Crunchy

I was always the kid who got teased about my hippie tendencies - I read Ranger Rick magazine and worried about how we could take care of the planet. In high school I was the wierdo that thought littering was a bad idea. In college I was a member of a club with The Lorax on our t-shirts, we started the campus recycling efforts. And I've been THAT person who has campaigned for equal rights, advocated eating less meat (radical for the granddaughter of a cattle rancher) and pushed for locavore eating, less waste and reducing our carbon footprint.  I even had one friend in college who called me "Janis" as in Janis Joplin, not because I have ANY of her skills, but because I was that particular young Republican's "hippie friend".

So living in the Pacific Northwest has been a bit of a shift for me. Instead of being a wierdo, hippie, leftie, crunchy-granola type . . .I'm kinda main stream. In fact, I'm pretty middle of the road and my square lifestyle might even be right of center here. You see center shifted when I moved to the left coast where marijuana and patient assisted suicide are legal in a town with multiple hookah lounges  and a community where I know one person who lives full-time in a tree and several whose utilities are completely off grid .  Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing. It has made me think more, stretch more in a new direction. I have had to define positions and consider stances that I sort of took for granted.  And that is a good thing.  Anytime we have a chance to consider what we believe and why, to engage with others in thoughtful discussion, to encounter those who are different from ourselves - I think that is a good thing. So today I'm grateful for the crunchy types.

Plus, I've gotten lots of hints on improving my granola recipe - here is the latest version, adapted from a version I got from Alton Brown:

Golden Granola (pictured above)

Ingredients 

3 cups rolled oats 

1 cup whole raw almonds 

1 cup hulled, unsalted sunflower seeds

3/4 cup shaved, unsweetened, dried coconut 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2  cup golden raisins

 1/2  cup dried apricots, chopped

Directions 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. Add maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine well and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15  minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an evencolor. 

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add dreid fruits and mix until evenly distributed. 

Let cool & enjoy. Keeps well in airtight container. Yummy by itself, on yogurt, etc.