Granola Attempt: Take 1

In my desperate search for better granola down here in Texas, I decided that the only way to true granola enlightenment was to make my own. So I decided to give Karen's recipe a shot.

In my own particular manner, I printed the recipe for mere reference purposes, but was going to wing it from a measurement standpoint. My wife, however, stepped in to provide her professional opinion on why I should use a measuring cup. Or make that two measuring cups...one for wet ingredients and one for dry. Isn't that kind of like a pound of bricks and a pound of feathers? So, like a dutiful husband, I measured meticulously so as to not create a schism in the time warp continuum.

Karen had stressed in her recipe that the oats were to be preheated and that, in addition, it was very important to check and stir the mixed granola once it was put into the oven. This had to be done every five minutes!! What she failed to tell me was the type of holding device needed for the cooking process. So it was with careful deliberation and some trepidation that I decided to utilize one of our extra large cookie sheets. I had predetermined in my mind that I would cook the granola for 15 minutes, which meant two stirring opportunities and three heating cycles.

After the granola was taken out of the oven, it finally revealed its true nature under the more natural light of the cooktop. I realized that I had made several critical miscalculations during the process.

1) During the first stirring operation, I did not get 100% mixture and left some of the granola close to the edges. It caused this granola to get overly crunchy at the edges once the cooking process was complete.

2) I did not adjust my cooking time, even though something was telling me to, by eliminating the third five minute heating cycle. I attribute this to the fact that I am a hard-headed Norwegian and had already decided on the ultimate cooking time. I think inflexibility is what caused the Japanese to lose WWII, but that is another post for another time. I do think there may be a larger lesson of life here, though.

I have now been eating on the granola for about a week. I can say that I'm pleased with the results and taste (thanks Karen!!), but I will tweak it slightly on my next batch.