Robert's Place Crunchy Granola

Home Made Crunchy Granola
Home Made Granola is the best - and so cheap and easy to make. The commercial versions have been made months before you purchase them - taste the real thing!

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.
Combine dry ingredients except raisins.
Liquify the honey if necessary and add the oil, liquid milk and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix until well combined.
Spread the mixture on a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning.
Remove from the oven and add the raisins, then continue to bake for approximately an additional 10 minutes until lightly browned.

After cooling, store your home made crunchy granola in an airtight container.
Serve with milk and sliced fruit, and maybe some yogurt for a truly nutritious breakfast.


3 cups slow-cooking oats (420 gm)

1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds (50gm)

1/2 cup raw bran (70gm)

1/2 cup chopped raw, unsalted nuts such as almonds (40gm)

1/2 cup wheat germ (70gm)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
flakes (70gm)

1/4 cup sesame seeds (50gm)

1/4 cup non-instant milk powder (12 gm)

2 tbsp milk (30ml)

1/2 cup honey (125ml)

2 tbsp oil (30ml)

1 tsp real vanilla extract (5ml)

1/2 cup raisins (125 gm)


History of Crunchy Granola:
Granola originated in the 1860's as a baked whole grain cereal that was concocted by a New York doctor, James Jackson. It was originally known as "Granula". The success of this early product was not missed by John Harvey Kellogg, who created his own version of the baked whole-grain cereal for use in his healthy eating regimen. Unfortunately he used the same name for his product and was forced to change it to "Granola" when Jackson sued him. Granola remained in the background for the next ninety years or so, until it was popularised during the hippy era in the 1960's with the swing to natural foods and whole grains.

Robert's Place Granola Bars

Home Made Granola Bars
Lovely chewy home made granola bars with real fruit and great flavor. For best results use our Crunchy Granola recipe rather than a bought product. These not only taste better than the commercially made bars, they cost much less! Combine the granola and the dried fruits in a large bowl and mix well. Melt the butter, vanilla and the marshmallows over low heat, stirring constantly until the marshmallows have melted. Stir in the granola-fruit mixture followed by the chocolate chips and mix until all the dry ingredients are coated. Spoon into one or two large, greased baking pans and press to a layer about 3/4" or 2 cm thick. Allow to cool and then cut into bars. Store between layers of waxed paper in a sealed container.		7 cups (980 gm) Crunchy Granola (recipe) 1 cup (200 gm) milk chocolate chips 1 cup (250 gm) dried cranberries 1 cup (250 gm) dried apricots, diced 1 cup (250 gm) sultana raisins 1/2 cup (125 gm) butter 500 gram bag of marshmallows tsp (5 ml) vanilla

Canadian Living Granola Bars

Chewy Granola Bars

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

(based on 2 ratings)

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Store-bought granola bars sound healthy but at times they are no better than a chocolate bar. Why not make your own? They are great to add to your child's lunch or for after school snacks.

Servings: 15

Ingredients:

Nutritional Info
Per bar: about	-
cal	204
pro	3 g
total fat	5 g
sat fat	3 g
carb	38 g
fibre	3 g
chol	11 mg
sodium	50 mg
% RDI:	-
calcium	2%
iron	11%
vit A	9%
vit C	2%
folate	2%

3-1/2 cups (875 mL) quick-cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar
1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, melted
2/3 cup (150 mL) corn syrup
1/2 cup (125 mL) liquid honey
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
Pinch salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) dried cranberries or cherries
3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup (125 mL) flaked coconut (optional)

Preparation:

Line 9-inch (2.5 L) square cake pan with foil, leaving 1-inch (2.5 cm) overhang for handles; grease. Set aside.

In bowl, combine oats, sugar, butter, syrup, honey, vanilla and salt. Stir in cranberries, apricots, and coconut (if using).

Press into prepared pan. Bake in 325F (160C) oven for 70 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool completely in pan on rack. Using foil handles, lift out of pan. Peel off foil. Cut into bars.

Mother Earth News Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

September/October 1985

By Denise Garoutte

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My family loves granola—especially granola bars. Unfortunately, most store-bought granola bars are nothing but candy in clever disguise. And the few truly nutritious granola products on the market more often than not taste like cardboard and cost like the devil.

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So, once again, necessity was the mother, and — after a bit of experimentation — I invented what I feel is an unbeatable recipe for homemade granola bars. While I consider the following list of ingredients to be the core of the recipe, you can change things around a bit to suit your family's tastes and preferences. In fact, in a moment I'll offer some suggestions for doing just that.

