Nutty Granola

This "hippie" food of the 60's has a long rich history. First there is Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) from Pennsylvania, referred to in some books as "Dr. Sylvester Graham". He was a strong advocate of vegetarianism telling people they should shun meat, alcohol, tobacco, stimulants and white bread. The mainstay of his dietary recommendation was home-baked bread made from his whole grain wheat flour called, naturally, Graham flour - and soon thereafter developed Graham Crackers.

Move to Battle Creek, Michigan in 1850's and we find a Dr. Kellogg who directed the local sanitarium. Because of its vegetarian and whole grain emphasis, the diet at the Sanitarium could be monotonous, and so Dr. Kellogg experimented with foods. One of his developments was a breakfast food of whole grains, baked and ground up, which he named "Granula". He was sued, so he renamed his concoction "Granola"!

Sylvester Graham develops Graham flour and Graham Crackers; later, Dr. James C. Jackson uses sheets of baked Graham flour, broken up, rebaked and broken up again to create "Granula". Then Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a Seventh Day Adventist and director of their Battle Creek Sanitarium, develops a mix of baked and rebaked whole grains, and also calls it "Granula"; is sued and renames it Granola, but fails to market it and it never becomes a success. Along comes Charles W. Post, a patient at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, leaves uncured, opens his own health retreat, and makes his own Granola recipe, but calls it Grape Nuts and makes it commercially successful. The Granola name is revived by the modern health food movement, it becomes a "hippie" health food in the 1960's and finally, today granola has gone mainstream.
So that is how we have come to love granola in this modern day society. OK, enough history, here is another favorite granola recipe of mine for you to enjoy.

Nutty Granola

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	1 Hr
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 14 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 7 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds and almonds. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, honey, boiling water, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until evenly coated. Spread in a thin layer on a large baking sheet.
3. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes in the preheated oven. Stir every 30 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant. Granola will crisp up more when cooled.