Goodness gracious, Granola!

So, we've been slothful bloggers (so much so that a more appropriate title for this blog might be, the illiterate artichoke) but with the earth awakening under our feet and pollen flying through the air, we can't help the inclination to join the rabbits and squirrels outside in their frenzied springtime dance as our thoughts (and hands) return to the garden. Keep checking back for posts involving dirt. I promise, they're germinating. In the meantime, this one is mostly about oats.

It's been a long winter and, now that it's ending, friends and family have been asking me, "Kate, how did you survive winter in New England?" Well, I had some really good training living in Wisconsin for awhile, but I don't want to overemphasize that and have you all thinking the only way to condition yourself for winter is to go spend a few years living under an avalanche. Let me share with you the real survival secret:

Granola.


It's so simple, so versatile, so forgiving and, most importantly, so yummy! I haven't used that word much since the age of 6* but there really is no other word that so effectively describes this recipe.

Here are the best times to eat granola: when living under an avalanche, for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, for snacks (preferably every 1-7 minutes), for desert, at cocktail parties, picnics, office luncheons, cinco de mayo and st patrick's day celebrations, family gatherings, during air travel (do you trust those pretzels, really?), for hangovers, holidays and to fuel really intense tilling or weeding sessions (see how I'm making this relevant to our theme!).

Granola can also be useful when finding lost things for example: pets, hikers, children, your car keys.

Here are the best ways to eat granola: by the spoonful, by the handful, by the shovelful.

Granola goes with anything†. I eat it mostly with yoguart, fresh fruit, berries, ice cream, and in salads but to truly appreciate the wonder of it's unparalleled texture and taste, eat it alone. I'm starting to sound crazy now, no? I should put a warning at the top of this entry regarding the obsessive nature of my passion for granola. Ok, for those brave and hungry souls who have read this far, follow me onward to:

The Recipe.
5 c. oats (or bran can be good, too)
1 c. grape nuts cereal
1 c. flaxseed (this is ESSENTIAL and I cannot emphasize that enough. It is also healthy so just do it.)
1 c. sliced almonds (or slivered or any other type of nut but I adore almonds and I'm the one writing the recipe.)

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey (or maple syrup. If you opt for the syrup, use the real deal, folks.)
1/2 c. apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Mix the dry stuff.
Then mix the wet/sugary stuff.
Then coat the dry stuff with the wet stuff.

Then spread on a cookie sheet (or two...you'll have a lot of granola) and bake at 250 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The key is to take it out every 10 min and flip the mixture so it dries evenly. I use a spatula for this but usually manage to scatter a bit of granola all over the counter where I do the flipping. Have a broom on hand. There's no perfect solution. Food is a messy business from start to finish. And it should be. If you have an issue with this, I don't know what I can write to comfort you. I don't like to lie.


FINALLY: Blend in 2-3 cups of something fun. My favorite is dried cranberries but here are other possibilities: dried figs (chop them, please), dried cherries, apricots, coconut flakes, dates, papaya, pineapple, prunes (feel free to chime in with anything else you've tried that worked). Getting overwhelmed with the possibilities? Try a few things. I'm telling you, it's really hard to destroy the glory of granola.

Finally FINALLY: Store it and eat it. It may look like you have too much but let me tell you something that I know to be true: there is no such thing as too much granola.



Bon crunching!
Kate



*At which time it was exclusively used to refer to ice cream, toast with cinnamon sugar and occasionally spaghetti. I'm not proud of that so I don't know why I'm being so open about this. It must be the pollen settling into my brain.

†If made correctly, food will always taste better with granola.