Yum!

I think this is the first time I've put food on my blog. No... I think I posted some pictures of strawberries from my garden last year. Certainly it's the first time I've posted a recipe. The reason is that I don't cook. It's not that I can't cook, I just don't cook. At least, not very often. It's too hard to cook every day for just one person. I don't entertain that often but I like to cook for other people.

But, every couple of weeks I make a batch of this granola because I eat it for breakfast nearly every day. I got the recipe from a dear friend many years ago and I find that it fills me up and doesn't disappear and leave me hungry again by 11:00 in the morning.

Here's the basic ingredients:

• 4 cups oats - the "old fashioned" kind, not quick oats.
• 1 1/2 cups of sunflower seeds. Be sure to get the raw, unsalted ones. Ask me how I know.
• 2 cups of almonds - you can use slivered, sliced or whole.
• 1/2 cup of canola oil.
• 1/2 cup of honey.
• 2 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon.

In a 9x13 baking pan, mix the oats, sunflower seeds and almonds. In another container (like the measuring cup), mix the oil, honey and cinnamon. Pour it over the oats mixture and mix it up really well. Be sure all the dry ingredients are coated.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven, stir well, and turn the oven down to 250 degrees. Bake for another 20 minutes. Take it out and stir again and bake for another 20 minutes at 250. So, it bakes for a total of an hour. Don't over-bake. Stir every once in a while as it cools so you don't end up with big clumps stuck together. Store it in an air-tight contaier when it's completely cooled.

You can alter this in any way you like. Sometimes I add flax seed or wheat germ. You can use any kind of nuts - I just like almonds. You can change it on a daily basis by adding your favorite ingredients after it's baked. Like, raisins, dried cranberries, or any kind of fruit. And any flavor of yogurt. Use your imagination.

This morning's dish had some applesauce and vanilla yogurt with a little dusting of nutmeg. Now you know one of my favorite things.