Weekday mornings are always a blur of get-out-the-door activity. Work and school beckon, and both require a good breakfast to give you and your kids sufficient energy for a productive day.
Get-up-and-go with this tasty granola recipe, which you can customize in almost any way imaginable. It's scrumptious sprinkled over yogurt, or on its own with a splash of milk.
Ingredients:
5 cups of oats (use the good old fashioned kind, not quick-cooking oats)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup unsalted cashews (broken into small pieces)
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup 100% maple syrup (please, please don't use the cheap imitation stuff -- it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing)
pinch of salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
Combine oats, vanilla, nuts and maple syrup in a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt (for good luck, and to bring out the other flavors). Mix well.
Transfer to a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, stirring every so often. Don't let it burn, but do get it as brown (and therefore crunchy) as you can.
Remove from oven and transfer half of the mixture to a second rimmed baking sheet. Stir in raisins and cranberries and let cool to room temperature. Store in an air-tight container, and then watch how fast it disappears.
Substitute almost any dried fruit you like, and play around with spices; nutmeg would be a fantastic substitute for the cinnamon. Broken-up banana chips? Sweetened, shredded coconut? The sky's the limit.
Provision particulars:
I buy the 10-pound bag of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats at Costco. It's extremely affordable, lasts for ages, and also makes a hot, tasty, healthy breakfast on cold winter mornings.
I also use Costco's 16-ounce bottle of Kirkland pure vanilla extract.
All nuts and dried fruits are purchased at Fred Meyer or Top Foods, in the bulk sections. Check prices compared to packaged versions and you'll never look back.
You can't beat Trader's Joe's prices (or taste) on 100% pure maple syrup.
Costco has two locations in the Olympia area: Tumwater Costco at 5500 Littlerock Road and Lacey Costco at 1470 Marvin Road NE.
Top Foods has two locations in the Olympia area: Olympia Top Foods at 1313 Cooper Point Road and Lacey Top Foods at 5600 Martin Way.
Fred Meyer has two locations in the Olympia area: Tumwater Fred Meyer at 555 Trosper Road SW and Lacey Fred Meyer at 700 Sleater Kinney Road SE.
Olympia has one Trader Joe's, found at 1530 Black Lake Boulevard SW.
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