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Earl Grey Granola, Please!
Some people have routines so engrained they eat the same thing every day, poop at the same time, and generally have their lives together. I respect that but can’t do it. I need things to “sparkle” (which I can’t stop saying after listening to this episode of my favorite podcast, Hidden Brain) by having breakfast tacos one morning, granola the next, a giant apple fritter the next.
Last year, I worked with Justine Doiron (aka @justine_snacks, queen of beans) on the words for her cookbook that just came out, Justine Cooks. It was fun! I love her. She cooks how I aspire to: hyper-locally, meat-minimally, lots of bread and cheese. While we worked, I’d make recipes from her Google Docs that called to me, even though cooking from a Google Doc is as tragic as it gets. I still couldn’t resist making her preserved lemons that became a staple, tiramisu-inspired cookies that were a hit at my book club, breadcrumb-crusted beans that blew my mind… and then this granola.
As a wannabe Ann Arbor crunchy hippie, I love granola (see also: Birkenstocks, the Grateful Dead, not mowing my lawn). But it’s so expensive, I refuse to buy it at the store. Homemade, all the way. And I love how it looks in a jar on my counter, like I’m someone who’d never, ever hold a bag of Fritos to my mouth to cash in on the final crumbs. Justine’s granola recipe includes roasting pears, which is very chic, but I’m actually here for the crispy oats, which are coated in an Earl Grey-infused butter that fills your home with the scent of baking cookies. It tastes cozy and restrained, like a hug from an English grandmother. I eat it with yogurt and berries, or with milk as late-night cereal.
Earl Grey Granola with Roasted Pears
by Justine Doiron
(Note from Alex: Not to go all New York Times Cooking commenter on you, but I do mess with the recipe based on what I’ve got in the house, because in the handful of times I’ve made it, I learned it’s pretty flexible. So, here’s Justine’s original recipe with my little annotations in italics, take ’em or leave ’em.)
8 tablespoons salted butter
2 Earl Grey teabags (or 2 heaping teaspoons of loose-leaf tea, blitzed in a spice grinder)
3 medium Bosc pears, halved and cored
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons hemp hearts (I do 1 cup of pecans instead, I know that’s not an equal measure but it works, okay? I love nuts)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup honey (or maple syrup!)
1 large egg white
Milk of choice, for serving
1. Equally stagger two racks in the oven and preheat it to 325°F.
2. Set a small pan over medium heat and add the butter. Let the butter fully melt, then tear open the tea bags, pour in the tea leaves, and swirl to combine. The mixture will begin to bubble slightly, so turn the heat to low and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Place two pear halves on a piece on a sheet of aluminum foil, cut side up. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the Earl Grey butter mixture over the cut sides, and wrap them into a packet with the fold on top, being careful there are not cuts or punctures in the foil. Set them on the bottom rack of the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flaxseed meal, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the remaining 5 tablespoons butter mixture into the bowl, add the vanilla and honey, and mix well. (If you’re not making the pears, add all of the butter and up to ½ cup more oats if the mixture looks pretty saucy; you want it coated, not sopping wet!)
5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy. Add that to the bowl with the granola mix and stir to coat everything evenly.
6. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the granola on the sheet. Transfer to the top rack of the oven to bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.(I stir after 15 minutes and make sure to keep an eye on things at the 25-minute mark because my oven runs hot and burnt granola is an expensive mistake.)
7. To serve, add half a pear to each bowl and top with a heaping scoop of granola and a splash of milk. Drizzle on any remaining buttery pear juice left over in the foil; it will dot on top of the milk, which is supremely satisfying.
8. This recipe will leave you with some leftover granola, which you can store in a cool, dry place for up to a week.
Alex Beggs is a writer and copywriter who lives with her partner in Michigan. Her articles have appeared in Bon Appetit, Elle Decor, and The New York Times. She has also written for Cup of Jo about her dad’s meatloaf, cold cake, and (very) bad hair days.
P.S. Blueberry baked oatmeal, and overnight French toast.
Reprinted with permission from Justine Cooks: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen by Justine Doiron. Copyright © 2024 by Justine Doiron. Top photograph copyright © 2024 by Jim Henkens; other two photos by Alex Beggs. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
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Apples excellent AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale for just $200 — a $50 savings
SAVE $49.01: The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are 20% at Amazon and Walmart as of April 22. Snag a pair for just $199.99 (normally $249).
