Ganola Happiness

Yep, you read it right, this Granola is called Ganola thanks to my cousin's son, Becker. Mmmmmm...and it's so delicious. It is only recently that I finally began to make my own granola, I have no idea what took so long. Thanks to my wonderful cousin, Shelley, I am now making my own every Saturday. In the states, you can buy all kinds of granola (though it tends to have a ton of sugar), but in Madrid, we've had a tough time finding anything good. We have muesli, but it's so dry and boring. I use the muesli as a base because there aren't any coops around to buy oats in bulk and this is the most economical way for me to make it.

I never make this the same - sometimes the nuts change, sometimes the fruit. Sometimes I don't have the seeds, sometimes I have a new item to try. Pretty much all nuts, seeds, and fruits taste delicious in this mixture. I especially love dried cherries, cranberries, and mangos. I also use olive oil because I love it and I don't buy any other kind of oil anymore. I find that it adds a sturdy, kind of serious flavor. Use a lower grade olive oil for a more subtle taste.

• 4 cups old fashioned oats (or muesli)
  
• 1 cup walnuts and almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup favorite dried fruits, roughly chopped
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix oats, salt, and cinnamon together. Add seeds, nuts, and dried fruits. combine well.
3. In a small sauce pan, heat up the sugar, oil, honey. Mix constantly until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and mix to coat. It takes a little time, but the honey mix will cover the oat mix if tossed well enough.
   
4. Working in batches as needed, put the granola on greased baking sheets and bake until golden. About 30 minutes. I usually cover mine for the first 27 minutes because my oven is so small. When uncovered, watch very carefully as granola burns easily.
   
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Mine never lasts more than 5 days...but I bet it would last a week.