Walnut, Cranberry and Maple Granola

I often jot down recipes while I’m cooking … or eating … or simply thinking about food—which I do a lot.  It works well having countless ideas, ingredient combinations and recipes written down, just in case I want to write about them later.  I keep most of my inspirations in a food & recipe journal but, sadly,  many end up on scraps of paper as a reminder of things to work on in the future.  Having a large catalogue of food-related thoughts is unnerving sometimes, but this way I have endless recipes to work on.

Here’s a quick post about an equally quick and easy granola.  I like the combination of walnuts and cranberries, and the maple syrup adds a sweet touch without making the granola overly saccharine.  I use whatever nuts and dried fruit I have lying around; it’s all about the combination that makes the most sense to me—and what a nice surprise when it tastes good too!

Walnut, Cranberry and Maple Granola

• 4 cups large-flake / old-fashion oatmeal
• 1 cup whole walnuts, lightly broken up by hand
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped or sticks
• 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F
2. Melt butter—in the microwave is fine
3. Add maple syrup and salt to the melted butter
4. Measure and place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (oatmeal and nuts)
5. Pour melted butter and maple syrup with salt over oatmeal mixture
6. Mix until oatmeal and nuts are combined with the butter mixture
7. Bake @ 300 F for 30-40 minutes, or until toasted and golden brown
8. Add cranberries and golden raisins
9. Cool and enjoy with yogurt, milk (almond milk is lovely too) and top with fresh berries