That's So Granola

Aunt Jori had a good rainy day suggestion to amuse Harry: bake granola. I've never made it before but indeed, it was super easy and frankly, tasted better than any store-bought I've encountered so far. The best part is that it's cheaper and you can tailor it to your own, yes, tastes. The recipe below is her favored one, taken from Alton Brown. Jori says she adds pumpkin seeds (a new word for me (pipians), sunflower seeds and flax seeds (all of which we included too). I didn't have coconut, so I didn't use it, and it tastes great without. (Whole Foods carries everything...including those weird little pipians...I'm saving that word for the NYT crossword.)

It rained. We baked.

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup cashews (I instead used sunflower seeds, flax seeds and pipians)
  
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut (I didn't use coconut)
  
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.