Homemade Granola...and Granola Butter???

 

Are you a creature of habit when it comes to what you eat?

I am, sort of...

 I have oatmeal every morning for breakfast, in winter, 

and cold cereal in summer.

90% of the time, my lunch is yogurt and granola.

The other 10%, it's either avocado toast, or jelly beans.
Don't judge :)

I wish I could be as disciplined for dinner as I am for breakfast and lunch 
(except for those occasional jelly bean benders),

which is why this cracked me up when I saw it on Facebook.

Source Unknown

Up until the last few months, 

I was the only granola-eater in the family, until one day, 
when Junior Goo Shoes looked at my bowl of yogurt and granola, and said, 

"What IS that? It looks disgusting."

Knowing that the mere suggestion to try it would guarantee the opposite result,

I kept my mouth shut...in between spoonfuls, that is. 

Not a half-hour later, JGS was sitting at the table

eating a bowl of that "disgusting" concoction.

"This is a-MAY-zing! 

From that moment forward, I couldn't keep enough granola in the house.
It was gone faster than a toupee in a wind storm.

He was eating it morning, noon and night. 

Making up for lost time, I suppose..

I was going granola-broke.

Enter my friend, B., to save the day, when she came to visit back in December.

Guess what she brought me?
 Homemade granola, along with the recipe,

which she calls, "Sort of" Mark Bittman's Granola.

This was a win-win, since I love both granola, and Mark Bittman's recipes
(remember this awesome tart?).
It's the perfect solution for ensuring that granola is
in the house at all times,
and, it's healthier than anything I've been buying at the store.
Cheaper, too. 
Let's make that a "Win" to the fifth power!

Speaking of granola -- this conversation JUST HAPPENED.
It is 100% true, I pinky swear.
Mr. Goo Shoes just told me we need more "granola butter."

Huh?

He speaks Brooklyn-ese, and I have to work hard sometimes 
to figure out what he means.

"Granola butter... there's none left."

Ohhhhhh....CANOLA butter!
Yikes. 

Source

Anyway, back to the granola...
I've made it a few times...I don't think I will ever stop making it. 
Ev-uh.

It's so E.A.S.Y.
I tried to time it for you, 
but dropping the oatmeal all over the floor, 
and trying to get to it before the dog did, set me back a few minutes. 

Let's call it 5-10 minutes to measure and mix everything together...

and spread it evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.  

The browner it gets, the crunchier it is.
The hardest part is making sure it doesn't burn. 
The first time I made it, it did come out a little overdone,
but it still tasted great.
I find that stirring it after the first 10 minutes, 
and again in another 10 minutes, and then taking it out after another 5 minutes, helps to keep it from burning.

You can use either honey or maple syrup as your sweetener,
but I definitely prefer the syrup.

The nice thing is that you can vary the ingredients to your liking.
 Oh, and it smells H*E*A*V*E*N*L*Y* when it is baking!

Homemade Granola

(Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman's original recipe, here)

All measurements are approximate, and ingredients can be varied as you like.

3 cups whole oats (not quick-cooking or instant)

1/4 cup white sesame seeds

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup flaked coconut

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1 heaping tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 - 1 cup maple syrup or honey

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Spread over rimmed cookie sheet line with parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil.

Check after 10 minutes, and mix.

Check again after 10 minutes, and mix. 
Remove from oven after another five minutes, baking for about 25 minutes (all ovens vary, so times are approximate).

Cool on a rack, stirring occasionally.  

If adding dried fruit, wait until cooled.

When cool, place in airtight container and store in refrigerator, indefinitely. 

I can't seem to keep my hands out of the canola granola jar.

At least, when it's empty, I can whip up a batch in no time.  

 

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