breakfast for winners!

i love breakfast. i’m always famished, every single morning of my life, and i love eating breakfast. i have always been this way: how fortunate that the homeschooled mornings of my childhood were made up of the best foods! dutch babies with apples, blueberry coffee cake, waffles with peanut butter and syrup, sausages, muffins, omelets, frittatas, pancakes, buttermilk biscuits loaded with my mom’s raspberry jam. breakfast rules! people who don’t believe in breakfast completely baffle me. how can they go so long without eating?!

i wish i had time to cook breakfasts now like we did in Home School (saturdays rule for this reason especially). but a 5am wakeup call is early enough without coffee cake to worry about, am i right? if possible, i like to have something stocked in the kitchen that is pretty much ready to eat, ready to go. (and that is a perfect complement to my husband’s amazing coffee.)

i recently remembered the awesome homemade granola my mom always made. “gorilla”, we called it when we were too young to pronounce “granola”. she stored it in a tall glass jar with a hinged lid…. we ate it for breakfast, we snacked on it any time, and it was so crunchy and nourishing and delicious. when i grew up and had to fend for myself and thought granola from the store would be just the same as my mom’s, it was the saddest day of my life. oh yeah and store-bought granola is either loaded with sugary calories or $6 a box or both. terrible.

granola is cheap to make and really simple, and it’s infinitely alterable, so make it with whatever is in your pantry, whatever is in season, or whatever is your favorite thing to crunch. adjust oils and sweeteners to your preference… textures will vary, but flavor will always be toasty and scrumptious.

apricot almond granola

*dairy-free (served without milk or yogurt)

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups red wheat flakes*
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, or honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup dried apricots, diced**

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together first six ingredients in a large bowl. Add olive oil and syrup and stir to combine. Spread in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet that was sprayed with non-stick oil or lightly buttered. Bake until golden brown and toasted, about 30 minutes, taking the pan out at least twice to stir. Let cool in pan; transfer to a large bowl and stir in apricots.

*ingredient note: a rule of thumb for affordability is to take a good look at your grocer’s bulk bins. chose your oats, flakes, nuts and seeds based on what’s on sale — this recipe can be a guideline.

**i found that the hearty crunch of this granola disappeared after the apricots were added; it became delightfully chewy. if you prefer your granola extra-crisp, store the apricots separately and add to individual servings.

leftovers rating: A+

this stuff is made to keep. store in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks, or for longer in the freezer.

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