Crunchy, Granola Types

Around my house, we eat eggs for breakfast about every other day. Scrambled, frittata-ed, omelet-ized, poached-Glenn crafts up any number of egg incarnations and I happily chow down. On the in-between days, though, when eggs aren't on the menu, I'm usually in charge of cooking up the most important meal of the day. 

During the cooler months, that is almost always steel-cut, or Scottish, oats. Slow-cooked for 30 minutes, I ladle up hearty bowls of oats, and adorn them with honey, milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. In the middle of summer, forget about all that hot-bowl-of-dense-oats business. I still want hearty, only minus the heat. 
And that is why granola exists, to eat for breakfast when the mercury is too high to cook anything else. After a bit of experimenting, and an auspicious NYTimes article, I've found the perfect granola recipe. It couldn't be more simple. You assemble your ingredients, dump them all in a bowl, give 'em a good stir, and then bake for 45 minutes. Easy peasy, and delicious, to boot! Now, if only I could figure out how to get the cats to make up a nice pot of Earl Grey each morning....

Perfect Granola, For Crunchy Types 

(adapted from Melissa Clark's Olive Oil Granola with Dried Apricots and Pistachios)

The Goods:

-3 c. whole, old-fashioned rolled oats

-1 c. whole, raw almonds

-1/2 c. pumpkin seeds, roasted

-1/2 c. sunflower seeds, roasted

-1 c. unsweetened, unsulphured dried coconut

-1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

-3/4 c. maple syrup

-1/4 c. light brown sugar

-1 tsp. sea salt 

-2 tsp. cinnamon, ground

-2 tsp. cardamom, ground

-1/2 c. raisins

-1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped

The Deal:

-Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

-Place all ingredients except for raisins and apricots in a large bowl. Stir to coat evenly. 

-Spread mixture evenly onto a large, rimmed cookie sheet. 

-Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. 

-Remove cookie sheet from oven, cool 10 minutes, transfer contents to a large mixing bowl, add raisins and apricots, and stir to combine. 

-Store in an airtight container and muncha-muncha!