Granola, Versatility By The Spoonfuls

This post has been lying as a draft for about 3 weeks now. Hesitancy of where to start and what to write has taken upon me. Its been a while since I have been here; quite evident as Addie is already 7 months old. Its only the blog end that has been quiet; all other facets of our lives are anything but. Needless to say, our lives are revolving around Addie. Our house is filled with her squeaks and babbles, and most of all her generous, toothless smiles. I am enjoying every single moment of my motherhood. They say time flies faster with kids. That makes me greedy and want to savor every minute of it.

Nothing fancy is dished out from my kitchen these days. I only get little time to prepare a meal, let alone plate and photograph it. I thought I would be upset for not blogging as regularly as I would like to. Well, I even thought I couldn’t stand a messy house for a day. But this new me is quite different. My days are dedicated to our little one. The messy house can wait; and so can the piles of laundry and the sink full of dishes.

Slowly, I am learning to make time for myself. Now, I still don’t get to read a book with a hot cuppa chai; or get to take a long shower without eyeing at the baby monitor. But it’s a start. And it is here, in my virtual kitchen, that I want to begin. So bear with me while I adjust to this new life of mine. I will be back with old rigor in no time.

For now, I am going to leave you with my favourite granola recipe. It is adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe. It’s been a favourite even though I have been making this for over 3 years now. The key is to add something different each time. About a cup of variant that I have listed below (or one of your favourites), and different selections of dried fruit keeps this recipe anew. A good way to start a day and take-on the adventures that it holds.

Granola

Ingredients

Rolled oats – 4 cups

1 cup of one or more of the following variants
  • Rolled triticale
  • Hemp seeds
  • Wheat germ
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Flax seeds
  • or use another cup of rolled oats
Brown sugar – 1/3 cup
Or
Sugar – ¼ cup and molasses – 2 tbsp

Sliced almonds – 2 cups (or use your favourite nut)
Maple syrup/ agave nectar/ honey – 1/3 cup
Canola oil – ¼ cup
Salt – 1 tsp
Dried fruit – 2 cups (cranberries, raisins, berries, apples, figs etc)

Clockwise from top: Dried fruits (figs, blackberries, cranberries, gojiberries), sliced almonds, rolled triticale, rolled oats

Method

Preheat oven to 300F. Mix oats, the variant, almonds, sugar and salt thoroughly in a large bowl. In another bowl mix maple syrup, oil and molasses, if using. Combine wet and dry mixtures and spread on a sheet pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Oats and the nuts should be golden and toasted. Mix the dried fruits evenly and store in an airtight container when cooled.

Serve with warm milk or milk alternative, or with yogurt and fresh fruits.

34 comments:

Indian Khana said...

She is very cute....and garnola looks yummy...love the pics

Lavanya Raj said...

I have been missing your posts all these days. Nice to see Cute Little Addie..

Pretty Pictures!!

Pavani said...

Your hands must be full with your lovely daughter.. She's adorable.. Enjoy your baby, they grow toooo fast. Granola looks yumm..

Raaga said...

Ditch the granola... look at the sweetie pie in the first pic :) utterly cute Sug.

Welcome back to blogging and hope to see more of you.

Esra said...

Welcome back Suganya!

A great way to start the day, very healty! not to mention your inspiring photos...

Neeta said...

How wonderful to have you back Suganya, puts a huge smile on my face :-) Addie is very cute and the granola is beautifully tempting with the gorgeous pictures......

SallyBR said...

Nice to "see" you back, your daughter is simply adorable! Easy to understand how blogging, washing dishes, keeping the house neat, AND taking a shower... have a much lower priority! :-)

(loved the granola, anyway... )

Anonymous said...

She looks beautiful.. :) Great Granola recipe.. Simple and tasty..

utbtkids said...

Nice to hear from you.

I tried your olive oil-tangerine cake for my mom's birthday yesterday.

Manasi said...

Good to see u back! I know what u mean by the baby taking up all ur time :) But it is all so worth it! 2 years and I echo what u have said in this post!
Addie is SWEET! Muuaaah! God Bless!

Sonia said...

Good to see you back, Suganya! :) Wow..Addie is so cute and sweet! Very beautiful pic of her.
And granola recipe is quite inspiring. Pics are as usual beautiful. Love to your Addie. :)

shan said...

