Day 150 - Berry and Nut Granola & YBR

There have been some technical difficulties and I'm not sure if it's the computers I've been using or if it's Blogger.  How could it be that I'm having a problem with this website on two computers?  Maybe it's time to look into a new blog site.

And, have I really lost it that much that I can't remember or figure out how to leave my own comment for my readers on my own blog??!!

I used to be able to do it, now all of a sudden I'm not clicking what I need to click or have the right window open.

Dear, dear readers, you have been leaving WONDERFUL comments and I am so very grateful and extremely touched!!  And I want to respond, but please know until I figure this out, I am unable, but will do so as soon as I can.  It's frustrating, believe me. 

Please, please, please do not let my human error deter you from leaving comments!!  I LOVE to hear from my readers, so please keep posting them.

Maybe it's the computer.  It's GOT to be the computer!

I submitted my best recipe for the month of June to Your Best Recipe:  YBR.  There's also that button up above my post that you can click on, too.  You HAVE to check out all of the wonderful recipes!!!!  They've had the most participants yet for June's roundup and the dishes look and sound phenomenal.  I'm sure there will be a few things that you'd like to try - I know I have my eye on quite a few of them.  The pictures are really outstanding, too.  It's so exciting!!

Today's post is Berry Nut Granola.  I've been eating granola combined with a little bit of honey and Greek yogurt every morning for the past week and a half or so.  And I'm loving it.  However, the really good stuff can get to be expensive if you're continuously buying it.  So I scoured the food blog world for granola recipes and I found one at Pamela Salzman Kitchen Matters and really liked the tips she shared about making it, too.  I thought the dried fruit should be added before it goes into the oven, but she said to add it after otherwise it will harden and could ruin your teeth.  I'm not paying for any trips to your dentist.  So you've been warned. ;-)
Thank you, Pamela for sharing it with us!!
I am in love with it, and will be making it quite often, especially because it is less inexpensive and very simple. I bought the ingredients in bulk which saved money instead of buying the pre-packaged stuff.  The thing that's great about granola is that you can add whatever you want, different kinds of nuts or dried fruits (preferably unsulphured (do not contain the preservative sulfur), but mine weren't), coconut flakes, and seeds (no, not birdseed, silly -  seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, or sesame).

Berry Nut Granola - makes about 6 cups
      adapted from Pamela Salzman

3 cups oats (Not instant or quick-cooking!)

1/3 cup raw pecans

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon sea salt  (Pamela recommended fine grain, but I use regular grain and it worked fine.)

¼ cup melted coconut oil  (Pamela recommended unrefined, but I mistakenly purchased refined.  It worked fine, but you can see the difference in the two here.)

1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup raw almonds or other nuts

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together oats, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil, maple syrup, honey and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  Make sure that the oil and syrups are completely mixed together.  If not, the syrups may burn during the baking process.

Add the oil/syrup mixture to the oat mixture and blend so that all of the oats are completely covered.
Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally until golden brown.

When you remove the oats from the oven, they will NOT be crunchy.  

Do not fret, they will be crunchy after they are cooled.

Add the chopped nuts and fruit to the pan and stir to combine.  Allow to cool.

Store granola in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or can be frozen.

*Because oven temperatures vary so much, the baking time of 30 minutes does not need to be strictly adhered to.  Make sure that you are watching the oats carefully for browning.  I only baked mine for 25 minutes.  Around that time it started to smell as if they were going to start burning, so I didn't chance it and removed them.

Pamela added dry unsweetened coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds to hers, but I chose to omit them.   That's the great part about granola, you can add whatever you like to suit your taste. (I feel like I've said that before.)

This granola was truly delicious!  As you can see from the picture, I added the Greek yogurt, and some honey to it.  This stuff is NOT going to last me for two weeks.  I am definitely going to have to make another batch very soon.

I rate everything that I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  This Berry Nut Granola earned 4 rolling pins.  I highly recommend it!

Happy Baking!