granola – Mom it’s not my favorite.

by Michelle

I asked my daughter Meg if she would write a post for my blog last year. I found this in my inbox today…

“Mom it’s not my favorite”. 

When I was growing up, my mom would often hear those words come out of my mouth. Unless it was pasta or dessert, I wasn’t a fan. I’ve never really thought about how difficult it was for my mom to cook for me. She was so adventurous and yet I wouldn’t eat my supper if things were touching on my plate!
This past year as Theo and I discuss having children of our own, I often think about how I’ll feed them. And then I chuckle wondering if my children will use my worn out mantra of “it’s not my favorite!”
I grew up always in the kitchen. Our family ended up there together, almost every night. Doing our homework, discussing our days, laughing, dancing, sometimes fighting, but always cooking. Looking back, I never thought that I’d be interested in cooking. Now it’s like therapy for me. I love spending hours pouring over cookbooks, deciding what I’m going to make for dinner.
Theo and I are getting ready to say our “I do’s” and to step into our “grown up” lives together. Almost every night we sit in the kitchen and discuss our days, our wedding and our future. My kitchen will always be the most important room in our home.
Thanks Mom.
Chunky Chewy Granola – adapted from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes
Makes about 6 cups
3 cups of rolled (old fashion) oats
1/2 cup of raw almonds
1/4 cup of flax seed
4 tablespoons of Chia seeds
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of Agave Nectar
1/4 cup of Molasses
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of dried apricots
Preheat the oven to 325
Mix oats, seeds, nuts and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
In a sauce pan add oil, salt, agave nectar, molasses, and brown sugar, heat until brown sugar has melted, then bring to a light boil. pour over dried ingredients. Stir well.
On a deep, greased, cookie sheet spread mixture out evenly.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until brown on top, stirring occasionally.
Then add dried fruit to the top and bake for another 10 minutes.
Once out of the oven stir again but allow to cool completely before you store away in jars. It will become crunchy.
The nice thing about this recipe is you can use any nuts, seeds, or dried fruit you may have and you can sub out the agave nectar for honey, or the molasses for maple syrup, depending on what you prefer.
Enjoy over yogurt or just as a nice snack.
Chunky Chewy Granola

Thanks for reading.

photos by Meg