How I Got Redeemed

I am not a fan of cereal. Part of the reason is that the breakfasts served to me growing up consisted of fried eggs, or bread and butter with fig jam, or eggs and sausage, or a type of french toast, except my mom made a salty version, and others. Cereal did not exist in Albania in the 1980s.

When my parents came to visit us in Nacogdoches back in 2006 when Jack was almost 5 months old, my mother was shocked that I did not serve Bryan a home cooked breakfast, and that I let him fend for himself, searching the messy pantry for a box of still good cereal. Bryan tried to explain in his best Albanian that he, in fact, prefers cereal to eggs and sausage, which was something my mother found hard to believe. She did give up eventually, but it took a few weeks. What converted her to speedy breakfasts was oatmeal.

It was a particularly gloomy and cold January day. Bryan was getting ready for work while my parents and I were lingering at the breakfast table. Bryan opened the pantry and stood in front of it looking. My mom, vigilant as ever, stood up and asked:

“Cfarë do, flori?” (“What are you looking for, golden one”)

Bryan pulled out four packets of instant fruit flavored oatmeal and waved them in front of her. Mom turned around to look at me. She was confused. First, her son-in-law likes cereal, next he starts to eat some mystery mush that comes in small packages? I laughed:

“Është tërshërë.” (“It’s oatmeal.”)
“Tërshërë??? Uaaaaa...ne ja japim tërshërën kuajve, ti ja jep burrit?” (“Oatmeal??? We give oatmeal to horses, you give it to your husband?)

We all laughed hysterically. My mom is very funny and clever, but she was also being truthful. In Albania, oatmeal is used to feed the animals. Of course, things are changing and its nutritious qualities are being realized, but for my mother’s generation, oatmeal for breakfast was unthinkable.

I did get her to try some of the mush though, and she did like it. In fact, there were mornings when she and my father would ask for oatmeal for breakfast and I was happy to oblige. I only regret that I had not yet discovered granola when they were here. I think they would have loved it. I love it, and I am not a cereal person, remember? This granola is filled with nuts and seeds, it crunches, it is mildly sweet, and the spices give it a delicious flavor and smell. I especially love the way the house smells after I have made granola, and making it is a fun activity for Jack and mommy. He loves to pour the oatmeal, the nuts, and the seeds in the big bowl. He likes to swirl the oil and maple syrup with a whisk. The only thing he doesn’t love, is the granola itself, not because it is not good, but because he is the pickiest eater I have ever known, aside from myself. But we are working on that.

So here it is, the granola that made me fall in love with breakfast again. Mom would be proud.

Nutty, Seedy Granola

Dry Ingredients:
6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

1 1/3 cup chopped mix of almonds and pecans*

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup of a mix of flax seeds and sesame seeds (raw)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I especially like Saigon cinnamon, but the normal one will work fine)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:
4 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup pure maple syrup (Grade A Dark Amber), or you can do a mix of maple syrup and honey (orange flower honey is my favorite).

1 ½ cup dried fruits – any of the following would work well here if you like fruit in your granola: cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, and/or raisins.

-Preheat oven at 325.
-Line two large baking sheets (with sides) with parchment paper.
-In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients (minus the fruit), and in a separate bowl the wet ingredients.
-Add wet ingredients to dry ones and mix thoroughly.
-Layer the mixture in the baking sheets and bake for about 30-40 minutes, remembering to stir every 10 minutes in order to insure uniform color and crunchiness (my oven is pretty hot and the granola was done in 25 minutes – keep an eye on it and keep smelling it). Once the granola has cooled, add the optional fruit. This granola is especially good with plain soy milk in the morning or any other time of day when you need a healthy snack.

*I buy whole raw almonds and raw pecan halves. You can run them in a food chopper, or put them in separate Ziploc bags and crush them with a meat tenderizer tool or any other hard object. I have been known to use an empty Perrier bottle to roll over the nuts in order to crush them.