EPISODE 23

This is my mom’s medley of three different granola recipes found in the Montreal Gazette in 1975. She’s had many years to work on this recipe and she hasn’t been idle; it’s truly perfect. This granola is crunchy and delicately sweetened. The flavour it imparts is one of comfort and home. In my dairy days, I would eat this for breakfast with yogurt and sliced bananas. Now I make a thick fruit smoothie, and sprinkle the granola atop my glass, enjoying the crunchy fruity bite before drinking the rest of my breakfast. This is also an awesome trail mix with or without the addition of dried fruit and chocolate chips. It also makes an amazing hostess gift.

Ingredients

• 6 cups slow cooking oats
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cup mixed nuts (our favorites are almonds, walnuts, and pecans)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a 16″x11″ pan or two smaller pans, combine the all the ingredients. It’s very important that you use slow cooking oats, otherwise you’ll end up with oatmeal.

Put the pan in the preheated oven, bake for 10 minutes, and stir well. Bake for another 10 minutes and stir very well again. Bake for another 10 minutes and stir once more. At this point, your oats should either be a dark golden colour on getting close to that colour. If they’re golden, leave them in for another five minutes.

When the granola comes out of the oven, it will still feel “soft” when you stir it. This is normal. The wonderful crispy texture will develop as it cools.

Enjoy!