Trust Yourself: The Best Granola Ever for Autumn, or Any Time

Getting ready for autumn

The best cooks have an intuitive backbone. Only a few start that way— the rest have to develop those instincts. I'm a big believer in Alfred Adler's Fake It Until You Make It school of psychology, or as Adler called it, "acting as if." A cohort of Freud, Adler's method of feigning optimism, competence, and confidence is said to help us be the person we want to be.

Julia Child's journey proves that "acting as if" can be true for cooking. Like Julia, jump in there and trust your instincts. Trust yourself to recognize when it is necessary to follow recipes to a tee, when it's time to relax a bit, and to always be curiously invested in noticing what happens along the way. No matter if you are an inexperienced, so-so, or advanced cook, innate trust propels one into success like nothing else.

Yes, there's science to cooking, most of which becomes self-evident to the aware cook with each near-miss or failure or two. The willingness to explore and experiment emboldens and educates— sometimes at the expense of a perfect outcome— but we all start somewhere, right?

Trust yourself. Take this fool-proof granola "recipe." Consider it a general rule of thumb, and if you stick to the basic proportions and timeline, your success is guaranteed.

This makes quite a bit of granola. It can be cut in half, but the first time I suggest you use this general measurement guideline to observe and understand the textures you're aiming for. If makes more than you or your family can use while it's fresh, jar or bag it up and share. Your neighbors, co-workers, and BFFs will love you. Or if homelessness is an issue in your community as it is in mine, keep extra bags in your passenger car seat to encourage your struggling neighbors this fall.

Trust Yourself Granola: Flexible Guidelines

Preheat your oven to 350º. Line two large baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat mat.

For the base, stir together in a very large bowl:
2 pounds rolled whole grains (oats, rye, barley, wheat, triticale, Bob's Rolled 5-Grain Hot Cereal, in any combination, or straight-up oats)
1/2 to 2/3 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup or so white or black sesame seeds
1/2 - 2/3 cup pepitas
1 - 1 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 1/2 cup or so whole nuts, your favorite (cashews are unexpected and delish, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamias, etc., or a mix)

The goal is to come up with about 14 cups +/- of stuff. That's the magic proportion to work with the amount of coating below, and it doesn't really matter how you get there. The coating/base proportion will give you a nicely toasted, barely sweetened end product that gently supports the grain/seed/nut flavors.

For the coating, stir together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring nearly constantly until well blended and slightly bubbly:
1 stick butter (my favorite) or 8 ounces olive or avocado oil
1 cup maple syrup (my favorite) or apple juice concentrate, or brown rice syrup, or honey, or agave syrup (each carries a different glycemic load; check it out if it's important to you)
1 teaspoon sea salt (unless you have dietary reasons not to add salt please try it —salt provides a nice balance and lift)

Nine out of ten times I leave it right there. But here's where you can suit yourself or your mood. I'm generally not an enthusiast of cinnamon-y granola, opting for the plain version that lets the nuts and seeds do the talking along with any fresh fruit I might add to my bowl. However, this early autumn day called out for a spicy change.

Go plain with the coating (my favorite) or you may add any number of flavor-changing bonuses, in any combination that pleases you. Go for it, and trust yourself! Be loose and casual about your approach to win the confidence of a seasoned cook.

After the first 15 minutes, slightly tanned.

1-2 tsp. vanilla (added after the mix comes off the heat)
1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1 tsp ginger freshly grated or ground, or to taste
1 tsp cardamom, or to taste
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg, or to taste
grated zest of one orange (added after mix comes off the heat)
1- 2 tsp apple pie or pumpkin pie spice, or to taste (in this case, no need for any of the above spices)

Once the coating is melted, bubbly and well-blended, drizzle it over the grain/seed/nut mix in the large bowl, stirring and stirring and stirring, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl to evenly spread the coating among the dry goodness. When you think your done stirring, stir some more. There won't be any wetness or stickiness once you've stirred thoroughly.

Evenly divide the mixture between the two baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Place the sheets into the preheated oven, and roast lightly for 15 minutes.

After the second go, a little more toasted.

Pull the pans out, stir them well, bringing the toasty corners and edges into the middle and spread into an even layer again. Swap their places in the oven, and repeat in 15-minute incriments. Do this two or three times again, for a total of three or four 15-minute rounds in the oven, depending on how toasty your prefer your grains and nuts. We prefer a slower, longer roast to develop the roasted flavor throughout the grains without any hint of burnt flavor.

After 45 minutes, just about right. 

Let the granola cool completely in the pan. If you like dried fruit and/or coconut chips, now is the time to add them. (Dried fruit gets hard if it's added before the granola is completely cool.) Store in a glass jar or canister with a scoop. A bowl of fresh, organic, whole-milk yogurt, a scoop of granola, and some chopped fresh fruit sets you off nicely on a chilly morning.

This simple granola has the surprise use of being great tossed in with a green salad, a sort of crouton alternative. Speaking of salad, coming up soon we'll take the same Trust Yourself approach to home-made salad dressing. Once you try it, you'll never buy salad dressing again.