Granola for Russ

Being a child of the sixties Granola was ubiquitous in our house. Never was it a homemade treat, but the cereal brand, 100% Natural was a favorite of my mother. I am certain there were no calorie count labels on the box, because if there was she would have stopped purchasing right away. My mother loved anything with nuts. We used to joke that she could eat a fruit cake clean of the nuts leaving it fully intact looking more like a squared log of Swiss cheese.

This week Russ saw an Alton Brown You Tube where he was making a slightly healthier granola. The healthier part is that it did not include butter, but that is where healthy stopped. Since Russ lives on kale and has given up meat, I thought making this granola was something he deserved, especially after a few days of soft food due to oral surgery.

It is easy to make, but does take some time as you must cook it very low for two hours, stirring every fifteen minutes. I would say this is worth it.

This is Alton’s recipe as I adjusted it

Preheat the oven to 250°

3 c. Rolled oats

1 c. Slivered almonds

1 1/4 c. Pecans roughly chopped

6 T. Brown sugar

6 T. Pumpkin seeds

1 c. Unsweetened coconuts

3 T. Flax seeds

1/2 T. Salt

Mix these all together in bowl.

In a heat proof measuring cup.

2 T. Coconut oil. Put in cup and microwave it just until it melts

Add

2 T. Grapeseed oil

1/3. Cup maple syrup

Pour the liquid into the dry and mix well.

Spread the granola on a half sheet pan and place in oven. Every 15 minutes stir it well and cook for a total of 2 hours. Let cool.

Add

3/4 of a cup of both dried cranberries and dried blueberries.

Will keep in a jar for a month if you don’t eat it all before that.