My Cousin Mounty’s Granola January 18, 2010
During this last week of artists residencies and general getting back into the busy swing of a working life, I managed to collect most of the ingredients for the granola recipe posted below. This is my cousin Monty’s recipe, and when she gave it to me 4 or so years ago at Christmas, pasted on a beautiful glass jar full of the same–I was in heaven. So finally, I tried it myself. Mine was great, but Monty’s even better. I think the difference was, that I used honey and she used maple syrup. I am only guessing here, and mine, according to friend Cici is terrific. Actually according to me as well as I have been eating and eating it.
Why granola anyway? Well, I discovered that the bags inside of all cereal boxes are really plastic. They feel a bit like waxed paper, so I had never really though about it before. They are NOT biodegradable. So, realizing this I thought of my cousin’s recipe.
All ingredients were bought at Whole Foods from the bulk bins except the wheat germ and canola oil and the honey, of course. Those I was able to purchase in glass containers.
One word of caution–In my opinion do not be over generous with the flax seed. It is a bit slippery–I had more than the recipe called for and added freely. Though I am sure I will be very healthy eating this batch, in the next one, I will not over indulge of the flax seed.
Before I sign off, I want to mention my friend Rebecca Currie’s blog.
Her words to me are: “My project this time around is easy — “healthy” food (whole grain, fruits, vegetables) for $100/mo shopping mostly at Whole Foods. Slightly more than I usually spend, though I’m not always so healthy.
I will be following her, as I am seeing that eating without disposable plastic means eating fresh and before the stuff gets into a box as much as possible. I had not really thought about this when I signed onto this project. Like Rebecca, I am not always so healthy, but, well, It might not be so bad….hum….
Below is my cousin Monty’s recipe is below:
Monty’s Granola
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw sesame seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw flax seeds
1 cup raw wheat germ
1 cup oat bran
1 cup dry milk powder
1 cup maple syrup or honey
1 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla
Optional: during the last 15 minutes of baking add dried cranberries, raisins, banana chips, and any nuts of your choice.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix oil, maple syrup or honey, vanilla. Heat the liquids (60 seconds in a microwave).
Mix all very well. Place on two cookie sheets with rims. Bake at 225 degrees for about 2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes. Bake until golden.
THANKS MONTY!
Hey Bryant
Do they have bulk granola in Durham? I mean, I know it pales in comparison to homemade, but it might do in a pinch….
love
Katherine
Yes, there is bulk granola here–Your mom’s is just SO much better…
[…] said here. Back to personal. This week I made a huge batch of Cousin Monty’s granola and of course, yogurt which is so easy and so good from scratch. Realizing that most annuals that I […]
[…] 4–Cousin Monty’s Granola. Making this up every 3 or so weeks, full of almonds and flax seed and many good things, meant whenever I was hungry and needed a boost it was there and it was good. Really good. […]