La Granola Mania

Homer Simpson and his favorite brand: Cap' Crunch!

Many of you, who grew up here in Canada, or North America, have developed a natural craving for your morning bowl of cereal or granola. Yummy! But for me, as a child, it was a bit different. Being raised in the countryside of France in the 1970s, I didn't grow up with the same morning ritual. No cereal, but a hot chocolate, and two slices of toasted bread with butter and jam (no Nutella either, as the 4 kids in my family would just ignore the pot in the cupboard...it was too sweet for us!). Today, just the thought of the sweetness of my tartines à la confiture, dipped into my cup of slightly bitter hot chocolate, makes me shiver with pleasure...
It is only in American movies or magazines that I would see how the box of cereal was revered among both the younger and older generations. Significantly, I started eating cereal when I moved out of my parents' house to go study at University; I was 18. I had come to age and the grand entrance of the box of cereal coincided then with my newly-acquired independence,. Interesting...
It is a well-known fact nowadays that cereal has become so popular that hundreds of brands and varieties stare at us on the shelves in our supermarkets, enticing us to choose one over another . Cereal has been accused of many evils too, like stuffing a whole generation of sugar-crazed kids, but here again, the devil is a blatant excess of sugar, and processed foods, not to mention the GMOs.
I've also noticed that, sometimes, a bowl of cereal is considered as an easy comfort-food solution for hungry stomachs at any time of the day - I have not resorted to that drastic cereal solution yet, and intend to hold on firm. Wish me luck! ;-) All in all, good cereal is not bad for us, but fast and highly processed foods, plus excessive compulsive eating habits are. So let's slow down, and enjoy our good food! Basta with any multicoloured cheerio-like cereal, and Viva la granola mania!

Now, the variation to commercial cereal that I prefer is indeed the homemade granola, which is even gluten-free. To tell you how naive I was with this whole new field of cereal spreading before my eyes, it is only recently...4 years ago, that I discovered how easy granola was to bake at home. I was visiting Ontario for the first time, staying for a couple of days at a Bed & Breakfast in Parry Sound, and the landlady offered me exquisite homemade granola every morning for breakfast - I simply loved it! She gave me the recipe, which I, of course, never did when back to France, and lost since then... Shame on me! Fortunately enough, the invitation to make granola was reiterated a few months ago when Jennifer, a fellow traveller in the field of cooking, offered us a delicious present : a jar of granola!

Everything has now fallen into place, I made my first tray of granola yesterday, and intend to turn it into a habit! It is healthier, better and way cheaper.

It took me no time, plus it was a lot of fun... and it tastes sooooo toasted, soooo good, soooo non-branded, sooo homemade!

My first ever homemade granola!

Chocolate Granola (adapted from Chocolate by Trish Deseine, p86)

In the introduction to her recipe, Trish Deseine says:
"Make it in large quantities and you will never want to buy cereal from the store again. (YES, this is what happened to me!) Adapt this recipe using your favourite grains; increase the quantities and omit ingredients to suit your own tastes." YES, again! I enjoyed the random rambling in my cupboards, looking for nuts and grains that I had, to finally come up with a mine of golden treasures. I filled my tray with my good finds and baked enough granola to fit a humongous jar.

Here is the basic simple recipe for you to play with:

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 -7 minutes
1 baking tray
Preheat the oven to 350*F

125g of dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup rolled oats ( I used half a pack, 200g, of Bob's red Mill Organic Extra Thick Rolled Oats, so, of course, I increased and adapted all the other quantities along the way...)
1 tbspn pistachio nuts
1 tbspn flaked almonds
1 tbspn pecans ( or whole hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, or macadamia nuts)
1 tbspn grated coconut
1 tbspn pine nuts
1 tbspn honey

Pssst! As we are in Canada, I added tbspns of maple syrup to the mixture and dried cranberries (I actually used a five dried fruit medley of golden and sultana raisins, blueberries, cherries, & cranberries). Next time I think I will try it with dried orange peel...

Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Place on a baking tray and bake for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture turns beautifully golden. Shake the tray halfway through to keep the grains from sticking to each other. Leave to cool. Serve in a bowl with milk or yogurt and fresh fruit - while you sit there snug in your slippers.

Hand-crocheted slipper socks, designed by Bonnie Boon

Do you have any other ideas, any tips to share?

I officially declare that my granola days are starting RIGHT NOW! Better late than never...