Awww.She's so cute suganya..I've been a silent reader of u'r blog for so many months..and i shud say, I Missed U so much!! Welcome Back..and that too Back with a Bang!!

Nina Timm said...

All is forgiven, your little baby is so beautiful and you know what....in a year or so, this blog and us will still be here. Great pics!

M said...

Wow Addie is soo cute! Adorable! :)
I love ur blog and i have tried ur sambar recipe and it was superb.
I am always looking new granola recipes. I am going to try yours and let you know. Superb photography as well.
And pls blog more often.
Cheers,
M

amna said...

your baby is so cute!! she's lucky to have such awesome photographers as parents to record all her baby cuteness :)

good to see you back Suganya :)

Unknown said...

Addie i so adorable....Enjoy motherhood! Granola looks tempting

Joan Wainscott said...

Suganya, time spent on/with a child is never wasted; both Addie and you shall gain immeasurably.
May God bless your efforts and your family in many ways!
Thanks for thinking of us, your readers, and gracing us with yet another healthy and delicious recipe/photo.
Joan (Wisconsin)

thepassionatecook said...

looks a treat! and i can safely say that there IS life after the children! just a little patience s required. enjoy it while it lasts, ly eldest just graduated nd is off to panama... i miss her already!

Soma said...

She is beautiful beautiful beautiful. I can see that amused twinkle in her smile, her eyes are pretty and I feel like kissing her fingertip. Most of all I miss the baby in my babies. They do grow up so fast. no more lovely showers for us, no more books in couch corners - but an entirely different life to enjoy. Have a goooood time. She is precious.
Love
Soma

KALVA said...

Wow..She looks so cute... Bless you dear Addie...

Anonymous said...

Suganya....Congratulations on your baby girl! She is gorgeous....I came here looking for a recipe...but i was treated to an even better beauty :)

Rajitha

Susan said...

The precious must be our priorities. So good to see you and the babe, Suganya. Your granola looks lovely, but it is upstaged by dear little Addie. Priorities. ; }

Veggie Belly said...

A beautiful post about a beatiful baby..

Anu Nandu said...

With a princess like this, everything else can of course wait. Yes. They do grow up quick - so enjoy all the precious moments including cleaning up burps on the shoulders! I miss those!

The granola is of course gorgeous as well. I saw the Alton Brown episode recently where he makes these dried fruits at home and then makes a trail mix out of it. Loved the episode - Love your granola as well!

evolvingtastes said...

Welcome back Suganya!

Savithri said...

Your baby is so adorable:) And your recipe looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!

Nirmala said...

Nice to see u blogging again. But could see how tough to move u're eyes away from beautiful Addie. Enjoy every moment. When they start moving/speaking more tough days are to come ;)

Prerna said...

Oh my gosh! Your baby is gorgeous :-)
I have an 11 month old and trust me you never get chance to get rid of dirty dishes or take a shower EVER!
Stumbled upon your blog and i'm glad that happened! Its beautiful out here and also love your recipes and of course photography.
keep up the good work!

Cynthia said...

I have been a very bad aunt! Look at my beautiful niece, Addie! Congratulations to you and G!

Bharathy said...

What an adorable baby!..generaly my eyes get hooked in your fab looking picures rather than the recipes..and now its Addie!..
Cam here after a long time to see any updations abt the baby!..Thanks a bunch for not disappointing me!..hope you, hubby and baby are doing well..:)

Anonymous said...

wow...had oats with me and wanted do something different with it...this is really nice...

Sri said...

Hi Suganya...I came across your blog while searching for the granola recipe...Your granola recipe was so simple and I decided to give it a try. I dint have brown sugar, so used Jaggery syrup and used whole flax seeds (hope thats what you had used too). 5 cups of main ingredients (oats, flax seeds, wheat germ and oat bran) with the amount of sugar and oil, honey etc as mentioned in your recipe. I did bake at 300 for about 45 min....and it turned crispy but the color is dark brown (some places look like they are about to be burnt) and I could feel a slight bittertaste in the mouth. The flax seeds as such looks little burnt. Any idea why mine din't turn on the lighter color as yours?

Gopika Ram said...

Ohh.. I love your cutie pie :D So sweet. :)

Suganya said...

i love oots i like that pictures its very healthy dish keep it rock

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