Straight To Fruity Granola Recipe

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In 1981 my husband, Tim, and I had just moved to a remote jungle town, in Ecuador, where boxed cereals were unheard of and the only loaves of bread available were the ones I baked. While we could purchase eggs and oatmeal in the local general store, we were desperate for breakfast ideas.

We quickly tired of eggs alternated with cooked oatmeal. So, I experimented with a variety of granola recipes. Some were too dry; others too moist. Finally, I found one and tweaked it to suit our tastes. This one seemed to be just right. I varied the dried fruit according to what was available. Cranberries were an imported luxury, but raisins were never a problem. I also dried pineapple and papaya, then snipped them into the granola mixture for added variety.

Served with milk and fresh fruit, the granola was a breakfast that stayed in our tummies; satisfying well until lunchtime. Cristal, our eldest child, at eight months, was content sitting in her high chair, gumming a lump of granola into a sticky mess.

Granola accompanied us on camping trips into the high Andes Mountains. We ate it huddled around a campfire in cool high altitude mornings accompanied by a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Granola went to the beach with us. We ate it under a palm tree with cooling glasses of papaya juice. It was portable and filling.

When the granola ran out, the empty container sat on the counter, reminding me that I needed to refill it. Granola making was a chore I didn’t always enjoy. It was just another one of the things I had to do. As our family grew from one child to three I began doubling the recipe, then tripling it – anything to make it last longer. The great thing about baking granola was the warm homey fragrance that filled the house.

Although boxed cereals became available they were expensive and not as satisfying. So I continued to make granola. The children grew from toddlers to school age, then teenagers. We ate pancakes, muffins and eggs, but granola was the default breakfast.

When we moved back to Canada in 2002, I decided my granola making days were over. After all, there was a large variety of boxed cereals available; even boxed granola. But after a few months of store-bought breakfasts my husband missed "our" granola so I began making it again.

Making granola is still not my favorite thing to do. but it satisfies my family and that’s worth any effort.

Fruity Granola Recipe:

4 cups quick oats (not instant)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup water

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

dash salt

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup dried cranberries