Recipe of the week -- Honey Nut Granola

I never really thought I was a granola person, but now I am a believer!

My granola journey started as an idea of something to sell at the farmer's market. I see gourmet granola everywhere for $4-$6 for 8 oz. and it seems to sell. I go to these little Mom & Pop places and people are buying it. Of course my first thought was "I can make that sooooo much cheaper". Um.....not really I discovered.

There is a reason that that gourmet granola is so expensive. These ingredients are not cheap. If I buy in bulk they are a little better, but still......

I wanted to make sure that I was at least covering my cost and at best making a profit. I actually took the time to weigh every ingredient as it went in and figure my cost per batch. I know....I'm such a nerd :o). I discovered each batch cost me $5.70. That was the cost of the actual ingredients by how much was used. I didn't dare add up the cost of everything I spent because you can't just buy 1 tsp. of vanilla or 1 cup almonds. You have to buy them in larger quantities. I think I actually bought enough for maybe 4 batches or so.

The whole point of this is that I am in love with granola now and although it's expensive, it's still cheaper to make at home.

Honey Nut Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300*F. In a large bowl, stir oats, nuts and sunflower seeds together. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Add to dry ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture onto two ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven, for 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue baking until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing.

For more great recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

Farmer's Market Fun

The last few weeks we've been hanging out at a farmer's market not too far from here. It's a lot of fun with some great people and they have a big playground to keep the kiddos occupied for the 4 hours we are there. What more could a girl ask for?

It's definitely been worth our time to set up a table down there. We've encountered several knitters and this last week a spinner happened by from Texas. I'm still trying to figure exactly what she was doing in that teeney tiny little town since she said she was up visiting her daughter in Chicago, but hey, she loved my alpaca!


Our newest addition to the farmer's market fare this past week was baked goods. Michigan just recently passed a law that allows for some non-commercially prepared foods to be sold directly to consumers. (I'll be writing more on that later). The granola I made up was the hit of the day! Everyone loved the fact that the Cherry granola was made with actual Michigan cherries. Next week I think I'm going to make up a blueberry granola.

Anyway, we have a lot of fun and if you are ever around come visit us at the Athen's Area Farm Market on Fridays from 2pm-6pm. It's right on M-66....can't miss it.