2½ cups rolled oats (old-fashioned or instant)
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup slivered almonds
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

While your oven is preheating to 300°F, spread the oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, wheat germ and almonds evenly on a 9" x 12" baking sheet. Bake these dry ingredients for 20 minutes, stirring them occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat the butter (or margarine), brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan, allowing the brew to simmer until the oat mixture is ready to come out of the oven. (If you or yours like really crispy granola, bake the dry ingredients an additional few minutes.) As soon as the oat mixture is out, add the raisins, stirring them into the other ingredients.

Now remove the honey from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then pour the hot liquid over the oat mixture and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated.

Next, press the granola firmly into the bottom of a greased 8" x 8" pan and place it in the still-warm oven to bake (at the same 300°F as before) for 20 minutes. (An 8" x 8" pan makes bars about an inch thick; if you want thinner bars, use a slightly larger pan.)

Granola Bars # 2

from http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/?p=1642

Here’s my version … (it’s nut-free, and you can make this as organic as you want)

2 cups rolled oats (I’ve upped it to 2 1/2 cups for another batch and they turned out great)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I think it was called “soft” flour)*
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cherry-flavoured cranberries
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil (I might try substituting some of the oil with apple sauce next time)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* I picked up a lot of these ingredients at the bulk food store. I’ve also made a batch with sunflower seeds and whole flax seeds. They were just as great! I find that if I add raisins and cranberries the bars become sweeter and chewier. You’ll have to experiment and figure out what you like best.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 baking pan.

2. In large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, flax, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the centre, pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the pan.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes, but watch the baking time. If you leave them in too long they’ll be dry. I like mine a bit chewier. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars or squares. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting or they will be too hard to cut.

-

So. I mixed the ingredients. The original recipe said to use your hands to mix, which I did, and I realized I really didn’t need to. Oh well. After I was done I licked ALL TEN FINGERS because the mixture was so good. I poured the mixture into the pan and popped it into the hot oven. After about five minutes I realized that the mixture was a little too wet. And THEN I realized it was because I forgot to add the flour. I pulled it out, sprinkled the flour on top, mixed it in, and put it back into the oven. PEOPLE, THIS IS THE WAY I COOK THINGS.

BUT they were still pretty good.

I’m not sure if they’ll be sweet enough for everyone’s liking. I reduced the amount of sugar, but I found the raisins made the bars sweeter. The girls like them, and that’s what matters to me.

Granola Bars

Yield: 24

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup chopped or whole unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 x large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the sides of the pan.
2. Toss oats, peanuts, coconut, raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds together in a bowl. In a pot over medium-low heat, stir peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, spices and salt until melted.
3. Pour melted mixture over oat base and stir until blended. Stir in egg and spread granola into prepared pan, patting down to make even. Bake for 30 minutes, then cool for 20 minutes before chilling for 2 hours.
4. To cut, lift granola out of pan with parchment paper and cut into bars.

Toad in the Hole

SERVES 4 -6

Ingredients

• 100 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 300 ml milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 8-12 thick good quality sausages
• 25 g lard or drippings (or oil)

Directions

1. First place the fat and sausages into a large roasting tin or other oven-proof dish.
2. Cook in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes, shaking occasionally to turn the sausages.
3. Meanwhile prepare the batter. Make a well in the sifted flour and salt, add the egg and a some of the milk and mix to make a smooth paste.
4. Gradually whisk in the rest of the milk to give a smooth batter with the consistency of double cream.
5. Allow this to stand until sausages are cooked.
6. Take out the tin with the sausages, arrange the sausages so that they are spread evenly in the tin.
7. Quickly pour on the batter and return to the oven, cook for 30-40 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
8. Serve hot with onion gravy (made by slowly caramelising 3 large sliced onions in a frying pan with a little oil and then adding beef stock and red wine, reducing for 20 minutes and then thickening with cornflour and water) a green vegetable and boiled or mashed potatoes.

