Homemade Granola
never ever ever ever buy granola again
I’ve mentioned before that we’re big on breakfast around here. Not because I especially like breakfast, but because my husband grew up in the kind of classic American household where one of the fundamental, sacrosanct pillars of daily life was that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
I’ve never really believed that, but I’m grateful to live with someone who does. While I’m usually the one making dinner, he’s often up before us to make everyone a hot breakfast. During the crush of the week, it’s eggs or oatmeal (his secret is a big dash of salt) and on the weekends, he’ll turns to homemade bagels, his mother’s scone recipe, or her fluffy pancakes. I can’t really imagine starting the day that much energy. I’ve been known to make an American-style coffee cake or lemon loaf and have it for breakfast the next day, but that’s as far as I’d go. Until I discovered how breezy it is to make granola.
We all love granola — who doesn’t? — but I didn’t make it regularly because the only recipe I’d ever followed was Eric’s, a high-protein, high-effort, high-volume number, with an endless ingredients list and equally endless clean up. Why? Because my husband, despite my best efforts at playing it cool, often eats based not on pleasure but on nutritional content. And for years, protein was his thing. (Don’t ask me how his mum’s scones fit into the picture, but I’m glad they do.)
Finally, a few years ago, after buying too many delicious but very expensive, very tiny bags of granola and watching my children hoover them down in minutes, I decided to make my own but to do it my way. And I learned that granola is an absolute piece of cake.
This recipe — if you can even call it that — is easy, delicious, clumpy, crunchy, sweet or nutty as you want it. Don’t like raisins? Don’t add raisins. Love dried mango in your breakfast bowl? Done! Homemade granola is straightforward, effortless, inexpensive and, even better, can be made in bulk in advance so you don’t need boundless morning energy to enjoy what some call the most important meal of the day.
GRANOLA
This takes 35 mins start to finish and uses just one bowl. It’s also easily fiddled with: just add what you like: chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit, goji berries, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, whatever! (If you like your granola with chocolate chips, make sure you add them after it’s completely cooked and cooled.) These quantities makes enough to fill one of those really large (57 fl. oz.) jars and keeps for months, but feel free to double or triple or mess with it!
