Granola: Food Post #2

I started making granola my first summer as a camp cook.  My mom had always made it at home, and it seemed like a good idea at the time to add some variety to the breakfast options.  As it turns out, it was something of a screaming success, and so I continued to make it at camp for the next 4 summers.

Then I came to Israel.  It turns out that Americans are kind of unique in their tendency to eat sweet crunchy cereals for breakfast.  A typical Israeli breakfast will include things like cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, yogurt, cheese, bread, and maybe some pickled fish.  Now, I've come to rather appreciate the Israeli breakfast and even eat it by choice, but sometimes the taste-buds crave something a little more familiar.

Of course American cereals (or imitations) are fairly easy to obtain here, but the price is rather prohibitive.  Option #2: Make my own.   So I have, and do.  And since the number of house guests through this apartment has been astronomical, I've been asked to share the recipe dozens of times.  So here it is, in all it's glory, for anyone who might care.

Granola
Mix together:
6 c. Oatmeal (or around 1 kilo) - Any kind of oat seems to work okay.
1 c. Coconut flakes (I find that even people who don't like coconut often like it in the granola.)
1-2 c. nuts (any kind, chopped or whole.  I like almonds and pecans mixed.)
Add in as desired:
Quinoa
Sesame Seeds
Wheat Germ

In a sauce pan put:
1 c. oil or fat (I usually use butter or a mixture of butter and olive oil, but any kind of oil would work)
1/4 c. corn syrup or honey
1 1/2 c. brown sugar (Less can be used to make it less sweet.  White sugar could be used and there is probably a way to substitute all honey or some such thing.)
1/4 c. water

Bring mixture to a boil, boil for 1 minute.  Remove from the stove and add:
1 tsp. vanilla (or other flavors as desired - almond extract, ground cinnamon, etc.)

Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture.  Stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated.  Divide the cereal between 2 greased sheet pans.

Now, you basically want to dry out the cereal.  You can do this a number of different ways and acheive similar results.  You can leave it in the oven for a long time on a low temperature or for a short time on a high temperature.  I generally cook it somewhere around 250-300F (or 150C) for, oh, an hour or so.  Ideally it should be lightly browned when you take it out of the oven and quite crispy when cooled.  If it's not crispy enough, you can always put it in longer.  Take care not to burn it, though!  Some people find it helpful to take it out about half-way through the cooking time and sort of flip the granola so that the bottom dries evenly, but I rarely find this necessary.

There you have it!  And if you want to make it for 200 people, just start with 6 gallons of oatmeal and go from there.