You will need:

-4 cups old fashioned oats (not the instant or quick cooking kind), also called rolled oats
-1 cup nuts (I used almonds and walnuts here)
-1 cup dried fruit (I used a mixed berry blend from Trader Joes)
-1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Step The First:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take the oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract and put it in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the sugar and honey dissolve.

Step the Second:

Take the oats and nuts, put them in a large ovensafe glass pan or baking sheet, and mix them all around.

Step the Third:

Take your nice melty sugary mixture and pour it over the oats and nuts. Action shot!

Mix that all up until the oats and nuts are evenly coated.

Step the (pictureless) Fourth:

Stick that mofo in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Go play Mario Kart. Come back, stir. Repeat for another 15 minutes. After that, if the granola is nice and goldeny, take it out, if not, another 15 minutes.

Step the Last:

Spread out some wax paper or foil on a counter and pour the granola onto that. Let cool until touching it doesn’t burn you ALIVE, then mix in the dried fruit. Allow to cool completely, break up any large chunks, and store in an airtight container. Then eat it!

The awesome thing about granola is you can adjust it to your tastes. Need it more sweet than this recipe? Up the sugar content. I hate both maple syrup and coconut flakes (granola staples), so I’ve left them out. You like them? Add them back in! A few granola flavor ideas:

- pumpkin seeds and cherries
- cashews, raspberries, and chocolate
- pecans, apples, and blueberries

Variety is the spice of life. Now go make some. Do eeeet!

P.S. – A note about honey

If at all humanly, physically, and spiritually possible, get yourself to a farmers market to buy honey. I thought I hated honey because I’d only ever had the SueBee stuff from the grocery store. The farmers market stuff tastes so much more awesome and generally they’ll give you a taste before you buy. In a pinch Whole Foods carries some decent honeys. Also, check out different varieties. It’s listed on the label, like Orange Blossom or Wildflower, depending on what the bees collected the pollen from. My personal favorite is Sage honey. Mmmmmmm….

It’s fairly simple, just rather time consuming, but VERY cheap in the long run! You can make about 4 or 5 rolls for $20 dollars! I love cheap.

Philly Roll
Veggie Roll (keebot style!)

ingredients:
sticky white rice (2.5 cups – “cups” being from the rice cooker not actual measurement)
salmon
cream cheese
avocado
cucumber
daikon radish
mirin
brown sugar
nori (25 grams for 10 sheets)
(and a cute boyfriend who draws next to the kitchen while you cook)

Put about 1/3rd cup of mirin and a tablespoon of brown sugar in a bowl and nuke it in the microwave! Mix and stir then pour onto the rice while folding it gently.

So once you’ve made the sushi rice, let it sit!

The secret to easily manipulated sushi rice is letting it cool off! Trying to work with hot or warm sushi rice will tear your seaweed or soy paper, so let it cool off! Atleast an hour. It can be a little warm, but it should be closer to room temp.

While it’s cooling . . .

Slice! avocado, cucumber, and salmon. Leave the cream cheese in the fridge until you’re ready to add it onto the roll, it will get soft and meltly if left outside.

You’ll want to wrap some cellophane over the bamboo mat. It helps keep the rice from sticking to the wood and makes the process much more managable.

Place the nori shiney side down on the matt.

Spread out your fingers across half the nori so that it won’t move and cover the other half with rice. I use the plane rice scooper from the rice cooker. You want it to be just an even layer. Be gentle and don’t press down, just across.

Looks so yummy when it’s covered!
Flip the riced sheet over!

Now you can pile on the goodies!
Salmon, avocado, cream cheese and cucumbers!

grab
tuck
squeeze
roll
love
repeat!

When you’re done, wrap that guy in cellophane (cuz the rice is on the outside) and set him aside. The rolls need to sit for a few minutes to conform to their new transdimentional spirit animals.

VeGGiE ROLL on over!
Start the same way as nori!

Avocado, cucumber, and daikon radish!

Once again, let the guy sit!

Now the Philly Roll has sat long enough and you can slice that bad boy!

Slice it with the plastic wrap still around it.
Go ahead and slice the hell out of your veggie roll!