Pantry Granola

When Nupur announced Blog Bites 4: What's Lurking in the Kitchen?, I figured that there was no way that I could participate. Having moved (very, very) recently, my pantry was empty. But it turns out that a few items had moved with us, to languish in the new cupboards. This recipe was inspired by an unopened package of sesame seeds, bought for a recipe that just didn't sound as good when I looked at it a second time. Searching for "sesame seed recipe" brought up granola, which reminded me that I had a huge canister of oats (I hate oatmeal, but convince myself every few months that I should try it for a healthy breakfast...). Several recipes also called for chopped nuts, and I had a big bag of those left over from my sister. And dried fruit (bought just because it was yummy, then fell off the back of a pantry shelf) and dried sweetened coconut (2 unopened bags, no idea why).

So, inspired by Standardized Granola, here's pantry granola. And it actually -- almost -- ended up being counterproductive. N and I were out looking for a washer/dryer and passed by a grocery store. I asked him to stop so that I could pick up molasses -- the only thing that I needed for the recipe and didn't have. He reminded me that we actually did bring a half-full jar with us, so that ended up being a using-stuff-from-the-pantry item as well :)

1/2 cup sesame seeds
3 cups oats
1 cup chopped almonds (I used whole almonds and chopped them in a food processor)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 T molasses
2 T water
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a berry mix from Trader Joe's)

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat until browned - here's the before-and-after.

Mix with oats, almonds, and spices. In a microwave-safe container, mix sugar, salt, water, and molasses, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and add to oat mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until browned, stirring every 10 minutes. Mix in coconut and berries.

Final product:
Not too sweet, it will be good with fresh fruit and maybe some yogurt. I'm sending this to BB4 and making a vow to better know -- and use -- what I have in the cupboards.

And while this one doesn't qualify -- it doesn't come from a blog -- it was a great use of going-stale bread, sage (leftover from yesterday's butternut squash puree), and eggs (which I never seem to know what to do with). I omitted the green onions and substituted caramelized onion (also leftover from the butternut squash) for the sauteed onion, but otherwise followed the recipe. This is definitely a make-again recipe!