Granola recipes are a dime a dozen in the blogosphere. Some of my favorite food blogs have 4 or 5 different versions. So. I was reluctant to publish another homemade granola here on DebsPotsBlog. Until the other morning when I whipped up this batch. It was so yummy, I decided I needed to share it in spite of the fact that it causes me, instantly, to become a cliche. Tree hugger. Brown ricer. The blogger equiivalent of a little vegetarian café with spider plants in hanging macrame terra cotta.

My beloved, brilliant, friend and mentor, Robbie Lobell, is on the east side of the country for the famous and phenomenal Pottery Show at the Old Church Cultural Center. Bob picked her up at Newark and she spent the night with us here in Warwick before heading down to NJ to set up for the show. We enjoyed a lovely dinner, and in the morning, I decided to throw together some granola for breakfast.

I’ve been making granola since before many of my blogging friends were born. The style of my homemade granola goes in phases. Sometimes, it’s very sweet, sometimes more spare. I usually go for big clumps. This version is toasty, less clumpy. It’s lightly sweet, chewy, nuanced, and discernably salty. I think it is the most interesting, addictive, and satisfying granola I’ve ever tasted. I think you’ll love it, too. Let me know if you try it, I really want to know what you think, and what variations you create.

Mindfulness Granola

You may notice the similarity in ingredients to my Mindfulness Bread, Crackers, and Muffins, and Mini Muffins. They are all loosely based, with kind permission, on Sarah Briton’s (My New Roots) Life Changing Loaf of Bread.

2 cups rolled oats, I prefer Bob’s Red Mill, extra thick, organic
3 tbs. each: chia seeds, flax seeds, millet, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pepitas
¼ cup olive oil (you may use walnut, almond, coconut, or macadamia if you prefer)
3 tbs. agave
3 tbs. maple syrup (I used my own homemade; use good quality syrup here)
1 tsp. sea salt
optional: a big handful of raisins or date pieces

Preheat oven to 325°.

Use a bit of the oil to grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish, lasagna pan, or half sheet pan. It’s a great idea to line your pan with parchment and then grease that. My Cook on Clay pan releases so well that just a bit of oil was all I needed.

Mix the remaining oil, agave, and syrup in a bowl or cup. Mix the dry ingredients (not including fruit) in a big bowl and add the syrup mixture, mixing well. Pour the damp mass out onto your baking pan and spread out into an even layer.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the granola is dry and slightly brown. Some folks mix their granola while it bakes. I like to leave it in one layer to encourage clumps. And I let it cool completely before scraping it out of the pan, again, to promote clumpage. Add the raisins or dates, if using, after the granola cools. Store for up to a week at room temp if there’s any left over after the first day, which is highly unlikely, especially if you have kids in the house. Or if you have a mouth.

Blog note: Pots make awesome holiday gifts. Check out Robbie’s work here, and my work here.