Great Granola!

This is a recipe for a rich, tasty granola that sets me up for the whole day. Late lunch? No problem if you got a bellyfull of this stuff, loaded with nuts, seeds and fruit.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

4 cups quick oats ("quick" refers to the cut of the oats, not instant oats!!)
1 cup walnut pieces or crumbs
1 cup, some combination of all or any of
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
pecan pieces
your favourite nut or seed
1/8 to 1/4 cup half and half ground flax and sesame seeds
toss in some ground hazelnuts if you have them

1 cup raisins
1 cup other dried fruit

Generally I use mostly dried cranberries for the second cup of fruit, with the addition of dried papaya, mango, and apricots, chopped up. But again, chuck in your favourites, or just use two cups of raisins.

Preheat oven to 300 F
Put the oil in a 9x14 glass baking dish and into the oven for 10 minutes. Add oats, stir in until oil is evenly absorbed. Return to the oven for 25 minutes. Then stir in the nuts and seeds and back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove and stir in the dried fruit.

Some like the first bowl warm--I usually wait until it's almost cold before eating, it's crisper that way. To keep it crisp, let cool completely before storing.

Serve with milk and maybe a little brown sugar (some say the dried fruit makes it sweet enough). Can also be eaten dry like an oaty trail mix, or with yogurt, or...