Homemade Granola

Last weekend we had a lot of random fruit leftover from a cleanse that we did. (Totally awful, don't try it). I decided that it would be fun to try and make homemade granola and dehydrate the fruit to use in it.

I think it turned out fairly well for my first try. I didn't know there was more to dehydrating fruit besides stinking them on the dehydrator for a day and walking away. That is the case with bananas, just not blueberries and cranberries.

For the fruit... You have to boil water then pour the hot water into another bowl and add the fruit to the hot water. This causes the skin on the fruit to break and let the water out. Then you can put them on the dehydrator after they have cooled. I left the fruit on the racks for almost 36 hours before adding it to the granola. Better directions than mine here.

Recipe for the Granola came from Alton Brown on the Food Network.


Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup cashews
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• Directions

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
• In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
• Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Recipe.