homemade granola

Hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was nice, well, sort of. I had this weird 12 hour flu bug starting on Saturday afternoon. I'm always bummed when I get sick, but coming down with something on a Saturday afternoon is brutal. Everything was moving along swimmingly, then bang! I suddenly had body aches and was stuck on the sofa eating nothing but miso soup.  It sucked. And we had plans. Good plans.  Instead, after a long nap, I spent my evening eating more miso and watching a Sally Mann documentary. Thumbs up on the documentary. Thumbs down on the flu. 

By Sunday afternoon, I was feeling much better and all I wanted to do was bake. Wanting to start out kind of easy, I chose to make a batch of homemade granola. That's it up there in the photo. It is the best granola ever -- not my recipe, a friend gave it to me, but I think it came from How It All Vegan. I also made an apple crisp, but I'll save that for another post.

Here's the granola recipe --it really is the best.
Make it, you'll see.

3-4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped raw almonds (I use walnuts & cashews too)

1/4 cup sesame seeds 

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I like using sunflower oil)

1 tsp cinnamon (a little bit of nutmeg & clove are good too)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt (i usually add a pinch more)

1/2 cup shredded coconut 

1 cup dried fruit (my favorite is cranberries & apples. you can use dates & raisins also)

preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl, mix up oats, seeds, & nuts. in a medium bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, salt, spice, & coconut. Add wet mixture to dry and combine well. Spread mixture onto a flat cookie sheet. bake for 12-15 minutes, until the top is slightly brown. remove from oven and flip with a spatula. bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown throughout. mixture will be moist fresh out of the oven, but dries as it cools. while it's still hot, mix in dried fruit and let cool. to prevent clumping, stir every 10 minutes as it cools.

Delicious for breakfast or by the handful.

Happy baking,
Leya

Comments

[Betty]

Sounds and looks heavenly.

[jek]

nifty! than you for the recipe! i was going to make granola yesterday but the brain wasn't working and i couldn't find a recipe that i liked. this is perfect!

[Emmakat]

I'll be trying this! And coming back to read your blog later, it's lovely!

[Sarah]

That looks delicious! I'm definitely gonna try it. Thanks for the recipe :)

[Aimee]

Will make this today!!! Sounds delicious!

[Kristena]

So pretty in a Mason jar. I love your header too. :)

[cloth.paper.string]

i made granola for the first time last night, using the kitchen sink approach and following a hodge podge of recipes. your recipe and granola look great -- i'm following you next time!

[Karen]

so ... once it's out of the oven stick it back in the bowl and never put it back on the cookie sheet, right? i just want it to not be one sticky clumpy mess! : )

[julien]

hey, leya, i'm doing a fall swap. would you be interested? the deadline is today. the theme is fall colors, warmth, comfort.
just send me an email with your address if you want to participate. i think Jay Dunbar's in!
thanks

[Blaabaerpai]

UHM! the granola Looks nice!
I love visiting your blog every now and then.Can't remember how I found it but It's on my favourites-list!There's such a nice and relaxed,calm tone here. Your pictures are always inspiring !
Have a good week!

[jessica]

I make a very similar granola recipe--and store it in mason jars, too! Isn't homemade granola the best?

[amisha]

sounds delicious (i love this photograph too). e just started using walnuts in our muesli recipe and it is so good! despite my muesli love i've never made my own granola... time to rectify that i think.
xo

[alison]

Hi Leya,
I've been on the lookout for a muesli (granola) recipe for a while and now I've found one! Thank you for taking the time to type that all out. We plan to make a big batch of it this weekend.
Bye for now,
Alison

[kara larson]

i am going to try your version or granola next time...i stumbled upon your blog via how to make granola...after mined ended up tasting burned and well, not good.
i see you like sulu-designs
she works at my shop...a great person...small world.
i enjoyed your blog and your book selection...charley harpers work is amazing...
i sell his puzzles and books in my shops too.
thanks kara

[christina]

i made it and it is fabulous! so good! thank you, for sharing the recipe.
: )

[Karlee Hoffart]

Made it and yes, you're right.... it's the best and i have since thrown out all my other granola recipes... Thanks!