I am a middle aged man. Which means I'm -- at best -- halfway between having been born and going to die. Which is another way of saying that in 43 years I'll be dead -- it's just a matter of how long I will have been dead for.
As these epiphanies sink in, I start to think about 2050 and how best to reduce those number of years I will have been dead for.
So the doctor says cholesterol, while not high, is high enough to watch. Shoot. And I had just settled into a morning routine of an hard-boiled egg. So what's for breakfast?
Yes, granola.
But I'm picky. The store-bought granola has a fat content I don't control and stuff other than oatmeal. Non-mushy oatmeal, that's what I want. And I'm picky enough to just do it myself. In my defense, it's actually pretty easy to do.
Recipe (and no more mortality references) below the fold.
Granola
Ingredients:
- 5 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup canola oil (something similar)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey, or something sweetly similar)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or hazelnuts, or something nutly similar)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place all of the ingredients in a large bow and stir to thoroughly mix. Pour out mixture onto a large sheet pan (I use a 12" x 16" one). Place into oven.
(Since what you're doing here is roasting, the amount of time in the oven depends on a few things: how hot the oven, how large the pan, how dark you like your granola. I like my granola on the dark side, and I have a convection oven. Your milage may vary.)
Roast for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to ensure an even toast.
Allow to cool, bag, eat. Me, I like 1/2 cup of granola with a couple of dollops of yogurt for breakfast. When I feel celebratory, I throw in a handful of currants. Enjoy!
