I can no longer get my (camera) pictures on the blog. We had someone come to install a new router and now there are other problems to contend with. Oh well, I can tell you this is granola making day. I have done two huge batches. I am so comfortable with this type of homemade granola that I have not made it the same way twice. There are two steps, however that I must do. I have to haul out the enormous iron skillet that my mother used for many years. In to the skillet goes: olive oil, one large old fashioned can of oats, 1/2 bag of coconut, some honey, some brown sugar, some coconut sugar, some nuts, and today a half tub of my homemade cranberry/raspberry sauce. (The last part is new.) One must stir this around on low heat until all the oats have had a chance to toast a bit. I used to skip the skillet part and mix everything in a bowl and then onto the foil lined baking sheets. But I found the oats to be a little raw and it took a lot of tossing to get them right without the skillet part. Spray the foil in the lined baking sheets and put a thin layer of the above mixture on to the sheet. Toast it in the oven until it is golden but, of course, not burned. One must be vigilant with this step because the kitchen witch is always ready to burn. It takes about 10 minutes on roast in my convection oven at 350-400 degrees. But all ovens are different. I do two sheet pans at a time shaking and shifting and changing oven racks so they brown evenly. When it's just right, let it cool completely then pour it all into a really big tub because this is when you start adding all the goodies like the dried fruit, more nuts, raisins, banana chips, sunflower seeds... anything you like, even chocolate chips. When completely cool, store in air tight bags or containers. I am told some people in the family can't leave it alone. Brooks asked for bags of it when Beth and Mike went to Parents' Day at the Citadel.
