Granola

I first made granola about 20 years ago for a Mother’s Day family brunch. I’ve changed it a few times over the years, swapping out rolled oats for buckwheat, and raw sugar and oil for maple syrup and orange juice. It is my breakfast staple most days and I often give it as a gift.  You don’t need to be too particular about the ingredients. Just use whatever seeds and nuts you have on hand. The key is not make it too wet, and to cook it until it’s crunchy. It keeps well in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. Add dried fruit, such as cranberries, figs or pears –  or dried sour cherries – my favourite. Serve it with the milk of your choice, or have it with fresh fruit and yoghurt.

Did you know that granola is believed to be the first known cold cereal? The ancient Greeks were known to eat porridge  (as well as bread dipped in wine) for breakfast. In 1863, Dr James Caleb Jackson, a health reformer who believed that illness was rooted in the stomach, experimented with cold cereal at his sanitarium in upstate New York. He crumbled graham flour and baked it, calling it “Jackson’s granula.” It was, in fact, only edible after it was soaked overnight in milk. Dr John Harvey Kellogg, the Seventh-Day Adventist director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, followed with his version: a a mixture which he also called granula, consisting of oatmeal, wheat flour and cornmeal. After Jackson sued him, the name of Kellogg’s mixture was changed to granola. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/magazine/who-made-that-granola.html

You might like to try making https://atamandastable.com.au/pear-date-and-seed-loaf/ It’s delicious for breakfast.

Best wishes,

Amanda

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Print Recipe

Granola

a satisfying mixture of buckwheat, seeds, nuts and coconut

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Servings: 9 cups

Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

• 2 cups buckwheat
• 2 cups brown rice puffs or spelt or millet puffs (Good Morning Cereals has a good range)
• 2 cups mixed raw nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts)
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 orange juice and zest (to yield approx 1/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 150° C (130° C fan-forced) and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and add the orange zest.
• In a small jug, stir together the orange juice, maple syrup and vanilla bean paste. You should have about 2/3 cup of liquid.
• Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Spread the mixture out evenly over the two trays.
• Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring the granola halfway through cooking. The mixture will be golden brown when cooked.
• Allow to cool completely before storing in airtight containers. The mixture will keep for two weeks.