Granola Your Way

My husband is amazed at all the "junk" e-mail I recieve daily. I admit I do sign up for a lot of newsletters. Some I skim and delete, others I delete pretty much right away, but there are a few of my favorites where I take the time to really read. Culinate and Cookus Interruptus are two that fall in the later category.

Culinate recently highlighted Vanessa Barrington's book DIY Delicious with a fun recipe, Granola Your Way. I love how it was laid out giving the cook the power to be creative and experiment with the ingredients. I am sharing it as 1) I love homemade granola and 2) after many years of following recipes to a T, I am finally enjoying making up my own recipes, adjusting recipes and have accepted that failing is learning. If you still follow recipes to a T, get creative and make some delicious granola!

Granola Your Way from Vanessa Barrington

Ingredients

1/3 to 1/2 Cup fat (butter, coconut oil, olive oil)

1/3 cup Sweetener agave syrup, honey, maple syrup (1/2) or brown sugar (1/2)

Flavorings vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom

4 cups flaked grains (oats, kamut, triticale, spelt, rye)

Mix-ins unsweetened coconut, wheat germ

Seeds pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flax, chia

2 cups Nuts (about 8 ounces) lightly chopped (almonds, pecans, walnuts)

1 cup unsulfured and evenly chopped dried fruit (apples, pears, peaches, plums, cranberries, currants, raisins,

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter (or, if using oil, warm it) and add the sweetener along with the vanilla, cinnamon, or other spices you’re using. (If using honey, see the variation.)

3.In a large bowl, combine the flaked grains, mix-ins, seeds, and nuts. Toss to mix.

4.Pour the warmed butter or oil and sweetener over the dry ingredients and toss with a large spoon or spatula until evenly and lightly coated.

5.Transfer the mixture to a large baking sheet (you may need to use two baking sheets) and spread it out evenly in a thin layer.

6.Bake until evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stop halfway through and stir the ingredients so that they brown evenly.

7.Remove from the oven, add the dried fruit, and toss to combine. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.

8.Store at room temperature in an airtight container. The granola will stay fresh for up to 3 weeks, stored properly. I store mine in mason jars on the counter. It looks nice and keeps the granola fresh and handy.

Notes

Variation: If using honey, there’s no need to heat the oil first, but you still need to melt the butter (if using). Just whisk the fat together with the vanilla or other spices and pour it over the flakes, nuts, and extras, and toss and bake as directed. When you remove the granola from the oven, add the dried fruit, and drizzle the honey over it while still warm. Toss to coat, and cool and store as directed.

Camas Health Fair

It was a beautiful day for the Camas Health Fair, this past Saturday, that was held in conjuction with the Camas Plant and Garden Fair. Thank you to those of you who stopped by my booth. It is always good to see old friends and meet some new ones. If you are considering hosting a workshop for your friends and family, please contact me if you have any questions.

I had one friend come by and the discussion of breakfast came up. She told me her typical breakfast is cereal ranging from Total to Captain Crunch. A simple remedy to store bought breakfast cereals (which either have too much sugar or the vitamins are fortified, i.e. synthetic versions of the real vitamns stripped from the grain to prolong shelf life) is making your own granola.

Granola is made by mixing oats with a combination of seeds and nuts, and sometimes coconut, then stirred with a sweetner and oil. Once this mixture is baked in the oven at a low temperature you can mix in a variety of dried fruits. They are endless combinations and variations which is why it is so much fun to make your granola. Your kids will love it! Here is a basic recipe to get you started:

Hollyhock Granola

6 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup sunflower or safflower oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
2. In a sacuepan, heat the oil and the honey at low heat until the honey melts. Don't allow the honey and oil to boil. Take the honey and oil off the stove and add the vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss them well until the granola is shiny and well coated.
3. Spread the mixture onto 2 baking sheets and bake until golden, stirring every 20 minutes. It takes about an hour to bake at 250 degrees and less time a a higher heat. The granola may still be slightly soft when it comes out of the oen but it will crisp up as it cools. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Variations - try different combinations of the following ingredients:
Seeds: Flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame
Nuts: Almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts
Sweetners: Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar
Spices and Flavorings: Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, orange zest
Dried Fruit: Apricots, cherries, cranberries, raisins, pears and/or prunes - cut larger fruit into bite-size pieces