Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Crunchy Granola

Making granola is one of the easiest things to prepare and it may even qualify as baking. Wonderful smells emanate from the kitchen. And it's versatile: you can eat it right out of the bag, you can eat it like cereal, you can sprinkle it on yogurt or anything else that needs a crunch; the possibilites are nearly endless.

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 tsp salt
a sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp Maple syrup
3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients.
Combine.
Let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet.
Bake for about 45 -55 minutes, turning and stirring a few times in the middle.
It's done when it's golden brown and dry.
Cool completely.
You can add dried fruit at this point if you like.
Store in an airtight container.

I've been using this recipe since before and it needs to be localized. So far, only the water and the maple syrup are local. The water comes from my well, so that's definitely local.

The maple syrup comes from the Sisters (the Community of the Holy Spirit, Bluestone Farm, Brewster, NY --20 driving miles from here). It is made with, as they say, nothing but sap, fire, and love.

Between Terri's sprouts and my granola, I'm feeling a bit anachronistic. Think I'll go to a peace rally!

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