The kitchen, and the rest of the house, managed to get back down to a reasonable tempurature this weekend. We opened the windows, gave the AC a break (and traded in my shorts for pants).

This morning for breakfast I attempted a frittata. Well intentioned, but I overcooked it, and it was tolerable at best. So, while things were still relatively cool, and more importantly, not humid, I dragged out more of my bounty from last week’s excursion to Whole Foods. Granola was on the menu, and I wasn’t going to mess that up.

Sweetie joined me in the kitchen to “help.” She counted off the cups of oats – and then asked of every ingredient – “Should I try that?”

She liked the almonds, dates and wheat germ as-is. Apparently, though, the rolled oats “needs salt,” and the shredded coconut “needs celery.”

An hour and a half later, I had plenty of granola (22 cup’s worth) – should last a little while (If I can keep someone out of it). It seemed to cool/dry up nicely and didn’t get soft or worse, like it surely would have had I attempted this on a more humid day.

I’ve tried several versions of granola over the years. The first recipe I tried, probably the healthiest, has always been my favorite. Apple juice concentrate replaced any sugar, honey, maple syrup and most of the oil in other versions I’ve found/tried.

Unfortunately, in the past year I misplaced that recipe. I thought I got it from one of my Mom’s cookbooks, but, still, I couldn’t find it. Yet a search of the internet, plus remembering key amounts of certain ingredients, found one that was close. So I took that one and adapted it to more closely resemble my older recipe. Viola, a new favorite was born…. thanks to the addition of brown sugar. (just like I knew it would.)

In large bowl combine:

  • 7 cups of Rolled oats
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 cup almonds

In small bowl combine:

  • 1/2 cup veg oil
  • 1 cup applejuice concentrate, thawed
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (opt)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  1. Mix wet with dry,
  2. spread out on baking sheets,
  3. bake in 325 degree oven for 90 min.
  4. Stir every 30 minutes, adjust temp if browning too quickly.
  5. Sprinkle 1 cup dates, chopped, on granola for last 20 min. of cooking.
  6. Cool, store in airtight container

I generally make a double batch, (I’d make more, but it already maxes out my biggest bowl) and substitute almonds for the sesame seeds if I’m out. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup boiling water (and 1/4 cup brown sugar) if you don’t have any apple juice concentrate. Oh, and the celery, that’s optional, but not recommended.