Earthy Crunchy ... Granola

It is appropriate that the morning after I made this granola, as I walked home from the gym at 6:30 in the morning, I was passed by a wild "freeking" turkey. I have never in my 10 years living in the city come a cross a wild turkey, never mind a wild turkey sauntering up my street, and then stopping dead in its tracks on a four lane street, causing all kinds of ruckus with the cars coming in either direction. In the City, there are a lot of people walking around at 6:30 in the morning, especially because I live down the street from the hospitals at Longwood, so a lot of people are walking to the hospital for the 7 o'clock shift change. All of us, stopped dead in our tracks and beheld the sheer randomness of having a wild turkey join our commutes, in the middle of the City no less. Chris was still at the gym when I left, and about 5 minutes after I got home he walked in and said "did you see the wild turkey", apparently the turkey had found his way to the sidewalk and was just meandering down the sidewalk when Chris left the gym. Very random this brush with nature. It reminds me of something cool that happened in VT this weekend. I decided to do a yoga class that I downloaded to my ipod at home instead of going to the Yoga Loft, and as I was coming into an upward dog position I looked out the sliding glass door and there were two beautiful deer in my back yard, and they stayed there for most of the class, which was about an hour and a half long. Very Cool.

There is a little restaurant in VT called the Easy Street Cafe, and they have the best granola ever, and I buy it there a lot. Every time I buy it I say to myself "I can make this, why do I keep buying it?" So this week I didn't buy it, I made it, and if I do say so myself, it's pretty damn good. I started with a recipe that was posted on USWeekend.com and then added to it with what I had in the cupboards. This is what came from it.

Earthy Crunchy Granola
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup flax seed
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried banana chips (crushed)
2 Tbs. dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbs. flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola
1 Tbs water

Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix everything except nuts and dried fruit together in a bowl. Bring syrup, oil, water and any flavorings and spices to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in dried fruit and nuts. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool.

Rating = So Damn Good