Do You Have A Little Hippie In You?

The very first time I tried granola was in fifth grade at Science Camp.  For those of you that did not get to experience the joy of science camp as a child, let me fill you in on what fun you missed out on!  Science Camp is a place where the entire 5th grade class was separated into groups with one chaperone that was affiliated with the school and one camp leader.  We shared bunk beds, hiked, listened to live music and sang around a campfire at night, collected and learned about leaves, could take a shower that was no longer than 5 minutes every morning and at every meal there was...drum roll please...a HUGE buffet!!!!  Sounds like my kind of heaven, right?  There was only one catch!  At the end of every meal each group had to gather up all of the used plates and measure the amount of their waste!  The group with the least amount of waste at the end of the week won.  Well, when you are 10 years old and have eyes that are about 20 times larger than your stomach your group members begin to hate you.  At breakfast I would mound my plate with eggs, sausage, bacon and toast.  Who wouldn't?  Well, when about have of those mountains of food are still there at weigh-in time you are definitely not the most popular monkey at the zoo.  This is where granola saved me!  Instead of piling all of the things I wished I could stuff into my face I grabbed what looked least appealing to my 10 year old senses.  One bowl of granola was all I would take at breakfast from now on.  To my great surprise...I LOVED it!  I would mix it with different flavors of yogurt and raisins and be in science camp hippie heaven!

Though science camp's lesson on portion control may not have stuck with me through my adult life my love for granola sure has!  The only problem with granola is that it can get to be a bit expensive, right?  Six dollars for a bag that, once you rip away the cardboard exterior, is only half full?  What the what?  Here is a much cheaper and easier solution to this lack of granola in my cupboard...I am going to make it myself.

This has to be one of the easiest things in the world to make!  Begin by pre-heating your oven to 300 degrees.  LIGHTLY grease a large baking pan and set it aside for later use.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together 4 c. of old fashioned rolled oats, 1 c. of chopped pecans, 1/2 c. of packed light brown sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. of ground nutmeg.  In a small sauce pan, combine 1/3 c. canola oil, 1/4 c. of maple syrup, and 2 tbsp. of granulated sugar over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  Once simmering remove the pan from your heat source and mix in 2 tbsp. of vanilla extract.  Pour the hot liquid mixture over the oat mixture and combine well.  Use a large spatula or your hands until everything is thoroughly combined.  Spread the mixture over the prepared baking pan and try to make the thickness of the oat layer as even as possible.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Transfer the pack to a cooling rack and let cool completely.  Once the granola is cooled you can break up the pieces and transfer to an air tight container.  It should keep in the pantry for 2-3 weeks.  This recipe makes about 8 cups of granola.  If you won't get through it fast enough feel free to cut the recipe in half.