Granola Is People, Too

I know, I know ... this blog has fallen by the wayside as of late, as all blogs about cereal and other such things submerged in milk are wont to do. No sense in fighting nature. I'll do my best to keep Cereal Hour alive and kicking, even if it's just one hour every couple weeks. You can do your best to overlook my complete lack of dedication, and instead choose to revel in the cereal-ness (or is it cereality?) of it all.

So a bag of homemade granola arrived on my porch a number of weeks ago. No, it was not out of the blue -- it came as promised from my friend Tessa in Santa Cruz, whose mom developed her very own granola recipe. Being a granola appreciator, if not a connoisseur, I was interested in taking it for a spin. Well I've been snacking on the sizable stash all these weeks and am finally ready to say: It's really damn good. Not that that helps any of you out there, because there's little to no way you can get your hands on some, unless the family suddenly decides to go into the granola business. Which, I gather, the granola's popularity has rendered not THAT far out of the picture. But perhaps my point is more that if you feel so inclined, you, too, could whip up some granola from scratch, and while it may take you a few times to get it right, you could end up with something equally delectable.

This particular mix contains oats, almonds, cranberries, dried pineapple chunks, raisins, and dried apricot chunks. Evidently, in the past the mix has also contained dried mango chunks. Magical. The ingredients come from farmer's markets, Trader Joe's, and Costco.

Santa Cruz filmmaker Sean Donnelly, who really loves Tessa's mom's granola: "I am a granola lover. You could take me to most any store, and chances are I will have tried all the kinds of granola. But you know what? None of it is that good. Maybe if you left this granola in a dark hole for 4 years, then it would taste like store-bought granola. But for now it tastes far fresher and more flavorful than any granola you can buy."

Tessa, profound in her simplicity: "I feel like I have some friends just for the granola connection. It makes our house smell nice."

Tessa's mom herself, modest but no fool: "I was originally inspired by a visit to the Tassajara Hot Springs in Carmel Valley. ... All I know is everyone who tries it, loves it and wants to know where they can get more."

Tessa recommended eating it with any number of fruits, even spices, but I've found that it's so much better than the Quaker Natural Granola I'm used to that I'd just as well eat it naked. Not me, the granola. I have also enjoyed the granola with both milk and Mountain High Vanilla Yogurt, whereas I only do yogurt with the Quaker. This stuff is flexible. In fact, I'm currently eating it completely dry with a spoon out of a glass jar. It's good.

But this is about you. So go forth, granola eaters, and whip up a batch of your very own. If you do, I'll write about it on this blog -- for the benefit of ones, if not tens of cereal aficionados. Bye for now.