Granola

This post comes to you from the road! Our family vacation this year is a roadtrip to Peachtree City, GA, where we are doing our best to bike as many of the 90 miles of golf cart paths around which the town was planned. Which also means I am doing very little cooking. But I did bring a large bag of rolled oats, cinnamon, honey and brown sugar on the road and each night I've made a large batch of granola that gets packed in our panniers, alongside small cartons of yogurt and bananas, making for a delicious snack that packs a healthy energy boost for a pack of boys on the go. The recipe is so simple that you can make it in about 20 minutes and it is sure to please a sweet tooth any time of day.

(Sorry though, no pictures with this post as I can't seem to figure out how to download them to this borrowed laptop.)

You will need:

2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup almond slices
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
raisins
other dried fruit as desired
(I have successfully made this with reduced honey and brown sugar but it will not clump as well. This recipe makes a a granola with a very satisfying crunch.)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the oats, flax and wheat germ together and spread on a non-stick baking sheet.
In a small pot on the stove, mix the salt, cinnamon, vegetable oil, honey and brown sugar and heat until the brown sugar is fully dissolved.
Pour the wet ingredients over the oats and mix well then cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
Then, sprinkle the almonds over the mixture and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Remove oats from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before adding the dried fruit.
Press the granola together to form small clumps.

Serve with milk or yogurt.