Crunchy

In the past 2 years, I've made my own bread and my own yogurt, attempted a garden, and focused on local food and real food as much as possible. It's shocking that in my quest to be "crunchy" (as Ross says) I haven't actually made my own granola.  Until today!  I based mine off of this recipe and even Ross loved it!

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup chopped dried dates

(I got all the ingredients at The Merc in Lawrence. If I can't have Central Market, The Merc is the next best thing. And it's a little cheaper than Whole Paycheck Whole Foods.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread out the rolled oats and oat bran evenly on two baking sheets. Toast for 5-8 minutes, or until golden.

In a small saucepot, simmer the honey and vanilla extract over low heat for five to seven minutes. In another pot, combine the apple juice and dried fruits. Simmer for about five minutes or until soft. Drain.

 

In a large bowl, combine the oat mixture and dried fruit. Stir in the warm honey and stir to coat the oat mixture as evenly as possible.

 

Spread the oat mixture evenly onto two baking sheets and bake for ten to fifteen minutes, or until golden brown, stirring every two minutes to prevent burning.

Cool granola completely and then store in an airtight container for up to one month.

Ours will not live to see September at the rate we're going!

Serving suggestion: eat it as muesli, as suggested in the same blog post I got the granola recipe from (click on the link at the beginning of the post). For one person, I mixed 1/3 cup granola, 1/3 cup plain unsweetened yogurt, 1/3 cup milk, and a drizzle of honey.

 
I let this soak in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then added a sliced pear.  YUMMY.