HOME MADE GRANOLA

I've made my first granola working in a Hotel in Massachusetts. The process seemed endless and almost uncalled for.  Until i tasted my first bowl...

I've adapted the recipe and made a few changes to make it easy for every kitchen goddess. 

Serve this with a good quality Bulgarian or goats milk yoghurt, fresh fruit and honey - and you will be hooked.

This recipe takes a little time – but store in a airtight container and it will last for a couple of weeks. You can also package it in ziplog bags and freeze it until needed.

If the granola seem to be becoming a little wet – simply spread out on a baking tray and dry in a pre-heated oven of 120 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes.

1 Box oats

250 ml brown sugar

10 ml vanilla essence

250 ml oil

150 ml maple syrup

250 ml honey

150 molasses syrup

1 cup macadamia nuts roughly chopped 

1 cup walnuts roughly chopped

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup flaked almonds

1 cup crushed nuts

½ cup poppy seeds

½ cup sesame seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 cups dried fruit chopped

1 cup raisins

1 cup sultana's

Combine brown sugar, vanilla, oil, Maple, honey and molasses

Gently stir in the oats

Spread evenly out on a large baking tray and leave to dry at 90 degrees overnight (as for rusks)

Combine all the seeds and the nuts and spread out on a baking tray.

Roast at 160 degrees until well toasted – make sure to stir them through for even browning.

Once the oats mixture has dried and cooled down. Brake lumps up and add in the toasted seeds and nuts along with the dried chopped fruit, raisins and sultanas.

Stir through well.

Store in a airtight container until needed.

You can always double the amount of dried fruit / nuts / seeds or raisins to suit your taste.  Play around with coconut shavings, dried mango and banana shavings, different seeds or nuts or keep it simple and cut the nuts, seeds and fruits by half.  

FEW GREAT BREAKFAST TIPS

When making fruit salad, remember to add a little bit of lemon juice to cut apple, pear and banana. This stop the oxidation process that make the fruit turn brown.

Flavour natural plain yoghurt yourself by making fresh fruit coulis.

Simply blend a fruit of your choice to a fine pulp. Strain through a fine sift and serve a selection of fruit coulis with plain yoghurt. Now your guests can create and make their own favourite flavour yoghurt by adding a little bit of coulis to plain yoghurt. Use mango's, strawberries, blackberries, banana or ripe nectarines and peaches.

Store nuts and seeds in the freezer or refrigerator. This will help to prevent them from going ransit. And always make sure that they are kept in a airtight container or vacuumpacket. Make sure to toaste them before serving them – as this will cook the seeds or nuts and bring out the flavour aswell as the texture.