A quiet simple granola

I’ve recently wearied of my ‘Fiber One and blueberries’ morning routine: blueberries are hard to find and expensive and are not always flavorful; the cereal alone tastes like cardboard and is also pretty pricey. I needed a change.

So I began hunting for an appealing granola recipe. Appealing meaning: readily available ingredients and no need to purchase new equipment (like a food processor which I haven’t had for years or a blender which I haven’t had since I recklessly burned out the motor of my last one trying to make homemade peanut butter). The recipes here came pretty close and reintroduced me to Pam Anderson, a cook I admire, but they weren’t quite the ticket.

I found what I was looking for on Thursday, when Sallie at “A Quiet Simple Life” posted this great recipe. I’ve incorporated a few of Pam’s suggestions into my version below, but it’s pretty faithful to the original so I’ve dubbed it “A Quiet Simple Granola”, in honor of Sallie.

If you’re not familiar with Sallie’s work, sample this recent post (“Fragmented Lives”) and consider adding her blog to your list of frequently visited sites. I’ve been reading her for years, having first stumbled across her original blog called ‘Two Talent Living’, before I knew what a blog was. But I knew what good, thoughtful and thought provoking writing was and that’s what Sallie offers on a regular basis. That, and some dynamite recipes from time to time.
A Quiet Simple Granola
5 cups old-fashioned oats
1 & ½ cups sliced almonds (6 oz package)
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup cooking oil
¼ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 & ½ cups dried fruit (Craisins or raisins or a mix)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Warm the oil and honey in the microwave for one minute. Whisk or stir in vanilla. Carefully pour liquid over oat mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon; finish mixing by hand.
Spread granola in two large baking pans (I use two foil lasagna pans). Bake 15 minutes, stir and repeat two more times for a total or 45 minutes. Stir in dried fruit and bake 10 minutes more. Let cool completely, then seal granola in an airtight container.
Makes 9 cups (24 servings).