Granola

 

Since I started contributing to this blog there has been one glaring habit that I realize about my cooking... I do not measure anything. I just add ingredients until it looks right. So I'm going to post a recipe for granola that was the inspiration for the granola that I made over the weekend.

From the book: Recipes for a Small Planet

1/2 Cup honey
1/2 Cup oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sesame seeds
1 Cup soy grits
1 Cup wheat germ
2 C unsweetened coconut, grated
7 C rolled oats

This recipe calls for heating up the oil, honey and vanilla in a large saucepan or dutch oven then baking at 350 for 15 minutes. I don't do that. I did something like this:

6 Cups oats
about 1/3 Cup sesame seeds
about 1/3 Cup sunflower seeds
about 1 Cup raisins
about 1/3 Cup milled flaxseed
about 1/3 Cup honey
about 1/2 Cup brown sugar (I ran out of honey in the middle of this recipe)
about 1/3 Cup grated coconut
about 1 Cup of chopped walnuts
a bunch of vanilla (maybe 6 or 7 Tablespoons? that's totally a guess)
and enough olive oil to lightly coat the batch

I baked my granola in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or so, stopping to stir the mixture every 7 to 10 minutes. This makes a huge batch. I fill up a one gallon container with a nice tight lid and we munch on it for breakfast, as a snack or use as toppings for desserts and muffins. I'll try to do a better job of making notes and keeping track of what I'm actually throwing in there in the future. I said try. No promises.