granola

some might say i am crazy but i admit it, i do not like raisins, or any kind of dried fruits for that matter. due to that, it is rather difficult for me to find commercial granola without raisins. not to mention that i am also fed up with mediocre / commercial granola, which is usually dry, lacking in flavor, and have a bland texture. i love yogurt with granola and was extremely excited to come across this great recipe by orna and ella (i bought their cook book on my most recent trip to israel).
the beauty about making your own granola is that you can put any kind of nuts and fruits in it, and also control the quantities. i modified their nuts list a bit and used pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, sliced almonds, poppy seeds, chopped pecans and McCann's original steel-cut irish oatmeal.



if you intend on putting dried fruits in your granola, you will need to add them after the baking. granola is best served with either milk or plain yogurt, honey and of course fresh cut fruits, although i also eat it straight from the container...
do not forget, granola might be healthy, but it is definitely not light on the calories so do not over eat it although it sure is tasty and hard to resist!

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 oz unsalted butter
3/4 cups honey
1 1/2 vanilla extract
1 pound oatmeal
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup poppy seeds
1 cup chopped pecans
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PREPARATION
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large shallow baking pan with baking sheet
put butter, honey and vanilla extract in small pot and cook, while stirring, on low heat for 5 minutes till the butter melts and everything combined together.
toss together sunflower, pumpkin, coconut, almonds, poppy, and pecan in a large bowl and slowly start pouring the honey mix till everything is well coated.
Spread mixture in baking pan and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Stir in cranberries and raisins, then cool completely in pan.

keep in airtight container.