Eat Me - The Long Awaited Granola Recipe

**once again, I appologize for the lack of spacing in this post. I...don't get it.

Phew! I just spent 10 minutes looking for the darn index card, only to discover it was right here in front of me, where I'd left it....go figure.

First I'll give you the origins of my granola recipe, its from Alton Brown -

AB's Granola -

3c. rolled oats

1c. slivered almonds

1c cashews

3/4c. sweet shredded coconut

1/4c. + 2tbs. dark brown sugar

1/4c. + 2tbs maple syrup

1/4c. vegetable oil

3/4tsp. salt

1c. raisins

First time I made this, I left out the cashews (I don't much care for them) and it was good. But each time I've made it since then, I've tweaked and added and changed. To be honest, I don't think I've ever made the same version twice yet.

But the latest - which I think was my favorite yet - is below. (keep in mind its about a double batch compared to the one above)

Sarah's version:

6 1/2 - 7 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. sliced almonds (or slivered, or chopped, or whathaveyou)

2 c. chopped pecans

1 1/2c shredded coconut (plus a pinch or so usually)

3/4 c dark brown sugar

3/4 cup maple syrup (I use the real maple syrup)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c. - 2 c. golden (yellow) raisins

and when I have them a couple of handfuls of dried cranberries.

2 bowls, 2 cookie sheets, one gallon size baggie to store it all in.

*keep in mind, a lot of this is 'eyeballed' at this point. I sometimes add a few TBS of oats, or another handful of almonds depending on what I feel like. But you'll want your mixture to be 'moist' but not soggy or clumping together.

Oh you want directions? That I can do!

Preheat oven to 250. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar. In your second bowl, mix the maple syrup, oil, and salt. Drizzle that over the first bowl's contents and then mix to your heart's content. I've found hands works best.

Divide that between the two cookie sheets (I've found that if you make a circular 'hula hoop' motion with the cookie sheet, it all evens out quite nicely) Stick them in the oven and bake for 1hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Stir every 15 minutes. I also rotate my cookie sheets 2 or 3 times but that's because my oven is funny. If your oven isn't dumb, you can probably skip that part. Remove from oven, let it cool a bit, and then add in your raisins/cranberries/dried fruit of your choosing.

The great thing about this is, you can add/omit any nuts or dried fruit of your liking. You can increase or decrease the sweetness by tinkering with the brown sugar/syrup. And there are really a zillion granola versions out there. ...and its really tasty. ...and there are no preservatives or funny ingredients. even more tasty.