for a few minutes, checking periodically. Remove from the heat when the whites have just cooked through and the yolks are still very runny. Serve with toasted slices of bread, naan, or pita.

Granola is a favorite make-ahead breakfast recipe of mine, easily sprinkled over a dollop of yogurt, with a bit of milk and fresh berries, or had by itself as a snack. It only requires a minute or two to whip together; once the oats and nuts and seeds are all gathered, a syrup of olive oil along with natural sweeteners and nut butter is quickly whisked together to help along the flavor, tossed into the bowl to coat the oats with a rich and nutty sweetness. I just adore the unexpected, subtle depth that olive oil imparts and prefer to use it over other oils when making homemade granola.

I use a ratio here of 3:1 with oats to nuts and seeds, adding the same ratio of dried fruit as well if I have some on hand. Feel free to tweak the sweetness and the ingredient amounts to your liking, and you can leave out anything that doesn’t suit your taste. This granola could even be made grain-free - swap out the oats and replace with shaved coconut and some extra nuts and seeds to bulk it up. Or if you’re one to prefer an oat-only granola, leave out all the other additions besides the syrup ingredients. The recipe below makes a whopping batch as I like to have plenty extra on hand for sending home with friends and family members after a visit, but you may halve the recipe if there’s less of a crowd to feed.

Olive Oil Granola

makes approximately 10 cups granola*

• 6 cups rolled oats

• 2 cups assorted nuts and seeds - I like a mixture of almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and occasionally sesame seeds.

• 2 cups dried fruit - I used chopped medjool dates, unsulfured dried Turkish apricots, and Thomson raisins.

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup nut butter - I like to use almond butter, peanut butter, or a mixture of both.

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

*I like to make a massive batch to send off with family and friends after a visit, but you can easily halve the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats and the nut and seed mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, honey, nut butter, vanilla and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir until coated.

Spoon the granola onto two parchment lined baking sheets, patting down the granola with a spoon until it’s formed an even layer on both sheets.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then take the granola out and stir it to ensure even toasting, and rotate the baking sheets when returning them to the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes then allow to cool completely on the pans, undisturbed, so that the granola can clump together a bit. While cooling, sprinkle the granola with the dried fruit.