San Francisco acquired a new resident today – Cory’s brother who has a freshly minted MBA. Cory and I assembled a humble care package for his arrival with the basic necessities – dish soap, body soap, paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, hangers, and a laundry bag, among other small things. Since he won’t be doing any grocery shopping until tomorrow, I also took it upon myself to make him a very large salad with a red wine vinaigrette and homemade almond vanilla granola. Yes, I am 25 going on 70. My mom keeps reminding me how old I am, so I may as well bring out my inner-doting grandmother, you know?
A funny thing happens when you eat 90% of your meals at home, everything you don’t prepare for yourself becomes incredibly expensive. I had every intention of buying granola, but I experienced slight sticker shock at the grocery store and decided to just make a small batch of granola at home. After all, I already had the ingredients waiting for me in the pantry. As far as granola goes, this one is fairly standard. Simple, very lightly sweetened, and warmly spiced. If you’re new to making granola, this is a good place to start. Just a warning, almond extract is strong. 1/4 teaspoon doesn’t seem like much, but any more than that would probably be too much.
Almond Vanilla Granola
Print this recipe1 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup barley flakes (optional)
1 cup almonds, chopped (or slivered almonds)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
pinch of salt
1/2 cup raisinsPreheat oven to 300F.
Meanwhile, toss together the oats, barley flakes (if using), almonds, and shredded coconut in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, honey, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the oats and toss to coat. Transfer the granola into an even layer on the largest baking sheet you have and bake for 40-50 minutes. Stir the granola every 10 minutes or so, to make sure the oats toast evenly.
When the granola is golden brown, remove from the oven and mix in the raisins before transferring to an air tight container. Store the container away from direct sunlight. Serve the granola with yogurt and fresh fruit.
Makes 5-6 servings
Try the recipe index for more ideas.
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- olive oil granola with pistachios and apricots
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- coconut almond cookies
- muesli
Tags: breakfast, snack, vegan, vegetarian
I completely agree with you about the costs of going out and buying premade food. Gah! I was wondering whether you have a good vegetarian tagine? I am so inspired by your tagines but want to make one with chickpeas perhaps, as meat is more expensive. I recently made a lamb tagine with dates and almonds (from Arabesque, superb btw), but the meat alone (3lb lamb shoulder) was $18.
I don’t think I’ve ever made a vegetarian tagine, but if I were going to I’d make something like the beef & prune tagine I posted a couple weeks ago… sans beef, of course. The chickpeas and potatoes should be enough to make a filling tagine, and the dried fruit and liberal amount of spices would keep the dish interesting. I’d probably throw in some almonds in there at the end too, for a nice crunch. I hope that helps! I hear you about the cost of meat. Lamb and duck are my favorites, but they’re too expensive to eat regularly.
mmmm… sounds like a great idea.