Very nutty home-made granola

If you like your cereal in the morning, you've probably figured out which brand you like the most and stuck to it for an eternity... people tend to be quite conservative with their breakfast choices and rarely try something new until they're forced to. For long stretches of my life, my breakfast of choice was to eat nothing, really, a shower and cup of coffee (and, sadly, a cigarette, but that's a vice I gave up a really a long time ago now) would be all I needed to get started in the morning, in fact, I couldn't even contemplate putting anything in my mouth before lunch time.

It was only when I lived in Mexico that I discovered the joys of a proper breakfast ritual (unsurprising, given that there was somebody to cook my breakfast for me and I didn't even have to lift a finger): freshly squeezed juices, eggs cooked any way I liked, fruit, pancakes, you name it, I ate it. Every day. Until I felt my waistline expanding like size zero had gone out of fashion and decided to do something about it... without much effect, unfortunately, since the breakfast granola I attacked instead was laden with sugar and fat and salt and other nasties... how was I to know?

These days, I make my own granola. It's the best habit I've ever gotten into, apart from baking my own sourdough bread. I love recipes that allow you to have a play and this is the prototype for fiddling with different flavours. If you're bored out of your wits just thinking about your breakfast, now's the time to do something about it. And it couldn't be easier. More often than not, I use porridge oats as a base, but there's a lot of variety out there even in oats - every grain imaginable comes as flakes at the moment, so use spelt, barley, rye, or, like I do here, a four-grain mix. Then I add seeds and nuts: sesame, linseed, coconut, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans - whatever I have at hand. And if that isn't enough out of the superfoods department, I sprinkle over a good measure of berries (goji, acai, blueberries, cranberries etc) or dried fruit. Moisten up with some apple juice, a tiny bit of honey and some oil (this serves a purpose, too, as it'll help absorb vitamins), you can season this with any spices you like, but cinnamon and cardamom are my favourites. Spread on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes - nothing could be easier.

Or yummier, in fact. As I don't do milk when I can avoid it, I usually have a tablespoon or two sprinkled over a fresh fruit salad in the morning - which is why I usually omit the dried fruits - , but I can't help but have a handful whenever I feel peckish. It's good for me, though, and what's better than having something that is good for you AND you enjoy at the same time?

This is my contribution to this month's "Waiter, there's something in my..." hosted alternately by Jeanne of Cook Sister!, Andrew of SpittoonExtra and myself. The theme I have chosen for April is "breakfast favourites" and you have until the end of the month to send me your own creation!

Very nutty home-made granola*

70 ml grapeseed oil
100 ml good quality apple juice
1-3 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
80 g sesame seeds
40 g linseeds
40 g pine kernels
60 g shelled, unsalted pistachios
30 g pumpkin seeds
50 g hazelnuts (roughly chopped)
100 g brazil nuts (roughly chopped)
150 g cashews (roughly chopped)
150 g four-grain porridge oats
50 g dessicated coconut

Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
Warm the apple juice and oil and dissolve the honey in it. Careful not to overheat.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stir thoroughly. Spread on a non-stick baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to make sure the mix is browning evenly.

Leave to cool completely before filling into a large glass jar / airtight container.

Keeps for at least 1 month, but won't last that long. I promise.

* This is very loosely based on a recipe published in "Eat Yourself Smart" by Charlie Ayers.

Comments

[mel]

I make my own granola too... it taste so much better, and at least you know what is in it! I like your recipe, i'll try to make it soon...

[Holler]

That looks really tempting! Yum! I have been eating porridge with apple which is good, but this looks even better!

[mel]

claro que puedes publicar la receta! x cierto que es el WTSIM??? recetas de brunch o algo asi??? tendre que echar un vistaso! hasta pronto.

[Katie]

I'm a recent convert to making my own granola and I agree with you that its so simple and yummy. Yours looks delicious. I like to eat mine with thick yoghurt.

[Patricia Scarpin]

I have got to stop being lazy and make my own granola. This looks wonderful, Johanna.

[michelle @ TNS]

i don't know why i don't do this. i love granola, but I hate the sugary fatty store stuff and the hi-end brands always seem too pricey for their own good (i'm cheap). i definitely need to get on this.

[eliza]

i do make my own granola too these days, that way i could control what's in it. are we good or what? ;)

[arfi]

i love granola for breakfast. love it with yogurt and stewed fruits. i think it's a healthy option to start the day :D

[Kit]

I think I could easily add this to my die-hard breakfast repertoire. I love oats but usually just shake them raw onto my cereal mix - this sounds scrumptious!

[Margaret]

I love granola and often make my own. Will promise to make this recipe very soon. It really does look delicious served with the mixed fresh fruit.

[Jeanne]

I've been dying to try this ever since you told me about it - and now armed with the recipe I might do just that :) Thanks for hosting & I can't wait to see the roundup.

[Elizabeth]

Isn't homemade granola wonderful?!

Next time I make it, I'll have to follow your lead and add linseeds (that's flax, yes?), pistachios and cashews as well!

[mel]

te paso el premio de las amigas blogeuras. Te invito a Recogerlo en mi blog y a pasarselo a tus amigos blogueros

[Arundathi]

I made my own granola a couple of weeks ago - and it was definitely more chewy than crunchy. do you have any tips on that? i added some bananas which maybe softened all the nuts when I baked it!! it was delicious though.
Check it out if you have time:
http://arundathi-foodblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/heart-healthy-granola.html

[hk]

This looks super yummy for breakfast, I will definitely try this out sometime!!

[Kat]

This looks fabulous. So pretty and so healthy. To be honest, I'd never thought about making my own granola before. So in addition to picking the greatest WTSIM topic ever you've also totally widened my breakfast-horizons. The hat is off to you :)

[Paula]

I'd love to wake up to this granola. It looks great!