{guest post with the Mr.} Making Honey Nut Granola

This is my Mr.
He's a nice one.

He doesn't judge me for spending my afternoons with Enzo playing Angry Birds. He doesn't judge me for being unproductive when I should be productive, or cooking when Maria is asleep and I only have Enzo to take care of. He just lets me do my thing and when it's time for him to do his thing he does it beautifully, pulling Enzo away from addictive games and engaging him in granola making.

Beautiful granola making...
Here is the Mr. himself sharing his granola recipe with you.

This granola recipe meets all of my requirements for cooking. First it uses ingredients that we already have lying around, so we don't have to buy anything new. Like the enormous bag of oats we got from a friend who was moving out (almost two years ago), half used bags of random nuts that we got to make other recipes (i.e. macadamia nut chicken), and honey in a Costco sized container that has long since crystallized. Secondly, its cheaper and tastier to make than to buy. Lastly, it transforms boring oatmeal into fabulous granola.

I make granola because I like to mix a handful with not very sweet cereals like cornflakes or cheerios just to give them a little more texture and sweetness. Plus its nice on yogurt or vanilla ice cream, or just eating from the jar. Its pretty easy to make. The only trick is to NOT overcook it, which is very easy to do and gives it a slightly burnt taste.

Its better to use raw nuts for this recipe because you cook them but the sesame seeds I used were toasted and they came out fine, so use whatever nuts you have lying around. Also feel free to add chopped fruits, chocolate chips, or whatever else you like in your granola after you're done baking it. A lot of the ingredients can be swapped out so feel free to experiment with whatever you have around.

Honey Nut Granola

(printable version)

4 1/2 cups whole oats

1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup coarsely chopped Brazil nuts

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds 

1/2 cup shredded coconuts

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup honey

3 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix oats, nuts, and all the dry ingredient together in a bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan combine water, oil, honey, sugar and vanilla and heat until it is boiling.
3. Pour the liquid onto the oat mixture and mix it together until it is evenly coated. Spread this onto a  cookie sheet that is either greased or line it with parchment paper.
4. Bake on a low heat (325ish) for about 30 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes. This is the most important step because this is where granola often goes wrong. Once you pull it out it will still be soft and will gradually get crunchier as it cools. I like to take it out a little early so that it never gets too crunchy.