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October 08, 2005

Chunky Granola, Revisited

Just for Thicket Dweller. *grin* Also check out Lactating Mama's High-Calorie Granola Bars.

Originally posted March 2004:

It's been fun experimenting with granola here in Kyiv. I have an abundance of inexpensive kasha grains readily available--I can't identify them all and my Russian dictionary doesn't give much detail beyond "grain cereal." I think we've used oats, wheat, corn, buckwheat, millet, and I'm not sure what else.

My favorite recipe is Mollie Katzen's stove-top, dry roasted granola. (I believe is in her "Enchanted Broccoli Forest" cookbook.) It's best for small batches of granola.

For large batches, I like this recipe. It is low-fat and I can adjust it to be low-sugar. The technique that makes it "chunky granola" also helps the smaller, crushed grains, be part of the chunks instead of gathering at the bottom of the granola jar.

CHUNKY GRANOLA

8 c Rolled oats
1 c Nuts (more if desired -- up to double this amount)
1/2 c Sunflower seeds
1/2 c Whole millet -OR- whole buckwheat groats
3 c Whole wheat flour (or more)
-OR- part cornmeal, rice flour,or other whole-grain flour
1 t Salt (or more, as desired)
1/2 c Honey (or more, -- up to double this amount)
1 c -Hot water, or up to:
2 c -Hot water *
1 t Vanilla

* Note: More water makes the granola chunkier, less makes it crumbly.

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl or pot, combine oats, nuts, seeds, millet, flour, and salt. Mix together honey, water, and vanilla, and stir into dry ingredients. Spread on a lightly oiled baking sheet and squeeze mixture together to form small chunks, but don't crowd; the chunks need to bake clear through. Roast until golden brown, about 10 to 20 minutes. (With the larger amount of water, reduce heat and bake longer.) As it bakes the granola may need stirring to brown evenly. Cool thoroughly before storing.

Variations: Replace part of the water with the freshly squeezed juice of 2 oranges (and add the grated rinds if the oranges were not sprayed with pesticides), or use 2 teaspoons orange oil.

For "gingerbread" granola, use half molasses (for half honey) and add 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon cloves.

For a nice change, substitute maple syrup for honey.

Source: "Diet for Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappe

Family Favorites:

* Pina Colada Granola: No nuts, dried coconut, dried pineapple bits, coconut sweetened condensed milk

* Carmel Apple Crunch: Dried apples, raisins, dinnamon, carmel sweetened condensed milk, walnuts

Variations:

* I like to use sweetened condensed milk in place of the honey, because it is less expensive and I can get flavored milks here (peach, coconut, strawberry, lemon.) I usually use half a can for a big recipe--I find I need very little sweetner when adding dried fruits.

* I like to add a handful or two of store bought cereals--rice puffs, corn flakes, whatever--to give a little more variety to the texture.

* I use a cream-of-wheat type kasha in place of the flour in this recipe, and use a bit less than the recipe suggests.

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