Although I originally started making granola using a recipe from the Morning Glory Farm Cookbook, I’ve modified the basic formula enough that I think I’m evolving my own granola style. This past weekend I made a batch of almond-apricot granola that came out really good, and I’m posting it here (at least partly at the request of my friend Stephe). I used sunflower seeds alone because they’re always available at the supermarket, but if you  have other seeds (or nuts) that you like, you should feel free to mix and match and substitute to your heart’s content. I may experiment a bit once I locate a good online source of nuts and seeds in bulk.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups oatmeal (I use Quaker Old Fashioned rather than the quick-cooking stuff — it has a better texture)
• 2 - 2.5 cups unsalted sunflower seeds (or a mixture of sunflower seeds and your seeds of choice)
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1.5 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup dried apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix the first six ingredients together in a large bowl and then spread in a large baking pan (you should have enough room in the pan to comfortably stir the ingredients without spilling them over the sides. Bake at 325 for approximately 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Lower heat to 250 degrees and continue baking for approximately an hour, or until the granola starts to turn a nice nutty brown. Stir it frequently to brown it evenly and keep the stuff on the bottom from over-browning. Add the almonds and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove granola from oven and then add apricots. Stir thoroughly and cool in pan. When granola is cool, pack it into an airtight container, where it will keep for quite some time.

You can serve this like cereal, or enjoy it with yogurt (and fruit if you’d like). It also makes a nice snack for eating out of hand. If it doesn’t taste as almondy as you’d like you can experiment with increasing the amount of almond extract a bit.