Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Recipe: Granola

Granola has always been tops for me when it comes to breakfast cereals.  My parents were never big on sugar cereals, so at an early age I was well acquainted with a range of whole wheat cereals, oatmeal, Grape-nuts, and granolas, my favorite being the Harvest Crunch with dried apple.  Even better is making your own, picking your own mix of grains, fruits and nuts.  You also have control over what gets added to your mix to make sure it's actually as healthy for you as it's supposed to be.  A shocking number of store bought granolas are really high in sugar content.  Even scarier is that sometimes you need to search hard for a brand that does not use hydrogenated fat.  Not to get into it too much here, but give me full-fat butter and animal fats before that manufactured stuff - your body just does not know what to do with it.  Anyway, get some milk ready and let's make some cereal.

You will need:  

1L / 1qt                oats
1L / 1qt                mixed nuts - almonds
                                               - hazelnuts 
                                               - pecans
                                               - walnuts
                                               - large flake coconut
                                               - etc.
500ml / 2C           mixed dry fruits - cranberries
                                                        - blueberries
                                                        - apples
                                                        - raisins
                                                        - etc.
375ml /1.5C         unsalted butter
375ml / 1.5C        brown sugar or honey


Method:

 - preheat the oven to 300F / 149C
 - if you like, roughly chop the larger nuts
 - melt the butter together with the brown sugar (or honey)
 - mix all the nuts with the oats (leave the fruit out)
 - toss the mix with the sweetened butter
 - spread the mix out on paper lined sheet pans and toast until golden, stirring occasionally
 - remove from the oven and cool completely
 - add the mixed fruit and mix well
 - store in airtight containers 
 - eat at will

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