Last week I made my first batch of homemade granola. I’m not sure what the hell took me so long — it’s not like it’s difficult. But as it happens, the Morning Glory Farm cookbook that Jim picked up on the Vineyard had a great recipe in it. I followed it more or less faithfully the first time, although I cut it in half (and thank goodness I did, because half a recipe made more than plenty for two people for an entire week).

But this week I strayed off the beaten path. Having a recipe for something like this is a good idea because it gives you a sense of what proportions of ingredients you should have, so with that as a base, I developed this recipe. We’ll be enjoying this for breakfast this week.

Apple-Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients

• 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ (I used Kretschmer’s toasted wheat germ)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 3/4 cup maple syrup (Please only use 100% maple syrup — ever. On anything.)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup dried apples, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl except for the almonds and the dried apples.

3. Add the vanilla to the maple syrup and stir. Add maple syrup/vanilla mixture and canola oil to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly so that the syrup and oil are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Pour into one or two roasting pans or onto two baking sheets with sides. You’ll need to be able to stir throughout the baking process, but you want the granola to be spread in a reasonably thin layer, so choose your vessels accordingly.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue to bake for another hour or so, until mixture is golden brown. Stir frequently.

5. Add sliced almonds to pan, and stir thoroughly. Continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan(s) from oven and stir in apples. Cool mixture completely and then store in airtight container.

This granola is wonderful — it’s not too sweet, which I like. You can enjoy this as a cereal with milk poured on top, or you can mix it with yogurt. We’ve been enjoying ours with yogurt and fresh fruit, and of course it makes a nice snack for eating out of hand.

Variations on a theme: The wonderful thing about a basic granola recipe is that you can make whatever kind of granola suits your fancy. Substitute whatever kind of seeds and nuts you like, or add them in addition to what’s here. Just try to keep the proportions the same (you want more oats than anything else). Use whatever kind of nuts and dried fruits you like. Omit the cinnamon. Think of other things to add. Enjoy.