Grandma's Granola

Do you have food memories that transport you to a happy place? Maybe fish tacos at the beach, pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, or chicken and veggie skewers from the grill in the heart of summer. One food that transports me back is my Grandma's Granola. Once a year when I was growing up, we would load up the car for the 14 hour drive to Denver to visit my Mom's parents and spend a wonderful week  with Grandma and Grandpa. They had a beautiful yard with huge cherries trees and Frank (my brother) and I would spend lazy mornings creating beautiful blue pottery with them. We would make cups, bowls, plates and animals of various shapes but my fondest memory was enjoying Grandma's homemade granola. She  always had a huge pottery vessel filled to the brim with her mixture of oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds. Today, whenever I take bite of her granola I am transported back to being 8 years old and spending time with them in the backyard. Plus, they both lived to be 90 so it must be healthy! They also enjoyed a daily bourbon on the rocks for happy hour so maybe the combination is the key to a long life...

Here is my Grandma's recipe. You can adapt it by using different nuts like walnuts, pecans, and sliced almonds or different fruit like cranberries and dates.

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup coconut (I don't use the coconut but if you like it, go for it)
1/2 cup brown sugar (I always use raw sugar)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup raisins
1 cup almonds

Mix together oats, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds.
Heat sugar, honey, vanilla, and canola oil over low heat (or in the microwave) but do not boil
Poor sugar mixture over the oats and mix together
Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour (stirring every 15 minutes) on a large cookie sheet
Remove granola from oven and add raisins
Enjoy with yogurt, milk, or over frozen bananas

Call me crazy but I could eat granola for every meal including snacks. I get immense cravings for my "bird seed" as Blake so lovingly calls it and I encourage you to make your own. Store bought granola can be very expensive and contain highly processed sugar which dilutes the nutritional value.
Plus, it makes your house smell divine.  Thank you Grandma for an amazing memory and a delicious recipe.

What food memories transport you back to being with family? I encourage you to dust off some old recipes, close your eyes, and remember...