Don’t make fun of me, Ok?
The first time I watched someone making granola on Food Network was many years back. I watched & thought what the hell is that? First, what’s oats (yes I didn’t know) & why is it mixed with all those things & baked? Then topped on yoghurt? And called granola?! God what on earth is that?
I decided to give it a try … Out of curiosity!
The whole house smelled smoke for about a day!
I decided … No more this granola thing & I don’t even want to know how it tastes like! The box of oats stayed in my pantry until it got expired & was thrown in the trash.
Yukkkk Yukkk I hate it.
Second horrible experience!
Granola is a no no in my kitchen!
Until one day about a year ago, I was sleeping over at my parents’ house, very bored; I opened the pantry to find a whole pack of rolled oats!
Mmmm… Since I am already bored, I thought “let’s play around with this granola recipe & burn it again” haha.
I mixed everything; not really following a recipe this time, I just used what I had in hand. Popped it in the oven & since I was a better cook by then “little bragging I know”, I didn’t burn it! I added some dried fruits & digged in.
OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!
Excuse me I want to go munch on a handful of granola & come back!
Sorry granola! Sorry for ever accusing u of being ugly & bad tasting!
Guys, if you taste homemade granola, you will never ever (I mean it! NEVER EVER) buy the pre-packed ones! It’s a joy to your taste buds & a healthy one as well! God, is this true?!!
And it’s beyond easy to prepare!!
Mix some oats with some nuts then add oil, honey & some flavorings. Bake for about 20 minutes then add your chopped dried fruits & indulge! indulge! indulge!
I eat granola with yoghurt, milk, cheese, fruits or in salads (yes, a recipe is coming soon to the blog)! Most of the time, I just take a handful & snack on it whenever I crave something sweet!
Please please give it a try!
And you will get addicted just like me ..
HOMEMADE GRANOLA
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled old fashioned oats*
- 1/2 cup raw almond slices roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup raw pecan roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 1/2 tbsp unflavored oil (vegetable, canola, flax seed) or coconut oil*
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Handful goji berries or dried cherries*
- Handful raisins
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C degrees.
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except for the goji berries & raisins.
- Mix well* so that that all the ingredients are coated with the oil, honey, vanilla & salt.
- Spread the above mixture on a non stick baking tray (the tray should be large enough so that the mixture is not too piled up)
- Bake in the oven for about 20 -25 minutes until the granola is golden; tossing/mixing the mixture about 3-4 times to guarantee even browning & no burning.
- Once the granola is out of the oven, mix in the goji berries & the raisins & toss everything together.
- Leave to cool on the baking tray & store in an airtight container for up to a 7-9 days.
Notes:
- Use rolled old fashioned oats not instant cooking oats to have a crunchier granola with a crispy texture.
- In case you are using coconut oil, it has to be in liquid form.
- Goji berries, raisins & all the used nuts can be found at Abu Auf Stores. You can use different combinations of nuts & dried fruits.
- When mixing everything together before baking, I find that the best mixing tool is my hands as I sometimes have to break up the big oats clusters that stick together from the honey.
