Crunchy Granola

This recipe goes along with unprocessing foods.  I'm always looking for breakfast replacements.  My sister always makes this recipe & we love it.  It comes from The New York Times blog Diner's Journal with a few comments of my own.

Crunchy Granola

Yield: About 8 cups

6 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups mixed nuts & seeds

1 cup dried unsweetened coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash salt

1/2 cup to 1 cup honey or maple syrup

1 cup dried raisins or other dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine all but the dried fruit.  Place on a sheet pan & put in oven.  Bake 30 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.  Mixture should brown evenly.

Brown = Crunchy

(Dark brown = Burnt, watch out!)

Remove from oven & stir in dried fruit.  Cool on rack, stirring occasionally while the mixture reaches room temperature.  Store in a sealed container & store in refrigerator (I left mine on the counter because I ate it too fast--ask Freddie!!)  The recipe says it will keep indefinitely -- not in my house!

NOTES: I used walnuts, almonds & sunflower seeds.  Next time I want to add flax seed.  I also used dried blueberries because I had some supreme ones on hand -- yummy!  You know we are fans of dried cherries so they will likely make another mixture.  I only used 1/2 cup of maple syrup.  It was sweet enough for us but likely most people would like it a little sweeter.