I recently dug out my granola recipe and have been making a batch every weekend for the past few weeks.  I got the recipe from a friend who got it from her mother in law in Canada.  It reminds me of a cereal that my Nan used to buy when I was a child and it was a treat to be allowed to stay the night at Nan and Pops and have Vita Crunch for breakfast.  Sadly you can’t buy Vita Crunch anymore but this is a close accidental substitute.

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, chis seeds etc
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup mix of dried fruit such as raisins, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, chopped dates, chopped candied ginger etc

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees celcius.  Lightly oil 2 jelly roll pans or 1 large roasting dish.  In a large bowl, stir the oats with the nuts, seeds and spices.  Stir the water with the vanilla and maple syrup and pour onto oat mixture.  Mix until all the ingredients are evenly coated.  Spread out onto the tray or trays and bake, stirring every ten minutes to prevent burning until the granola is crumbly and golden in colour, about 30 mins.  Remove from the oven and immediately stir in the fried fruit.  Once it is cool, transfer to an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge.

Tip:  If you don’t have maple syrup, I have used apple sauce as a substitute in the past and it has turned out fine.

Best enjoyed with yoghurt and fruit.