Holiday Biscotti With Cranberries and Pistachios

SERVES 42

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon whole anise seed
• 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 3/4 cup shelled natural unsalted pistachios
• 6 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped (i use 1-2 cups of white chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lemon peel, vanilla, and aniseed. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide). Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.
2. Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 28 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
3. Carefully transfer logs still on parchment to cutting board. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 9 minutes per side. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.
4. Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water just until smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 end of each cookie into melted chocolate, tilting pan if necessary; shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies on prepared sheet. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.).
5. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Montreal Bagels

12 bagels

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 (8 g) package dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon beaten egg
• 1 tablespoon malt drink powder or syrup
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour (you may need more)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup poppy seed (or 1/2 cup sesame seeds, or be creative and try a combination)
• 6 quarts water
• 1/3 cup honey

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the warm water, sugar, canola oil, yeast (not instant), egg and malt; keep combining until the yeast dissolves. Then, stir in salt and one cup of the flour.
2. Gently add enough flour to make a soft dough, about 3 cups.
3. Knead your dough for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring in extra flour as you need it. When your dough is firm and smooth, cover with inverted bowl and let sit 10 minutes.
4. Next, divvy up the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch rope, then curve each one around your hand, pressing together ends to make a bagel shape. You may need to use a few drops of water to help the ends stay together.
5. Let bagels rise for 30 minutes.
6. When ready, fill a large pot with the 6 quarts of water and then stir in the honey; bring that up to a boil.
7. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
8. When the honey-water has come up to the boil, drop in bagels and boil for about 90 seconds (1 1/2 minutes), turning only once. Drain your bagels on clean, dry dish towels and then place on baking sheets. Sprinkle both sides of bagels with seeds. Be generous!
9. Place your bagels in preheated oven and bake until golden in appearance, about 20 minutes, turning just once. Enjoy!

Indian Rice Pudding

SERVES 4 -6

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked long-grain rice or basmati rice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup
• 1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup

Directions

1. In a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, combine cooked rice and whole milk. Heat until mixture begins to boil.
2. Decrease heat to low and cook to a simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to thicken, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium, add heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom. Continue to cook until mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5-10 minutes. Use a whisk to prevent the cardamom from clumping.
4. Once mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and stir in raisins and pistachios.
5. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.
6. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
7. Note: The mixture may not seem thick enough when you remove it from the heat, but once you add the raisins and pistachios and chill, it will get nice and creamy. I like my rice pudding a little sweet, so I also added a little bit more sugar than the 2 oz. called for in the recipe to suit my personal taste.

Easy Naan (Bread Machine)

makes 8 large naan

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions

1. Add ingredients to the bread pan according to the manufacturer's directions.
2. Set Cycle: dough; Loaf size: 2 lb.
3. fter about 5 minutes, check the dough; add a tablespoon of water at a time if too dry, or a tablespoon of flour at a time if too wet.
4. Preheat oven to 450F, put 2 baking sheets in to heat for 10 minutes (this will help the naan to puff up and brown).
5. When dough cycle is done, turn dough onto a floured surface and punch down; Divide into 8 pieces.
6. Working one at a time, with the other pieces covered, roll dough out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
7. Bake for about 4 minutes, until puffed up.
8. Brown tops under the broiler, then wrap in a towel to keep warm while cooking the remaining naan.
9. These freeze very well.

Clementine Cake Recipe # 2

a second version from Shirley in case of variations. From: http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=20002


INGREDIENTS

4-5 clementines (about 375g total weight)
6 eggs
225g sugar
250g ground almonds
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder


METHOD

1. Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementines - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz. Then tip in all the remaining ingredients and pulse to a pulp. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC. Butter and line a 21cm Springform tin.
2. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Mix well, adding the pulped oranges. I don’t like using the processor for this, and frankly, you can’t baulk at a little light stirring.
3. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or greaseproof after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin. When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it at any time.
4. I've also made this with an equal weight of oranges, and with lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 250g and slightly anglicise it, too, by adding a glaze made of icing sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.

Clementine Cake Recipe # 1 from the Food Network

from Shirley. two versions in case of variations. This one is from the Food Network. But both are Nigella Lawson's recipe. from URL: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_36069_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: hr min
Cook Time: 2 hr 40 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 1 (8-inch) cake

Ingredients

* 4 to 5 clementines (about 1 pound total weight)
* 6 eggs
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 1/3 cups ground almonds
* 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Directions

Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit in the processor (or by hand, of course).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter and line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines. I don't like using the processor for this, and frankly, you can't balk at a little light stirring.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, you can take it out of the pan. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it anytime.

I've also made this with an equal weight of oranges and lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 1 1/4 cups and slightly Anglicize it, too, by adding a glaze made of confectioners' sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.