Yarn Zombie

(Yeah, I know, I haven’t posted in forever. I don’t care.)

Last year, I tried making Smitten Kitchen’s Thick, Chewy Granola Bars. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, because I never do, but instead just threw anything that was vaguely granola-y together and called it done. And the granola rocked. So, that is now my go-to granola recipe.

It’s the middle of summer, and Travis and I are trying to eat healthier and also have portable food for when we go on bike rides. Today is the one moderately temperatured day we’re supposed to have in the next two weeks, so it was time to bake like the wind!

Adding a degree of difficulty was the fact that I wanted to make a ton of granola, and also try experimenting with different flavors. I wound up making 4 batches, each one different. I think they all turned out pretty good (except for the one that turned out awesome!), so here are the recipes, inspired by Smitten Kitchen. Each recipe starts with a base of 1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats, and a mixture of oat flour and flax seeds. Basically, since I knew I was making 4 batches, I put 1 1/3 c. oats and 1/3 c. flax seeds in the food processor, and whirred it until it was all flour-y. Then, for each batch, I added a quarter of this mixture. I wasn’t precise. You don’t have to be. It’s granola. Don’t stress out.

Each batch of granola has 2 1/2 cups of a combination of dried ingredients. I basically just got out a big glass measuring cup, and started throwing food into it until I reached a total of 2 1/2 cups. So, there are no precise measurements for each of these ingredients. Use whatever you have in a ratio that you think is best. It’s granola. Don’t stress out.

I had some ingredients that were larger than I wanted in the granola. So, I whipped out the kitchen shears and cut my dried fruit into smaller pieces. For things like nuts, I just tossed those in the food processor and gave them a whirr. Nuts are good for you, but I prefer to have them in tiny pieces in most foods. Also, be careful if any of your nuts are salted – some of my sunflower kernels were, and they wound up being almost overwhelmingly salty in the bites that they’re in. Use salted nuts sparingly, and if you are going to use them, omit the additional salt in the recipe.

Dry ingredients (oats, cereal, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, sugar, spices, etc) go into one big bowl. Wet ingredients (butter, nut butters, vanilla, honey, syrup, water, etc) go into another bowl. Stir the wet ingredients until they’re combined. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir. Dump moist ingredients into a parchment paper lined 8×8 pan. Get out a piece of plastic wrap, place on top of granola, and smash the granola down with your hands. It’s fun! Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, and then either cut yours into granola bars or, like I prefer to do it, just throw the whole thing into a freezer bag and deal with it when you go to eat it. Sometimes I like bigger chunks to nibble on. Sometimes I like small, cereal-sized bits to actually eat as cereal. It’s granola. It’s going to be good either way.

If I was an actual food blogger, I’d have some extremely pretty photo of the granola here, maybe a sample of each kind with tiny flags denoting which granola is what flavor. But I’m not, and hey, it’s granola – it all kind of looks the same! So here’s a photo of two of the batches cooling on my dining room table, complete with random papers and weird things in the corner. It’s not pretty, but it is tasty (the granola. Not the table).

Apple Cinnamon Granola
Dry ingredients
1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats
About 1/3 c. oat flour and flax seeds (see above)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2/3 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
sprinkle of grated nutmeg and powdered lemon peel
2 1/2 c. total of dried apples, pecans, sunflower kernels, Kashi 7 grains puffed cereal
Wet ingredients
1/3 c. almond butter
1 t. vanilla (I used Mexican vanilla, but whatever you have will be good)
1/4 c. honey
2 T. agave syrup (in retrospect, I probably should have used maple syrup, but didn’t think about it until it was too late. Regrets!)
1 T. water
6 T. melted butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola
Dry ingredients
1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats
About 1/3 c. oat flour and flax seeds (see above)
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 c. total of chopped peanuts, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, sunflower kernels, coconut, Honey Nut O’s cereal (from Trader Joe’s), wheat germ
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Wet ingredients
1/3 c. peanut butter
6 T. melted butter
1/4 c. honey
2 T. agave syrup
1 T. water

Choco-Berries Granola
Dry ingredients
1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats
About 1/3 c. oat flour and flax seeds (see above)
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 c. total of wheat germ, semi-sweet chocolate chips, Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend (blueberries, golden raisins, and cranberries, I think), pistachios, pecans, coconut, sesame seeds, and Kashi 7 grains puffed cereal
2/3 c. granulate cereal
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. cinnamon
A sprinkle of powdered lemon peel
Wet ingredients
1/3 c. almond butter
6 T. melted butter
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. agave syrup
1 T. water

Tropical Granola
(I think this one turned out the best, and I really regretted not having some dried pineapple or macadamia nuts to throw in it. It’s really good as is, though. Dried green mango is now my favorite thing.)
Dry ingredients
1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats
About 1/3 c. oat flour and flax seeds (see above)
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 c. total of pistachios, peanuts, pecans, coconut, wheat germ, sesame seeds, flax seeds, dried apples, dried green mango, white chocolate chips, sunflower kernals, and Kashi 7 grains puffed cereal
2/3 c. Turbinado sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. curry powder
2 T. crystallized ginger
dash of cayenne and powdered lemon peel
Wet ingredients
1/3 c. peanut butter
6 T. melted butter
1/4 c. honey
2 T. agave syrup
2 T. pineapple juice
1 t. vanilla

They’re all good, like I said, but the tropical one is the bomb. The curry and cayenne really add an extra layer of awesomeness to it.

In other news, I’m still busy with my Etsy camera shop. I’ve been messing around with Google+, which I like quite a lot so far. It’s nice for me, since I often have too many words for Twitter, but not enough to justify a blog post. Oh, and I’ve been doing a lot of knitting. See?

Yes, I made a weird I-cord rug thing, which is knitted and then crocheted. I don’t properly know how to crochet, but it seems like it worked. Also have made some scarves and socks, none of which I have pictures of, because it is SO HOT and I haven’t worn scarves or non-athletic socks in months.

I have also been spinning, a small amount, anyway.

I have not been dyeing anything, though, because I am so not in the mood to do so. Also, I have a boatload of fiber and yarn that needs to be made into things, so that is what I’m into right now. Actually, I mainly into riding the bike. I feel all healthy when I do, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment, like, “Hey, I actually rode from one town to ANOTHER town today! And back! I am awesome!”