Damn Fine Granola

A good granola is a dam fine thing indeed, I’m not talking about those cheap brand name packets you buy at the supermarket, I’m talking about the ones you buy at your local deli, the ones that are loaded with nutty fabulousness, the ones you have to take out a second bond on your house to afford a packet. Those are the damn fine granolas.

The problem is that I get all grumpy, when I have to part with my hard earned bucks to buy a pricey packet, so I thought I would try to make my own. I first followed one of Nigella Lawsons’ recipes. It was indeed, dam fine, it also made me realise, why the delis charge so much, coz the ingredients are so flippin expensive. So I made it my mission to make a dam fine granola that doesn’t bust the bank.

I included desecrated coconut as a cheap and tasty filler and some chopped citrus peel for an inexpensive fruity zing. I think it’s the zest that makes this granola special. Lemon, lime or orange will do the trick.

Lets face it, seeds and nuts are a huge part that defines a damn fine granola, but they are also outrageously costly. There are suppliers, like at my local flee market, wholesalers or specialist outlets that come in at a lot less than you average supermarket. It doesn’t matter if they are a bit stale, coz you gonna give them a good old fashioned roasting anyhow, which brings the crunch right back.

I have come to realise, if you want a damn fine granola, you are probably going to reach a little further into your pocket than you would like to. Cheap and damn fine granola, don’t easily fit into the same sentence. Hey, it’ll still be a lot cheaper than those deli ones.

The ingredient that adds the ZING

RICIPE

Ingredients.

4 ½ cups oats

¾ cup sunflower seeds

¾ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

½ cup desecrated coconut

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1½ cups almonds

2 tbls sunflower oil

¼ cup honey (heat the honey)

½ cup syrup (*you can make your own syrup)

Damn Fine Granola

½ cup light brown sugar

1 or 2 finely chopped peel of citrus fruit (orange/lemon/lime)

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Bake at 150 degrees c for 40 minutes, turning half way.

* 1 part water: 1 part sugar. For flavour add vanilla/citrus peel/fruit or whatever may tickle your fancy. Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Then reduce til infused with your added flavour and syrupy.

All That Fancy Kitchen Clutter

My funky coffee grinder

I’m not really into all these fancy kitchen gadgets that are popular today. In true ‘hunter gatherer’ style, I try to stick to the kitchen basics. In a way I am forced to, coz I’ve got a really small kitchen without a single cupboard, so clutter is an issue, I mean, why have a special avo scooper when a spoon will do the trick. The other day, I saw on the telly, one of those celebrity chefs making gnocchi, he had the little ribbed paddle to groove the gnocchi to create more surface area for the sauce to cling to. I thought to myself ‘that’s cool’, I can be rather cunning and get an off-cut of decking plank at the local hardware store and that would do the trick. When I proudly showed my ingenious gadget, to my mate The E-man, he politely nodded and told me his ‘Mamma’ used a fork. I felt like a right idiot. 

All I’m saying is that with a bit of common sense, creativity, time and some elbow grease, you can achieve a tremendous amount in a basic kitchen. In a professional kitchen, I guess a few machines that zizz and go ping are really useful, but I don’t really know much about professional cooking.

I take great pleasure scrounging cooking stuff from alternative spots. All my pots and pans are ‘hand me downs’ or have been bought at second hand catering shops, but my favourite place to buy kitchen stuff is my local weekend flea market, which is now known by my friends as ‘Charlie’s Shopping Centre’, in fact, most of my kitchen comes from there.  It’s cheap, you are reusing stuff and you can find some funky practical goodies (check out my coffee grinder). Don’t get me wrong, if ‘le Cruest’ sponsored me some kit, I’d have such a huge smile that if I didn’t have ears my whole head would be an island. 

I think there are a few things that even a basic kitchen should have. A good knife and heavy and textured mortar and pestle are two of my best friends in the kitchen. Every now and then I even use my immersion blender, more affectionately known as the ‘kitchen dildo’. Your best friends may be very different, who knows, your most trusty mates could even be an avo scooper, a gnocchi paddle or even a chocolate tea cosy. We are all different and what you serve up on the plate reflects your personality, even the plate.

The Anti Clutter Wheel. Note the funky old school potato masher. A top find.