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Sunday, February 28, 2010

make your own granola


homemade granola is one of the best treats ever, and surprisingly easy.
it takes a little effort to gather all of the ingredients, but if you have a decent bulk section at your local grocery store you'll be fine. sometimes  i will be surprised by how many of the ingredients i already have sitting on my shelf, and can throw together an impromptu batch without having to make a trip to the store. my favorite recipes are ones that are flexible, and can be easily customized to your tastes, whims, and what you have in the cupboards. granola is one of those recipes. you can really push the envelope with this recipe, make it how you like it! you could use any kind of dried fruit, nuts, or cereal grains. i think it would be good with dried mangoes and crystallized ginger.
this goes great with yogurt, milk, fresh fruit, and as a snack right out of the jar. the original recipe came from my boyfriend abram's mom, cindy lou, who made it regularly when he was a kid. i suggest doubling or tripling the recipe if you have granola lovers in your house.

granola

1 cup oats (can also use rye or wheat flakes)
1/3 cup wheat germ or ground flax or both
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. shredded coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins 
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp warm water
4 tbsp honey, rice syrup or agave
3 tbsp mild favored oil (i use walnut oil)
1 tbsp vanilla

preheat the oven to 350.

mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 

in a seperate bowl stir the warm water and honey together, and then mix in the oil and vanilla.do your best to evenly coat the dry ingredients with the wet mixture. use your hands to mix it all up in a bowl. the mixture should be sticky and moist. (i like to taste it at this point and gauge if it needs a little more sweetener.)























spread the granola out onto a baking sheet, if you made more than one batch you will need two baking sheets or to bake separate batches.
bake for 10 minutes, then pull pan out and stir. bake for another 5 minutes and stir again. bake for another 5 minutes if needed. it is easy to over-bake granola so I tend to take it out early rather than have it turn out too crispy.


 store in an airtight container for up to a month.


1 comment:

Heather Minowa said...

YUM!!! Mel I hope your well..this blog rocks!! love Star