My Experiments with Granola

Let me tell you about my new find, Sprouts Farmers Market! We received a newspaper advertisement for the store and it showed really low prices for fruits and vegetables. So my husband, mother-in-law and I visited the store and I was blown away by their fresh produce section and huge collection of organic juices, nuts, lentils, flours and more. We saw that they were selling oats by weight and that they had four barrels with different varieties. We bought small quantities of two to try out and liked one of them a lot. It was similar tasting to the quick cooking Quaker Oats, but slightly smaller in size. Anyway, we went back to the store and bought about four pounds of oats for my mother-in-law to take back to India…and guess what, by the time everything else went it, there was no space for the oats. So now I am left with oats to last me a year…oh maybe not that long :-).

This recipe was adapted from the granola recipe I saw on the Martha Stewart show two days ago.

Ingredients

Oats – 1 cup

Flax seeds – 2 tbsps

Vegetable/olive oil – 1 ½-2 tbsps

Honey – 1 tbsp

Light brown sugar – 1 tbsp

Crushed cashews – 1 tbsp

Crushed almonds – 1 tbsp

Cinnamon powder – ¼ tsp

Cardamom powder (for an India twist) – ¼ tsp

Freshly grated nutmeg – a pinch

Vanilla essence (optional) – ½ tsp

Raisins – 2 tbsps

Colourful candy like M&Ms or Gems (optional)

Method

In a mixing bowl, add oil, honey and sugar and vanilla (if using) and mix well (If the honey and brown sugar are not blending in, microwave for about 30 seconds and try again). Add the oats, flax seeds, nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg and mix until well incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray/grease a flat baking sheet with oil and spread out the oats mixture evenly, making sure there are no big lumps. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes while tossing them once in between.

Mine were not crisp at the end of the baking time because I had forgotten to preheat the oven, so I left them in the hot (turned off) oven for another 20 minutes and out came a batch of crunchy, chewy granola. Once it has cooled considerably, add the raisins and the candy and mix well. Store in an air tight container and enjoy as cereal for breakfast or a quick snack. Bon Appétit. 

Note – Granola will stay fresher longer if refrigerated.