We've been rejoicing in some much needed rain at the Monastery, but the mud and drizzle and clouds can tend to dampen the spirit. Smelling the molasses and oats of baking granola takes me to a place of cozy comfort. This wheat-free recipe is modified from the ever-popular granola recipe found in the older Zen Monastery Cookbook.
Granola
12 cups rolled oats After Cooking:
3/4 cup oat bran 1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds 3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/2 cup water
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Measure all of the dry ingredients and mix them together.
- Measure the wet ingredients into a small pot and heat it over a low flame until the brown sugar dissolves (it does not need to boil for this to happen). Stir often with a wooden spoon to prevent burning.
- When the sugar dissolves, pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together. It is important that the mixing happens right away to ensure that the liquid is evenly absorbed, and it is also good to stir from the bottom of the bowl so that everything is incorporated. Stir until well combined.
- Spray two 9x13-inch “lasagna” pans with nonstick spray. Divide the mixture between them.
- Place the pans side-by-side in the oven and bake the granola for 15 minutes. At the end of that time, remove one of the pans from the oven and stir it using a metal spatula. The granola will tend to brown more quickly (and eventually burn) where it is touching the metal pan, so the trick is to run the spatula along all of the surfaces and stir the browning oats into the rest of the granola. Return this pan to the oven and repeat this procedure with the other one. Open the oven door seldom during this process so that the temperature will remain constant and the granola will cook more evenly.
- Bake for 10 more minutes and then stir again as before.
- Bake once more for 10 minutes. Most likely the granola will be done at this time. Check to see that it has evenly turned a light brown color all the way through. If some oats have not completely cooked (they would be pale in color next to the brown), then stir once more and bake for 5 more minutes. It’s also good to check during the last 10-minute period in case the granola has gotten done early. The total cooking time will be 35-40 minutes.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before adding the flax seeds and raisins.
- Pour the 2 pans of granola together into a bowl, sprinkle the flax seeds and raisins on top, and stir them in just enough to combine. The granola will stiffen and become brittle as it cools and will break up into little bits if it is stirred too much.
Gasshō,
Rebecca