Making granola

Today I made some granola. I am not a big cereal-eater but I do like a nice, crunchy bowl of granola. I think it is the home-baked comfy-ness that I enjoy.

Here is the recipe I used. I got it off of the internet quite a while ago. My recipe is on a piece of printer paper that is very stained with granola ingredients--translation: a good recipe!

Honey Granola

Start by melting 2/3 cup of butter (see? I told you it was comfy!) in a saucepan
over medium heat.

Stir in 1/2 cup honey and 1/4 tsp salt. Heat briefly.
Now, doesn't that smell good?

Remove from heat. Stir in 3 cups rolled oats. I use the old fashioned kind.
By the way, in case any of you who notice the quirkiest details in life mention my
apparent left-handedness;
No, I haven't switched, but I did notice today that cameras are impossible to use left-handedly. Have you ever noticed that?

At some point, it might be a good idea to look up from the granola-making and check on the kiddos. One of mine was doing homework, one playing with the My Little ponies and this one was pulling bowls out of the cupboard and alternating stirring her leftover raisins from lunch with generous squirts from a water squirt bottle that I use for hairdos.

Spread the mixture in a cookie sheet. The recipe says to bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees but I always bake it a little longer, stirring once. I like it a little toastier.

It comes out of the oven looking about like this. Immediately, stir in about a cup of dried fruits and nuts (this amount depends on your tastes). Actually, if the nuts aren't already toasted I stir them into the granola a few minutes before I take it out of the oven.

I add whatever I feel like. Today, I mixed about a teaspoon of orange zest into the honey/butter mixture and stirred about a scant cup of coconut in with the oats. I had some sunflower seeds and dried pineapple, as well as a golden raisin/dried cranberry mix that I stirred in after baking. I have been wanting to try it adding slivered almonds and dried blueberries but I keep eating the blueberries before I get to it! My mom adds pumpkin seeds to her recipe. I like that, too.

Here is the finished product--golden and fruity-sweet and salty.

You know what? It smells really good around here right now!

I would also like to pat myself on the back for successfully taking all of these pictures without anyone noticing that I really should have cleaned up the lunch mess first...