Granola

You won't hate me if I say I like raisins, will you? . . . .

FINE. I DIDN'T NEED YOUR FRIENDSHIP ANYWAY. TAKE YOUR RAISIN-LESS EXISTENCE AND TAKE A HIKE.

Please, come back. I didn't mean it. I say crazy things when I'm hopped up on raisins. They're powerfully sweet, aren't they? I like them because they remind me of childhood. In school, they'd give us those little red Sun Maid cartons in order to give kids a "healthy" option when snacktime came. This meant that I was always lousy with raisins, because, believe it or not, there are a lot of kids willing to give up their raisins to the crazy raisin-eating kid with stirrup pants and really wide eyes from all the sugary dried grapes she's just ingested.

This is all a minor anecdote that is meant to explain why I put raisins in the granola. You certainly are under no obligation to do so, but I recommend it. You can use any dried fruit you want--cranberries, apple slices, mango, currants, blueberries, banana chips. Heck, you can even skip the fruit, if that's not your thing. Add chocolate chips instead. That's the same, health-wise, right?

For this recipe, I use a great raisin medley from the grocery store that has great big purple raisins, golden sultanas, and a couple other varieties. I've definitely graduated from those small purple sugar pills in the tiny red cartons.

Yes, ENOUGH WITH THE RAISINS ALREADY. NO ONE CARES. I get it. Moving on . . .


Granola. You eat it, yes? If so, maybe you should try making your own. It's really simple to make and you can customize it with whatever dried fruit, nut, and spice combination you want. I chose to make walnut/almond/raisin/coconut/orange zest/cinnamon/vanilla granola.

You know what though? You could do:

• walnut/pecan/apple/nutmeg/cinnamon
• cashew/almond/coconut/mango/ginger/cardamom
• almond/flax seed/cranberry/blueberry/vanilla
• almond/pecan/date/currant/lemon zest
• walnut/pumpkin seed/banana chip/raisin
• cashew/pecan/cherry/lemon zest/vanilla
• almond//cherry/cocoa nib/cocoa powder/cinnamon/cayenne pepper

I would find all of these to be delicious combinations. I could even see my way clear to approving the addition of chocolate chips to any of these too. If you want to eat fresh fruit with your granola, you might forgo adding dried fruit to the granola.

The only essential ingredient is oats and, if you want to make this a gluten-free recipe, you can find gluten-free oats to use. I know there are a million granola recipes out there and if this granola recipe doesn't strike a chord with you, I understand. I find it to be a nice, versatile base recipe and I think it's a good first recipe to try.

Just mix the dry ingredients.

Stir up the wet ingredients and the sugar.

Mix them together.

Spread on a pan and bake for 45-60 minutes.

I think I may have overbaked mine a little (at 60 minutes) because some of the nuts had kind of a burned taste to them. :(

If you're looking for something a little more adventurous, why not try seedy, nutty hippie granola? I love the addition of quinoa in granola. It's my favorite.

Whatever you do, you want your granola to be something you don't mind eating every day for as long as you have it. This recipe makes a good half-gallon of granola, so if you don't like to commit to more than a week's worth of granola, it's probably a good idea to make only half this recipe.

Look at all that wholesome goodness!

Get crunchy, kids! Make your own granola.

Granola
(makes about half a gallon)

Preheat the oven to 250F. In a large bowl, mix up 3 cups rolled oats, 1 cup roughly chopped or slivered almonds, 1 cup walnuts (broken in half), 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, 2 tsp cinnamon, the zest of one orange, and 1/2 tsp salt. In a smaller bowl, stir together 1/3 cup melted coconut (or vegetable) oil, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 tbsp vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients in the dry and make sure all the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated.

Spread the granola onto a large baking sheet. Put it in the oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring the granola every 15 minutes in order to ensure even baking. Set the granola (which should be browned and crispy--but not too crispy) on the counter to cool, and then mix in 1 to 1 1/2 cups raisins. Wait until the granola is completely cool before putting it away in a container. I like to eat granola with yogurt (or milk, if you've run out of yogurt). Sometimes, I drizzle a little honey or maple syrup and add frozen blueberries (that have thawed) over top. I'm such a rebel.