hola granola

HOMEMADE GRANOLA
with cherries, coconut, almonds, cashews & ginger

The bulk aisle at Whole Foods (or Berkeley Bowl for that matter) is very compelling. Bins and bins of rolled oats, crystallized ginger, dried cherries, pecans, almonds, flaked coconut...

After years in the consulting biz, I've become obsessed with adding value. Making granola is all about creating value out of finite resources, and it can almost be guaranteed that your final product will be greater than the sum of its parts (note: this does not apply if you burn the batch).

Cowboy and I recently made a granola based loosely off a recipe from Bon Appetit. (The flaxseed was added for omega-3s, no joke - but its unique flavor also added a nice dimension to the delicious crunchy mixture of fruit and spice.)

Mission Street Granola
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/8 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup whole almonds, halved
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Melt butter with honey in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Pour over granola mixture and toss well. Spread mixture on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ginger and cherries; mix to separate any clumps. Continue to bake until granola is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes longer.


We ate our perfectly toasted granola atop a bowl of Nancy's Organic Plain Yogurt, with fresh berries and figs.