Granola gets my vote, in the morning at least

Sometimes cooking is exciting, and sometimes it's easy and just satisfying.

I've just finished a breakfast of the satisfying kind: home-made granola, banana and yogourt. Now, granola's not the kind of food to make me go 'ooh' and 'humm' but since finding an old family recipe tucked in the back of my folder, I've become a convert. I like oats, just never eat packaged cereal for the dusty, musty might-have-nuts-in-it flavour I can't stand. But this, Yum!

At first I made a half batch, to see if I liked it. You could, too. Takes 5 minutes to mix and a little while in the oven while you do something else. (Yes, you bake it: who'da thought?)



Granola from Grandpa and Grandma's recipe

9 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup hot water
dried fruit of your choice
(I use a small handful each of dried cherries and raisins, sometimes dried cranberries)


Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, wheat germ and sunflower seeds.

Measure the honey into a pyrex jug or similar. I use a metal 1/2-cup measuring cup for the oil and then the honey, and measure the hot water last which melts out the remains of the honey.

Whisk it with a fork to mix well -- and then stir it into the oat mixture.

Dump the damp granola mixture into a large roasting pan and bake, in the middle of the oven, for about ten minutes. Stir it all up, repeat for another ten minutes, and then add the dried fruit and repeat for another ten minutes. The granola should crisp up and become slightly golden. (I add the fruit near the end to avoid it going black and bitter.)

Let it cool completely before storing in a big airtight container