Hello Old Friend

My house smells of cinnamon, and on such a rainy, dreary day, I can't think of anything better to do than make granola.  Okay, I could think of a few things better, but we have to eat, and the granola doesn't make itself, at least not my granola.  I love to tell Nate this when he is wolfing down a whole pan of brownies at once or eating 4 bowls of stew.  I try to make enough for two meals or even enough to last more than a day, but that doesn't always happen.  I say, "Chill, I didn't intend for you to eat the whole pan of brownies at once.  They didn't make themselves."  His response is, "The greenhouse didn't put itself together either, did it?"  Ha!  Ha!  If he weren't so witty, I could just smack him sometimes.  Honestly, I never smack him, but maybe I should start.

I digress.  After a long hiatus from granola making, and I'm not really sure why I got off track, it has come back into my life.  I thought I would share my recipe.  It's super simple and versatile.

Granola

-4 cups of old-fashioned oats, or any combination of nuts, seeds, or oats you want.  I always use at least 2-3 cups of oats and then whatever I have on hand, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, flax seed.  Just make sure you don't go over 4 cups because this ratio works well with the honey coating.
-1 cup shredded coconut
-2 tsp of cinnamon, or in my case, a good sprinkle over the oat mixture
-dash of salt
Mix all of this together in a large bowl.

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
Heat this on medium, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour mixture into a single layer in a baking pan.  I use a 12x18 pan, which works perfectly, but if you don't have a pan that large, you cold divide it into two pans.  I also line my pan with parchment paper, which keeps it from sticking.

Bake at 325 for approximately 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until it takes on a light golden brown.  Occasionally stir as it cools and break apart any large chunks.  Once it's cooled, add any dried fruit you like.  Today, I used figs I dried this past summer.

Store it in a pretty glass container and enjoy!

It's just sweet enough and has a nice, almost crunchy coating.  Plus, it doesn't get soggy in milk, my pet peeve for granola.

Happy homesteading,

Candace