Home-made granola

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, which shows up in the selection of recipes I post. This is another in the same trend: a great granola recipe that is healthier than most pre-made granola and much better tasting. Perhaps best of all, it can be customized by adding whatever dried fruit and nuts you happen to like.

Basic granola mix:
7 cups rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup wheatgerm
1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional, but they're good for you)
1 1/2 cups of chopped nuts (your favourite nut or a selection; I use pecans)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsps vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- Heat both the honey and vegetable oil, combine them and mix in the vanilla extract.

- Put all the dry ingedients into a large, deep sided baking tray. Then drizzle all the liquid mixture onto the oat mixture and stir thorouhgly so that the oil and honey are evenly distributed.

- Place in the oven and stir every 10 minutes to ensure ingredients are evenly roasted and not burning. It should cook for approx 30 minutes total (but roast it to your own taste, which might be more or less toasted than the recommended 30 minutes).

Once the nuts and grains are roasted then you have a basic granola mix that dried fruit can be added to, or you can eat it as it is. I suggest trying it plain first, but successful additions include raisins and dried cranberries (approx 1/3 cup of each), or chopped dried apricots (approx 2/3 cup).
Then eat with milk or yoghurt.