Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Granola, the quintessential hippie food

I had never made granola before tonight, which might be surprising to some of you (I know it was to me!) Now, I can't believe I ever pay for the stuff! It's super easy to make, and you can combine some of the most awesome ingredients. I went pretty tame with my first batch, and I used, to some extent, this recipe. It turned out delicious. It's also super healthy, and vegan! Here's how I tweaked the recipe:

Organic Vegan Cinnamon Maple Pear Granola
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2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup rolled kamut (has more protein than oats, and is crunchier)
1 cup raw almonds
A few pinches of sea salt
1 tbsp chia seeds (high in omega 3s & no phytoestrogen weirdness, hooray!)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup dry shredded coconut (NOT sweetened!)
1/2 tbsp ceylon "true" cinnamon (I love cinnamon, so I use a lot, adjust as you like it)

Mix the above together, then (in a separate bowl) mix together 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or you could use brown rice syrup, agave or honey), and 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (warmed if solid). Pour the wet mixture over the dry, and stir it all up.

Spread onto one fairly large baking sheet (12x17 is what I used) and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven & stir the granola well, then bake another 10ish minutes. Be sure to watch the granola during the last 10 minutes as it can burn easily! Mine "toasted" a bit, and while it's still tasty, I'm sure it could have used slightly less time in the oven.

Once the granola is out of the oven, carefully remove from pan and place into a pyrex (or similar) container for storage, then stir in 2/3 cup chopped dried bartlett pears (chop them to small bits).

I think my next granola might be a coconut, mango and cashew granola sweetened with agave. I also have plans for a fig, sesame and pistachio granola sweetened with honey. Yum! I'll post those recipes once I've worked them through. :)

Enjoy!
Carrie

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