easy homemade granola

i checked out a great recipe book from the library called "baked: new frontiers in baking" by matt lewis and renato pliafito (check their website here). i've tried quite a few of the recipes and some were great and some failed miserably. i've been looking for a great granola recipe because my mom used to make the best granola when we were little. this one really is easy, and i've included my variations.

Yield: 1 pound

2 C rolled oats

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

3 T plus 1 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 C honey

1/4 C firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 C whole almonds

1/3 C whole hazelnuts

1/3 C golden raisins

1/3 C dried cherries

preheat the oven to 325*F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

in a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. whisk until completely combined.

pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: gather up some of the mixture in each hand, and make a fist. repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps for texture.

bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and flip granola. sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola and return baking sheet to the oven.

bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven. let cool completely. sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. the granola will keep for 1 week.

*my own variations: i would lesson the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp (seems salty to me). i would also substitute sunflower seeds with the hazelnuts, and cranberries for the cherries. i am also going to try to make it a little clumpier next time. i think it would be fantastic over yogurt or over ice cream!

the skirt

i helped my sis-in-law with her first sewing project found here. The pattern was so simple and hers turned out so cute (check it out here), that i was itchin' to make my own. when ashley and i made hers, we thickened the waistband to like 3-4 inches so that she could wear it with a thick belt. i did the same alteration on my own. for my fabric, i used some purple broadcloth, and then layed this great black polka-dot lace over it. i sewed it just like the instructions called for, but in the end, i added about a yard of elastic to the bottom of the skirt to make it a bubble/tulip skirt more that the full skirt it called for. i love it! i want to find some sweet black tights with the seam up the back to fully finish the look!