Superfood Granola

I’ve been intending to make granola for weeks, to have something to snack on and occasionally deviate from breakfast smoothies. Granola requires a chunk of time and undivided attention. Divide it, and your granola can be ruined. I sometimes let my oven timer go for a few moments or longer if I’m in the middle of something. Attention divided. And so, with nothing else to distract me, Sunday morning seemed like the ideal time to get to it. Furthermore, my granola ingredients seemed to tie in with Meghan’s 5 Days Healing with Superfoods challenge.

For my granola, as with many things that I cook and bake, I consulted a number of recipes to guide me. This article from Oregon Live has formed the base of many of my granolas. I’ve consulted Alton Brown‘s recipe on the FoodNetwork website (he’s great) and Ina Garten’s. Things I notice about different recipes: Oven temperatures, some recipes tell you to mix wet ingredients separately and then add, some have fewer ingredients, some have more. Play around. You really can’t go wrong unless you burn it.

I realize that my instructions are verbose and maybe I need to learn to separate the narrative from the recipe. Be patient.

Here’s my process:

Preheat oven to 300 (temperatures in recipes vary between 250 and 350)

To start:
Get out a big bowl. Dump in rolled oats. For this batch it was 3 cups (Garten’s calls for 2 cups).

Add:

• 1 cup shredded coconut (I used Organic Traditions brand)
• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds: This time it was slivered almonds (my usual), pecans that crumbled in my hands as they went into the bowl, crushed walnuts and cashews, also pumpkin seeds. The almonds dominated.
  …You could use flax seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, or any other seeds.
• 1/2 cup or so of unsweetened apple juice
• 1/4-1/2 cup of melted coconut oil. You know how good for you coconut oil is, right?
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant properties.
• A generous sprinkling of cinnamon
• A grinding of pink Himalyan sea salt.

Now, bake it!
Bake on two cookie sheets for 15 minutes at a time, checking and stirring after each 15 minutes. After 45 minutes check every 5 minutes. When I made it this time, at the 30 minute mark some parts looked barely cooked but a bit at the edge was burnt, possibly the result of 2 pans baking on different racks in my small oven.  I stirred the burnt stuff underneath. Sure, I could have tossed it out but I get kind of lazy when it comes to lifting my heavy stone cookie sheet.

When it’s all a golden brown transfer to a bowl and add 2 cups of mixed dried fruit, chopped if necessary. I used cranberries, cherries, chopped apricots and goji berries, and added chia seeds and cacao nibs (the last 3 are superfoods!). Any dried fruit will do. I’ve used crystalized ginger in the past. Apples would be good.*

One recipe says to add the fruit while it’s still in the pan and press down for clusters. I forgot to do that and don’t know if it works. I like clusters in my oatmeal but forget how I’ve gotten them in the past. In attempt to add clusters, after transferring the granola to a bowl I added more coconut oil (extra virgin), stirring and letting it melt into the hot mixture, then added more maple syrup. It didn’t appear to work but there were a few clusters in the final product. I’ll try something else next time.

Also, some recipes say to add the fruit after the granola has cooled, others say to add when it comes out of the oven. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Play around. Try different fruit, nuts and seeds. Try adding nutmeg or cardamom. Make it yours. Suit your style and your mood. The possibilities are endless. (Though I’m sure that Sheldon Cooper would tell me why they’re not.)

*A note if you’re in Toronto: I saw dehydrated watermelon at Essence of Life in Kensington Market last week. They’ve got all sorts of dried fruit that makes me wish for a food dehydrator, and their dried fruit is organic and free of sulfites.

Eat well, be well.