Friday, March 6, 2009

Granola



This is a vegetarian dish for everybody.  The best part about it is if you don't like something then you get to leave it out.  Ms. gorgeous is actually the Granola maker of the family.  She learned to make it from her mother.  

Three reasons to make your own granola.

1)  It is cheaper or close to the same price as cereal.
2) You know exactly what is being put into it.  Look at the back of a cereal box sometime and see how many ingredients you do not know or understand.
3) You get to customize it for your own tastes.

Basic idea, get some oats (not quick oats) from any grocery store and throw them in a bowl. Whole foods sells it in bulk for $1.39 a pound.  Then add whatever sounds like it will taste great, some combination of dried and wet ingredients.

Dried cocunut, raisins, craisins, figs, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, apricots, cinnamon, milled flaxseed, anything. A quick note about the last two - Great for your health, and if you add flaxseed make sure it is milled.  Unmilled flaxseed just runs right through your body so the health benefits are lost.  Also, if you do not like flaxseed, who cares, all the other flavors dominate the taste and you get the health benefits.

Maple syrup (the real stuff) and honey are key for the wet ingredients.  Add one or both.

After throwing all the stuff into a bowl, stir it up so that it well mixed.  Spread it out on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at between 250-300.  It is hard to mess this up unless overcooked.  Every ten minutes or so, re-stir the granola so that it gets heated evenly.

Let is sit, and enjoy your homemade granola for a week before it is time to make more that will be completely different from the previous batch.  

1 comment:

  1. i first started making granola when i read this other blog post:
    http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/03/all-we-ever-really-want-to-do.html

    now, i make granola all the time and actually i have made granola for gorgeous in the past.

    my favorite variations on the above recipe are:
    1. cranberries and dark chocolate
    2. green raisins and cinnamon

    also, i always add coconut and a small amount of vanilla to every batch. the browned coconut adds a particularly subtle but essential texture.

    you can also mix granola with pumpkin butter which is truly delicious. i use this pumpkin butter recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/10/pumpkin-butter-and-pepita-granola/

    in short granola=awesome.

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