Homemade Granola

I love this recipe—which I’ve adapted just slightly from that Mennonite classic, the More-With-Less Cookbook—because it is so versatile. You can make this granola from what you like and what you have on hand, changing the ingredients from time to time for the sake of variety. Plus, it’s easy and will save you a whole bunch over supermarket granola.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, starting with

• at least 3 cups of rolled oats
  

and adding your choices from the list below to make 7 cups.

• wheat germ
• whole wheat flour
• wheat bran
• wheat grits
• cornmeal
• oat bran
• soy flour, grits, or roasted beans
• grape nuts
• uncooked cereals like cream of wheat or cream of rice, etc.
• sunflower seeds
• sesame seeds
• roasted pumpkin seeds
• dried grated coconut
• dry milk solids
• chopped nuts
• spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

You get the idea. A trip to your health food store will probably give you other ideas.

In another bowl, combine liquid ingredients from the list below to make one cup total. Adjust the proportions of sweeteners, oil, etc, to your taste.

• honey
• syrup
• molasses
• brown sugar
• oil
• melted butter
• peanut butter
• milk or cream

Pour the blended liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients  and mix together. Bake in large greased baking pans (at least 2 9x13-inch pans) for 30-60 minutes at 300F, stirring often. Exact timing will depend on how deep the granola is in your pans and how brown you like it. For a chunkier cereal, allow it to cool undisturbed. We prefer ours not-so-chunky, so I stir it now and then as it cools.

When cooled, add dried fruit as desired.

• raisins
• dried cranberries
• snipped dried apricots, apples, peaches, pears, etc.
  
• chopped dates.

Youngest son and I like to mix a bunch in vanilla yogurt for breakfast, adding fruit (or not). It is also yummy with rice milk or soy milk.

 

This recipe is posted for tomorrow’s collection of breakfast recipes at Home, but not alone.

Dog Days of February

Starbuck doing what Starbuck does best!
(click on photo for the larger view) 

Copyright © 2006-2007, Andrew Stark.

All rights reserved.

On the doggy front today:

• Chris sends a link to a handy dandy screen cleaner he picked up at Smalldeadanimals.
• Dorothy, in one of the first posts on her new blog, Field Stone Cottage, looks at a passage in the Bible that mentions dogs and learns a lesson.
• I posted a quick update on the Yukon Quest.

I’m inviting you to participate in the Dog Days of February, too. If you post anything dog related during this month, send me the link by clicking on the Contact button in the sidebar and I’ll link back to your post in the next February dog days post. Short on ideas? Here are a few suggestions.

Update on the Yukon Quest

This 100o mile dog sled race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse will probably end some time after midnight tonight. The two leaders, Lance Mackey and Ken Anderson, will leave Braeburn for Whitehorse this afternoon.

Update on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:48AM by rebecca

Lance Mackey and Ken Anderson both crossed the finish line overnight, 15 minutes apart. Mackey was first, winning $35,000, and Anderson came in second to win $25,000. From the latest news release on the Yukon Quest website:

As the bobbing light of a headlamp came around the corner on First Avenue in Whitehorse approaching the Yukon Quest Finish Chute, the enthusiastic crowd of almost five hundred well wishers held their breath – was it Lance? Was it Ken?

Earlier this afternoon, Lance Mackey had left the last Checkpoint in Braeburn 19 minutes before rival Ken Anderson and reports along the trail to Whitehorse had placed the two mushers eight minutes apart at one stage. 

This is Lance Mackey’s fourth Yukon Quest win in a row. Both Mackey and Anderson will be running in the Iditerod as well, which means they have about 10 days to rest their teams and then they’ll be off long distance racing again.