Granola Recipe

Nolie's school had a fundraiser at Applebee's yesterday morning called the "Sweetheart Breakfast." It probably should have been called the "Clogged Heart Valve Breakfast." For $7 per person, you could go to the restaurant and eat as many pancakes and sausages as you wanted, and drink as much Tang-like orange juice and coffee as you wanted.

It was supremely gross.

I don't usually eat pancakes for breakfast because you might as well shoot me up with qualudes and put me into a medical coma. They literally suck the life out of me. I was worthless for half the day, and was only roused from my listlessness by a kick-ass Nia jam (more on that later). But I do love breakfast. So...



Now this, on the other hand, I can get behind. I lerrrrrrve this granola recipe, adapted from the Working Parents' Cookbook (they make theirs with coconut, which makes me retch, so I add in other nuts and seeds instead):

Preheat over to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup raisins and 1/3 cup water. Let sit for about 10 minutes, or until the raisins are all plump.

In a large bowl, combine 4 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup sesame seeds, about 1/2 cup nuts of your choice (I like pecans, but walnuts or almonds would also be yummy), and 1/4 cup other seeds or nuts (I used flax seeds) of your choice. Mix in 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Pour in 1/2 cup canola oil (you can also use plain veggie oil, but I did notice an improvement in taste using the canola). Then mix in 1/2 cup honey (use the same measuring cup and the honey will slide right out).

Mix in the raisins and any remaining liquid. Once everything is nice and combined, you can spread the whole shebang out over a cookie sheet (I sprayed mine first with Pam for easier clean-up). Bake for about 35 minutes.

When it comes out, it will be soft, so let it sit until totally cool and it will harden up. Store it. Eat it. Love it. You can thank me later.

This might be my favorite thing to eat for breakfast, mixed in with some raisin bran. Yum. And it won't suck the life force out of you.