Trying to Make a Homemade Delicious Life with Granola

On most days when I have to cook for myself and don’t actually want to cook, I turn to my blender or juicer or sometimes both and make a green juice or a green smoothie. Let’s face it, most of the time healthy foods aren’t social food. So when I try to drink some health into myself, I sometimes do it when I’m alone and when people don’t look at my food or me in disgust. The green stuff, it really isn’t that bad! When I do cook for one, eggs are often on the menu and I have learnt that bacon, kimchee and eggs are a winning combination.
I had a kitchen without an oven and barely enough space for two for about a year but now I’ve moved apartments and I have a slightly larger kitchen and an oven – a real luxury in Hong Kong since space is a premium and ovens aren’t used much in Chinese cooking. I’ve decided to try different things. The current idea that has captured my imagination is homemade granola. Now that I’ve made my own granola, I don’t know why I didn’t start doing it earlier or why more of us don’t do it. I don’t actually think it is much cheaper than a good store bought mix but it is way more fun and you get to choose all the ingredients that go into it.

I used Melissa Clark’s Olive Oil Granola as a guide but omitted and substituted where I didn’t have ingredients and left out the sugar to make a sugar free and not too sweet version of this. I will tell you from experience that this is a pretty robust recipe that will stand up to a lot of change. What I drew me to recipe was the spices and the use of pistachios which made this terribly addictive to eat, if not use this recipe for ratios and keep mixing and matching nuts, and dried fruits until satisfied. But be warned, this granola is dangerously addictive.

Olive Oil Granola With Dried Apricots and Pistachios

By Melissa Clark

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raw pistachios, hulled
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup coconut chips
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
Fresh ricotta, for serving (optional)
Fresh berries, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add apricots, tossing to combine. Serve with ricotta and fruit, if desired.