Granola and Hello Again. Long Time No Speak.

It has been such a long time since I've posted! Wow. Many times over the past few months I have tried to start writing a post and I've trailed off somewhere in the middle of the first paragraph, leaving a string of half-written, half-baked posts behind me. Dear readers, if there are any of you who still visit my blog, please let me explain to you why I have taken a three month break from my blog. I started work in September at a large-ish law firm here in Tel Aviv. In Israel, before being allowed to take the bar exam, potential lawyers must complete a year of articling. I've been giving so much to my job, with its crazy eleven hour work day, that I just have not had it in me to write at night or on the weekends. It's pretty much consumed 90 percent of my waking hours.

The thing is, this blog post is a small victory for me.It took me about four months of work, but I think I finally got to the point in my year where I'm managing to strike some sort of a balance between me and my internship (Leah 1, Intership 0). Either way, I miss baking and blogging- so here is the last thing that I baked. This recipe comes almost straight from allrecipes.com with a few minor changes (its called Megan's Granola. I don't know who you are Megan, but you've really added to my quality of life. Thank you.). I've had it for brekkie almost every day for a month with yogurt and its delicious. Hope you give it a try! Oh- and fyi this recipe makes TONS. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Megan's Granola
8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 1/2 cups oat bran (I used wheat bran)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (I used a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts, and pumpkin seeds)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (I left this out. It's crazy expensive in Israel)
3/4 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil (I used about 3/4 of a cup)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries (or any dried fruit! I love dried cherries in this).

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, and nuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

Two things: I love granola because it is endlessly adaptable to what you have on hand and your preferences. Change it up! Personalize the recipe to suit your tastes.

After you take the granola out of the oven smush it down with a large spatula and let it cool on the pan completely- then when it cools remove it from the pan and break it up with your fingers. It will be in bigger chunks like store bought granola!