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Our very own Stan Schroeder is fresh off reviewing the new AirPods Max 2, Apple’s updated over-ear headphones. While he thought their noise cancellation has improved since the last generation, they still can’t block out sounds as well as the AirPods Pro 3: “Wearing them on a busy street makes the outside noise vanish in a spectacular fashion,” he writes of the earbuds.
So, if you’re an Apple user looking for best-in-class ANC, stick with the AirPods Pro 3. Right now, they happen to be on sale for just $199.99 at Amazon and Walmart — that’s a savings of nearly $50 and one of their best deals to date. They briefly hit $184 on Amazon back in February, but never since. (And they were $219.99 everywhere last Black Friday.)
For comparison’s sake, the AirPods Max 2 are up to $350 pricier depending on the color.
The AirPods Pro 3 actually have the same H2 chip as the AirPods Max 2, so they support the same suite of smart features like Adaptive Audio and Live Translation. On top of that, they come with a built-in heart rate monitor that “worked perfectly,” per Mashable contributor Adam Doud. (Read his full review.)
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On their own, the AirPods Pro 3 will net you up to eight hours of battery life per charge with their ANC enabled. Their included charging case adds an extra 24 hours of use.
I can personally assure you that you won’t find the AirPods Pro 3 on sale for anywhere cheaper — even if you go for a used pair. In new condition, they’re $239.99 at B&H Photo and full price at Best Buy and Target. Then there’s Best Buy’s open-box AirPods Pro 3, which are are $204.99 in fair condition. Pass.
Entertainment
LA public schools pass screen time limits for students in a first
Los Angeles public school students may be returning to the age of college-ruled notebooks and Scantrons, following a Tuesday school board vote that will limit the use of computers, laptops, and tablets in classrooms.
Titled “Using Technology with Intention,” the new resolution mandates the creation of grade-level and subject-specific screen time limits across Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, including a complete ban on device usage for kindergarten and first grade. The use of one-to-one devices, like individual Chromebooks, will be discouraged for second through fifth grades, as well.
Revised guidelines will also address video-aided lesson plans, access to video streaming platforms like YouTube, and expanded restrictions on gaming and social media platforms.
District staff must present the revised tech use policy by June, which will go into effect for all LAUSD students beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Guidelines will be reevaluated every year, and schools are tasked with tracking and sharing student screen time numbers with parents.
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The resolution cites increasing concern about the effect of screen time on young minds and alleged screen addiction, including recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies that show a correlation between high screen time and adverse health effects. The board was unanimously in favor of the tech restrictions, with one recusal.
“We know that tech is not going away and can be a powerful tool in the classroom. This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time and screen time in schools to ensure we are doing what actually helps students learn best,” board member Nick Melvoin said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time…”
Advocates, parents, and even students have spent the last year lobbying for greater tech restrictions following the passing of a 2025 bell-to-bell cellphone ban restricting the use of personal devices during school hours. Schools Beyond Screens, a national classroom tech safety coalition founded by LAUSD parents and teachers, helped craft the resolution in collaboration with board members and co-sponsors Melvoin, Karla Griego, Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Jerry Yang, Kelly Gonez, and Rocío Rivas.
“Now is the time for a safe and science-backed approach to classroom technology, one that is not guided by Big Tech talking points like screen value over screen time,” the organization wrote in a press release following the decision.
“There is much work to be done, and this is only the beginning, but today, we are proud, grateful, and – for the first time in a long time – hopeful. Our kids may yet have the kind of public education that they deserve — one that is proven effective and free of undue digital distraction, harmful content, and corporate exploitation.”
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The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
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Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
A compact speaker with a scratch-resistant aluminum shell is exactly what we should be packing on adventures. With an attached carabiner, the B&O Explore speaker is designed to clip onto your backpack when you hit the trail. Or you can utilize the rubber base to set it on a rock or even in the sand. It’s both waterproof and dustproof, adding to the durability.
Bang & Olufsen notes this model gets up to 27 hours of playtime before it needs to recharge. It weighs under 1.5 pounds, so it won’t add much bulk to your gear. It takes about two hours to recharge the Beosound Explore.
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Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Apples excellent AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale for just $200 — a $50 savings
Red Bulls' struggling defense clashes with woeful D.C. offense
