Here it is..The Granola Recipe

Since I gave this granola as Christmas gifts, I have had countless requests for the recipe.

I have been trying to figure out why it is so fantastic and I am really not sure. Maybe we are so accustomed to eating things that have been in a box for months (or, yikes, much longer!) that having something this fresh and homemade is just simply an incredibly welcome treat.

My great friend (and cousin by marriage), Fabiana Esteves, gave me this recipe. Fabiana is a graduate of The Natural Gourmet Cooking School in New York and is a great teacher and cooking inspiration to me. (As an aside, she and her husband Fabio are also incredibly generous hosts, letting me crash at their apartment every month while I am attending school in New York. But, this generosity is, I think, a part of the big picture of who she is and the love she brings to her food and her friendships).

I made a small change to the recipe (substituted Coconut Oil for the Canola Oil she uses- you can try either) but, Fabiana deserves all the credit.

Be warned...you may not be able to stop eating this!

Fabi’s Fab Granola

2 cups rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
½ shredded coconut
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

· Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
· Spread on a jelly roll pan (it will be very full but it seems to cook best when it is all on one pan)
· Bake at 275 degrees for 45 minutes (turn in the pan at 20-25 minutes)
· Different nuts can be substituted,
· Use as many organic ingredients as possible