Baking with Olivia and Caroline

Ingredients

4 cups organic old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup oil (we use olive or melted coconut oil)
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flaked coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2-1 tsp sea salt
Dash of nutmeg
1 cup nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios hazelnuts – your choice)
Dried fruit such as craisins, raisins, banana chips, or tart cherries or fresh fruit of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 275^º degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except dried fruit and stir until fully combined. Pour contents onto your lined baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake at 275^º degrees for 45 minutes. Leave the granola in the oven while the oven cools down. Remove from the oven once cool and add in your choice of dried fruit. If you want to top it with fresh fruit, add that to your individual serving bowls when ready to eat. You can store the granola in an airtight container for up to a month.

Granola, our favorite

This month I had my boyfriend (boyfriend sounds silly at 54 years young. I guess I could say partner, sweetheart, my love or honey buns) contribute with this recipe. The two of us eat a lot of granola! I swear one of us is making it or I am making it about once a week. We enjoy it in parfaits, adding fresh fruit such as strawberries, cherries, plums, blueberries, and peaches we have been picking throughout the summer months. We also use it as an ice cream topper, eat it with milk, or just snack on it straight out of the container. Any way you eat it, we bet you’ll enjoy it.

I used to be a cereal junkie. I would have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and oftentimes as a late night eat. I looked forward to a great big bowl of cereal. But, I felt like there were so many preservatives and added sugar that I shouldn’t be eating it so often. I have to save my sugar intake for the other goodies we make! I have always liked granola, but I never loved any that I’d bought at the store. It wasn’t until I started making my own that I realized how good granola could be. Since making it, I don’t think I have purchased a box of cereal in years.

Kitchen sink granola?

There have been numerous times that this granola was made right before work. We would pop it in the oven and walk next door to our office. Sometimes we space out and forget to set a timer. A few weeks ago, my brother happened to be walking by my back door and texted me saying, “Wow, whatever you are baking smells really, really good.” It’s a good thing it smelled so good or we would have completely forgotten all about it and burnt it to a crisp!

We have also had quite a few variations of this granola. We sometimes add seeds, change up the nut selection, use a different oil or add different dried or fresh fruit. This recipe is really a base for you to pick and choose what you’d like in it. You can also adjust the sweetness by adding more or less maple syrup or using sweetened or unsweetened coconut. Caroline makes a “kitchen sink” granola with pecans, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pepitas, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and coconut. The choice is yours!

The reason I chose granola for September is because school is starting and life will become more hectic for so many. You can provide your kids with a quick, energy-boosting meal in the morning, pack it in their lunchboxes for a treat, or have it handy for when they get home from school to snack on before dinner.  

As always, enjoy! •

Olivia and Caroline are enthusiastic foodies and bakers who are constantly in the kitchen, as well as explorers who create their own adventures in our area – and did we mention they are mother and daughter? Follow Olivia on Instagram to see her many creations at @oliviawvalentine.