That was when I really knew I was in deep. I mean, what kind of a weirdo hippie makes her own breakfast cereal? This kind, obviously. More than that, it was the first cooking project that seemed maybe beyond my ken. Sure - I had looked at recipes and it seemed simple enough, but still. Granola? That didn't seem like something someone (like me) should just be able to make, willy-nilly.
I was wrong, of course.
And that's what I'm learning: with enough patience, nothing is necessarily out of my ability range. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means claiming to be good at everything. After all, remember this? I'm still just starting out at this cooking thing, slowly learning to experiment in the kitchen. It's a good feeling.
Unfortunately, I haven't been in the kitchen much lately. I've been swamped at work so when I get home I'm either too tired to cook or I've gone to hang out with friends. And, still being swamped, don't have much time to write this very blog post! But don't you worry, dear reader, I've still got granola for you.
Granola
3 cups rolled outs
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp mild honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I use canola)
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
pinch of salt
dash (or two) of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Combine oats, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
Warm the honey and oil together, whisking gently until the honey is loose. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir well.
Spread the mixture over a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir carefully and put back in for another 10 minutes. When done, remove and stir again. Let cool.
Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.
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I make my own granola too (being entitled as I live on a small hippy island.) but I havent' added chocolate chips to it before. Do they melt when you mix them in after you bake them?
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!
Amanda, thanks for stopping by! The chocolate bits do melt a little when you mix them in, making for some lovely granola clusters.
ReplyDeleteDear Danielle, Thanks to you I have just made granola for the first time ever. Hard to believe it took me that long when I was a member of the first "natural foods" eating co-op at Oberlin College in 1971-72; but I wasn't on the granola crew ;-). I don't eat that much granola because I always find it too sweet, except for the fabulous maple syrup sweetened yoga from Uwharrie Farms here. Alas, they stopped making and selling it over a year ago, and the other granolas at Deep Roots taste either stale (I have a sensitive palate - I'm the person who can always taste that the orange juice or butter has gone bad two days before everyone else) or candyish to me. But I am trying to eat lots of oats as middle-aged types are supposed to do (good for cholesterol), plus they are supposed to be calming, plus I like them and they are good complex carbs. So I got sick of oatmeal every day and went back to making the fabulous oatmeal pancakes recipe from _Recipes for a Small Planet_ (speaking of 1970s holdovers) and after having two delicious pancakes for breakfast today I thought, hmmm, maybe I could make granola too, and remembered you had a recipe.
ReplyDeleteI changed the recipe because I didn't want chocolate for breakfast (sounds great for a snack though) and also because I had to use what was in the house. Used the same proportions of oats to honey and oil as you, which was the part I was worried about, but my recipe included: organic thick cut rolled oats (3 cups like you); more almonds than you had used(I figured since I was leaving out the chocolate I had to compensate, and also the almonds are good protein)and more cinnamon than you used; some sesame seeds I had in the fridge and a few leftover flax seeds; raisins. No sugar. Instead of honey I used agave syrup and like you I used canola oil. The granola is cooling on the counter right now but I snitched a bit, warm, and it's good! So thanks. I'm collecting (not in a systematic way) "Recipes for the Recession" since a lot of us are mostly eating at home and trying to eat healthy food and eat well, just like you.
Jane, I'm so glad you were able to use this recipe and that it worked out so well!
ReplyDelete