There’s a first time for everything

The thing is I don’t care about granola. I had so much of it in my twenties I just don’t feel like having it anymore. This means that the chances I would ever try to make granola at home are almost inexistent, yet here I am posting the recipe and pictures of the first granola I’ve ever made.

Why? You ask. And I’ll tell you! All started the other day when I was going to the store and my boyfriend asked me to get a few things because he wanted to make granola. So I bought him steel cut oats, pecans, almonds, and everything else on the list. On the same day, he is contacted about a job out of town, where he is now and will be for the next two weeks. Long history short: he didn't make the granola...

So I was here at home enjoying a deliciously lazy day-off when it hit me: I’m going to make that granola! I Googled a few recipes and made some substitutions. I used puffed quinoa because I bought a bag of it thinking it was like cereal but it’s not crunchy enough so I thought if I baked it, it would get nice and crispy. And voila! I like the result very much. It’s crunchy, tasty, sweet (but not too sweet), and nutty. I guess I like granola again! I hope you enjoy!

And here goes the recipe:

Maple cranberry granola

Ingredients

2 cups of steel cut oats

2 cups of puffed quinoa

1 cup of pecans halves (you can break it if you want) (100g)

1 cup of sliced almonds (100g)

½ tsp of cinnamon

¼ tsp of salt

¼ cup of canola oil

½ cup of honey

½ cup of maple syrup

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 cup of dried cranberries (save for the end)

Preheat the oven to 300º F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and the liquids in a different bowl till it gets homogeneous. Pour the liquids into the dry bowl and mix it up well. Lay the mixture on a baking sheet or tin foil covered in spray butter. Bake for 20 minutes, flip it, bake for 20 more minutes, flip it again, bake for 15 more minutes and take it out of the oven. Let it rest for an hour. Brake it, mix the cranberries and save it in a sealed container or Ziploc bag up to two weeks.

Notes for next time:

- Use coconut oil and shredded coconut

- Use different nuts

- Use different cereals

#food #healthyfood #health #granola #hipster #westcoast #maple #cranberry