I grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin. We raised sheep, oats, soybeans, corn, and alfalfa, and we had a very large garden which supplied almost all of our vegetables, plus surplus which we sold roadside. Since the farm had been in place for over a hundred years, there was a well-established apple orchard which supplied us with enough apples to can gallons of cider and many quarts of applesauce and also make apple cider vinegar, dried apples and apple pies and so forth. We added to the orchard by filling in with dozens of new trees to replace those that had died of old age and to add on additional fruits like cherries and apricots. In the winter, our attention shifted to the woods, where we cut and stacked firewood for the winter two years off, and where in spring we tapped maple trees and made syrup so that we had many gallons for ourselves and some left over to give as gifts or otherwise part with. When spring came in earnest, we searched beneath those same trees for morels, a favorite spring mushroom.
So in short, I learned young to enjoy the bounty of the earth. And I learned that the work that goes into tending this bounty is part of the joy — and responsibility — of human life. For much of my life thus far, I’ve been fortunate to live in places and ways that allowed me to continue these ingrained habits, albeit at a less intense way than farming. For the last several years, circumstances have required that I temporarily live in a small town setting, but even here I am not far from vast forests and have access to a lovely, fertile garden plot.
When it comes right down to what’s for lunch, it is not a stretch for me to say that creating delicious foods from nature’s bounty is very much part of my core personality. Which brings me around to breakfast, since after all, it is a lovely Sunday morning! I don’t know too many people who can’t find a lot of good to say about the luxury of eating real maple syrup on their pancakes, waffles, French toast — or ice cream, for that matter! So often, simple ways of serving foods are the best. But with the bounty of maple syrup at my disposal, I have also learned a certain decadence. And that is what this recipe represents: pure, unadulterated indulgence! If you like real maple syrup and you like homemade granola, you’ll like this, too!
Whispering Pines Maple Granola
3 cups oats
1-1/2 cups wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup rolled rye
1 cup coconut
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 TBSP sesame seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp saltPreheat oven to 350 (or heat lightly oiled large cast iron skillet to medium on stovetop.) Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients together and then pour into dry ingredients until combined. Place granola mixture into baking pan or skillet and cook until golden brown, stirring as needed. Serve on vanilla yogurt or with milk, and fresh or dried fruit.
