My love affair with granola (the food. Not the lifestyle).

I am not someone who grew up eating granola. That's kind of weird, considering I'm from Seattle and the entire west coast is probably more "granola" than the east coast. But I just never ate it. I'm not sure if this was because my Mom didn't buy it or because she bought it and I chose not to eat it. Either scenario is entirely possible. I remember having a granola bar once or twice and not liking it unless there were chocolate chips in it. And even then, I figured I would rather just lick the chocolate off that crunchy stuff and then throw it away. So what was the point?

I also have a vivid memory of a favorite high school teacher of mine telling us the story of an extended camping-and-whitewater-rafting trip he went on when he was in college in which the only food provided turned out to be granola. And the first day, it accidentally got dumped in the river during the whitewater rafting. So they spent the entire time surviving on soggy-- and then moldy-- granola. He hated granola more passionately than you can probably imagine. Students would frequently slip granola bars into his desk as a joke, and although he was a super fun teacher, that was the only joke he never found funny.

I can't eat granola without thinking of him. And laughing.



So those are pretty much the sum of my experiences with granola. I don't love it and my teacher hated it. End of story. Until. The day my friend Emily offered me some homemade granola. I was reluctant. But I knew very well that Emily is a fabulous chef. She's one of those people who whips up homemade soups and desserts and things without even thinking about it and they're always amazing and usually not that hard to make (or at least, she says they're easy-- they always sound on the complicated side to me). Most of my favorite recipes are ones I stole from her. So I already knew to eat whatever Emily offered me from her kitchen. Which was why I tried the granola.

And it was no exception to her standard excellence. Who would have guessed that granola could taste like this???

This would be worth making, I thought. I asked for the recipe.

But then I couldn't find some of the ingredients (dry milk, I think? Where is that in a grocery story???) and the ones I could find were expensive (who knew that wheat germ was so pricey???), so I never got around to making it. Which is what happens to about 83% of all fabulous recipes that I collect, unfortunately. (Sorry, Pinterest, but you know it's true.)

So that was that, until a year and a bit ago, when I invited sisters and family-friends-the-Hogans to spend Thanksgiving with us. (And by "spend Thanksgiving with us" what I actually meant was, "Come stay at my house and my mother-in-law will cook a feast for you! And then I'll have a baby three days later! Fun!") To help out with the food a bit, Kat brought homemade granola with her. She'd made an enormous bowl of it and it disappeared so quickly. We ate it with milk for breakfast. We snacked on it. And it was delicious. When she left the last little bit with us, I was thrilled because I wouldn't have said it out loud but I really wanted that granola.

So when we started trying to eat healthier, I decided it was finally time to buckle down and make granola. And it turns out it's not that hard and it really is so good! I make it every few weeks now. And even though the recipe makes a TON, it's always gone in a few days. We love it. You should try it. But you'll have to make your own, because ours will be gone by the time you get here.

So here is Kat's recipe! Whenever I find Emily's (or have her send me a new copy), I'll post that one, too, because they're pretty different and both really great. Happy, healthy crunching!



Kat's Granola
8 cups oats, no instant
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups wheat germ (optional)
8 oz. almonds
8 oz. cashews
8 oz. coconut, unsweetened, large ribbon
3 oz. sunflower seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter (<---- Since Craig is allergic to peanuts, I just use almond butter instead)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raisins

Mix oats, sugar, nuts, coconut, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Heat water, oil, honey, and peanut butter until it begins to bubble. Add vanilla and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well and spread on two large cookie sheets. Bake in 200 degree oven for about two hours or until coconut is golden. Stir occasionally while baking. Add raisins when cool. Store in an airtight container.
(From Bed and Breakfast Inns of Utah)