Before I jump into this week’s food crush, I have to apologise for the missing piece last week. I should have updated you guys earlier that I would be away on our first family holiday to Bintan so posting would be a little tricky with the bubs and all. Of course it didn’t help that we were sans an Internet connection, but it’s all good as this week, my food crush comes with a bonus, making it a recipe edition! I have always loved granola. The love affair started out first with the good old granola bars and slowly progressed to cereals, after discovering how much more exciting and delicious oat clusters can make breakfast! I literally was so into them that I remember carting boxes of Marks & Spencers’ strawberry & almond and apple & cinnamon cereal up to the US when I was doing my Masters and had them for both brekkie and sometimes lunch! I did also learn over the years, that many of these store bought products are laden with sugars and preservatives so I began making my own granola mixes. At least I would then know what goes into them and not fret if I did on occasion, polish off more granola than I was supposed to!
Homemade Granola . Adapted from Chubby Hubby & Martha Stewart
Ingredients
300g (3 cups) rolled oats
125g (1 cup) raw pumpkin seeds
130g (1 cup) sunflower seeds
200g raw chopped almonds or other nut of your choice (you can have more than one kind of nut just make sure it adds up to 200g)
85g (packed ½ cup) light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
120ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup, Grade B
120ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
75g (about ½ cup) raisins (optional)
75g (about ½ cup) cranberries (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 150° Celsius using the convection/fan setting.
Line a rimmed half sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds (or other nuts of your choice), light brown sugar, and salt. Stir to mix.
Add the olive oil and maple syrup, and stir until well combined. Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared sheet pan. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until the granola is golden brown and toasted, about 55 minutes.
Place on a rack to cool completely.
Stir in raisins and or cranberries.
Store in an airtight container(s).
Makes about 1kg worth of granola.
Munch away!
♥
Hi Lydia
Tried making this yesterday and it is absolutely delicious! I mixed maple syrup with golden syrup and it turned out well! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
glad you liked it! i just polished of another batch so will be whipping some more up as they are so addictive! Have a great week!