Granola

Before heading out on our travels to the Pacific Northwest, Orin and I decided to make a big batch of granola for the upcoming weeks on the road. Granola travels well and is the perfect breakfast when you’re on the go or even on a mountain!

Over the past two years, I have tried a few different recipes for granola. The best one by far is a simple recipe passed on to us by Orin’s mom, Ilana. The great thing about granola is that you can pick and choose what nuts or dried fruits you like to add and the basic recipe still remains the same. I like to buy most of the ingredients from the bulk foods section of Sunflower Farmers Market. Buying in bulk is often much cheaper and fresher than most pre-packaged foods.

The first step in making granola is to measure out your basic ingredient, the rolled oats, and coarsely chop the nuts you would like in your mix.

Using the meat cleaver for chopping the nuts reduces the amount of work you have to do since the weight of the cleaver will do a lot of the chopping for you. I think it's better to keep the nuts pretty coarse, so that they don’t get too dark when toasting.

Once the oats and nuts are ready, it’s time to mix your syrup. A good trick to use when mixing your syrup is to measure out the oil before the honey and swirl it in the measuring cup.

This way, when you measure out the honey, it will easily slide out of the measuring cup, saving you from a more lengthy and sticky cleanup.

Don’t quite bring the syrup to a boil before evenly pouring it over the oat a nut mixture.

Try to stir well and coat all of the oats and nuts with the liquid.

I use a large pizza pan to toast my granola, but a roasting pan(the kind you would cook a turkey in) actually works much better. I just don’t have one.

Try it for yourself. It’s really easy and much healthier than any store bought granola out there! I enjoy mine best with some yogurt and fresh fruit. It’s also very tasty with milk! On Mt Rainier, it even tasted good with powdered milk and warm water.

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Combine:
6 cups of Rolled Oats
3 cups of coarsely chopped nuts (any mixture of almonds, pecans, or walnuts will work)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Spread the mixture evenly in a roasting pan.

Mix Syrup:
1 Tbsp of vanilla
2/3 cup of water
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of honey
2 tsp of salt

Slowly warm in a saucepan over the stove. Heat until the mixture is well blended. Don’t boil! Pour the syrup evenly over the oats and nuts.

Mix well with a large spoon.

Bake initially for 15 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir well. Bake for an additional 30-40 minutes, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes. Be careful not to over toast the oats. Remove from the oven before it gets too golden brown in color. Once you remove it from the oven, it will continue to bake for a few minutes, so you don’t want to overdo it.

Let the mixture cool completely before adding your favorite dried fruits and any other ingredients your heart may desire. Be creative and try a variety of combinations to suit your tastes.