homemade granola

jonathan and i are on this kick (which i guess is not so much a fad but more like a lifstyle change) where we make most of our food (not just meals) and buy organic. i don't necessarily feel "so much better" because of eating these types of food, but i do feel better knowing what is in my food and knowing that i'm not consuming tons of pesticides and chemicals. some of the things we've made so far that aren't whole meals are raspberry jam and i made some homemade granola tonight. we are really lucky and have an amazing whole foods store right around the corner from us, where they sell all organic food (they have the yummiest granola!), but i thought it would be great to make my own granola since i eat it so much. 

i got the recipe from here. and i did change it up a bit. i don't like dried fruit in my granola because i always eat it with yogurt. but that's just me. and i think our granola turned out a little too salty for my taste, so i would add less salt and more brown sugar. next time though!

easy homemade granola
from "baked: new frontiers in baking" by matt lewis and renato poliafito

ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds. 

directions:

preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

in a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. whisk until completely combined.

pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. spread it out evenly.

bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip the granola. sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

bake for 15 more minutes and then allow to cool completely. transfer to airtight container and enjoy! the granola will keep for one week.

let me know if you try this recipe and if you created it with any alterations.