Not Your Kid's Granola

We could probably all agree that granola is good. It's very versatile and can be adapted to please many pallets. That's a very good thing for me because I don't like chewy dried fruit in my crunchy granola. I also don't like the enormous sugar content in the typical, grocery store stuff. That's why I make my own. Here's my lightly sweetened, home-baked, yogurt topping granola.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F, and grease a 9x13 inch metal sheet pan. In a medium sized bowl, I combine 2 cups of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of wheat bran or germ, 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds, 3 Tbsp of kasha (whole buckweat), 2/3 cup of walnut pieces, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, and 3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds. Mix to combine.

In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 Tbsp. water, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup honey, 1 Tbsp sorghum, and 3 Tbsp of canola oil. Stir to combine and pour into the oat mixture. Stir to coat.

Bake for 30 minutes and stir. If you like dried fruit in your granola, now is the time to stir it in. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the mixture becomes lightly browned.

Store in an air tight container. Again, granola is completely adaptable. If you don't like walnuts, use your favorite nut. If you don't like seeds, omit them. If you'd rather have your granola sweeter, add some brown sugar. Granola is hard to mess up, so just experiment. Oh, if you like it clumpy, press the pre-cooked granola into the pan and don't stir it at all. See, something for everyone!