Since yesterday's pizza post was so much fun, I've decided to make this a theme for my posts this week: all the things I have found I like to make from scratch, whether recently discovered or old standbys. Granola falls into the old standby category as I decided last year to stop buying it at the store. It's so crazy easy to make at home and I've gotten it down to a very straight forward recipe that always seems to work out, as long as I don't forget and leave it in the oven too long. Which sometimes happens. Anyway, granola with plain yogurt and fruit is one of my favorite breakfasts, so you can rest assured that this recipe has gotten a lot of quality control over the past year!

Vanilla Coconut Granola

4 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned)
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts)
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds pinch of salt
1/2 cup canola oil 1 tsp (or so) of vanilla
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup, depending on your preference
1/2-1 cup dried fruit, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 325F. Stir together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add your wet ingredients to a small saucepan and heat over low heat; or add to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 20 seconds or so. This step is just to make sure that the wet will evenly coat the dry.

3. Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir together until evenly distributed.

4. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to encourage even browning.

5. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit (I sometimes add raisins) if desired. Allow to cool completely then eat!

A note about clumps: This recipe does not result in large clumps because I don't like my granola to be any sweeter (or have more oil), which is usually required to get the components to really stick together. That said, it does have small clumps and it's quite crunchy and delicious. A note about coconut: More than anything, the coconut adds a nice textural element. The flavor is actually rather mild, so don't be too concerned if it's not your most favorite thing in the world as it won't overpower the end result.

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