GarLic It! Changing the World one Kitchen at a Time

Hi, It's been awhile.  Life has been nutty busy.  Isn't it for everybody?  I thought I would introduce you to one of my favorite products in the kitchen.  GarLic It!

What is it, you ask?  It is a finish sauce that was created by my good friends, Llance & Lori Kezner.  This was the brainchild of Llance who made salad dressing for his wife and Lori told him that he should bottle the "junk" at the bottom of the jar because it was so yummy.  Llance listened because he is a good husband and GarLic It! was born.

GarLic It! is a triple blanched sliced garlic that has been marinated in oils and spices.  It comes in five delicious flavors and an award winning private reserve Caramelized.  (yum!)  You can use it all kinds of ways but my favorite way to eat it is with a spoon!

Kandi, you will revolutionize cooking for me.  Where can I get this product?  (I know that's what you were thinking, right?)  You can find it at Whole Foods, QFC, the Fresh Market, and so many other retailers. It's taking on the world.  Here's a page that shows you where you can get this amazing, life changing product.



Now I have a lot of this on hand, Kandi, what do I do with it?  Recipes are located here so once you get this great product in your hot little hands you can go nutty.  Spicy Garlic Quesadillas, Garlic Pot Roast, Baked Brie with Garlic, Garlic Pot Roast, Mussels with Coconut Garlic, and on and on.  It's good for you, too.  Yum.

Get some GarLic It! today.  Order directly from Llance or get it at a local retailer. It's all the same, hand made GarLic It!

Lessons to learn:  Listen to your wife & buy GarLic It! it will change your life (or at least your cooking.)  You will thank me.  You are welcome.  :)

GarLic It! Cheese Balls

GarLic It!  Cheese Balls

Cheese Ball Mix:

1/3 stick of softened butter

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese

GarLic It by Flavor:

Spicy Chipotle:

1/3 jar of Spicy Chipotle GarLic It! Finish Sauce

8 ounces of cheddar cheese

Garnish:  ¾ cup of chopped toasted pecans to roll the finished cheese ball in

Spicy Chipotle Take 2:

1/3 jar of Spicy Chipotle GarLic It! Finish Sauce

2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce or apricot jam

Garnish:  ¾ cup of dried cranberries, chopped

Savory Basil

1/3 jar of Savory Basil GarLic It! Finish Sauce

8 ounces of parmesan cheese

Garnish:  1/3 cup of fresh curly leaf parsley chopped finely to roll the finished cheese ball in

Sichuan Pepper

1/3 jar of Sichuan Pepper GarLic It! Finish Sauce

Garnish:  ¾ cup of crunched chow mien noodles

Sweet Tomato Curry

1/3 jar of Sweet Tomato Curry GarLic It! Finish Sauce

Garnish:  ¾ cup of toasted almonds

Cream together the butter and the cream cheese until smooth.  And gently stir in your choice of GarLic It! and cheese.  Form into one large ball or several small balls by placing the desired amount on plastic wrap and gathering the edges of the wrap up and twisting them to form a ball shape.  Put the ball into the refrigerator to cool and hold its shape.  Roll in garnish when it is cold and firm (at least two hours).

Serve with crackers, vegetable chips, sliced cucumbers, flat bread, and crostini.

Baked Brie Bites with GarLic it!

Baked Brie Bites with GarLic It!

Phyllo Dough

Brie

GarLic It!  Your favorite flavor

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a muffin pan with non stick spray.  Cut phyllo dough into slightly larger circles than the muffin tin and gently push in.  Put a wedge of brie in each muffin cup.  Top with a teaspoon (or more) of your favorite GarLic It! flavor.  Bake until the phyllo is brown and crispy and the brie is warm and bubbly about 15 – 20 minutes.  Top with garnishes.

Suggested garnishes

Spicy Chipotle:  Chopped green onions or chives

Savory Basil:  Fresh roma tomatoes or Kalamata olives

Sweet Tomato Curry:  Spiced and roasted pecans

Thai Peanut:  Chopped roasted peanuts

Sichuan Pepper:  Roasted sesame seeds

Beef Stroganoff

You have left over French Onion Soup.  You are tired of eating it.  What do you do?  Use it as a base to make Beef Stroganoff.  It's great and you will love it!  I have to mention, though, where it lacks in appearance it makes up for it in flavor.

Here's what you need:

1 pound of stew meat
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 T Wondra Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 onion thinly sliced
2 cups of left over French Onion Soup
6 mushrooms thinly sliced
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350.  Toss the stew meat with flour, salt, and pepper.  Sear the outside of the beef in a dutch oven with heated extra virgin olive oil. Set on a plate to rest.  Sweat the onion in the pan and then pour in the French Onion Soup and deglaze the pan.  Bring the soup to a boil and turn down to a simmer.  Add the meat back in.  Cover the dutch oven and simmer in the oven for 1.5 hours.  Remove from the oven and add the mushrooms and the peas and gently simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and the peas are heated.  Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream.

Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

French Onion Soup

Yum.  It's my personal favorite soup.  I'm not sure if its the warm broth or the gooey cheese or the crunchy bread that makes it divine.  I can't pick one part.

This is my personal French Onion Soup.  I'm not French so it's a best guess, close enough substitute.

French Onion Soup

4 large yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of really good red wine
1 sweet bay leaf
2 quarts of beef stock
Asiago Cheese
Croutons or toasted bread

Caramelize the onions in a large stock pot by heating the oil, adding the thinly slice onions, and sauteing over low heat until brown and sweet.  Take out the onions once they are all caramelized and deglaze the pan with the wine.  Reduce the wine until it is 1/2 the volume or about 1 cup.

Pour in the beef broth (you can use 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 beef broth or vegetable broth for meatless meals), add the sweet bay leaf, and cook for 1-2 hours on a low heat being careful not to boil so as not to reduce your broth too much.

Put a couple of croutons or a slice of toasted bread in each bowl of soup, place the cheese on top and flash it under the broiler until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Yum.

You can make this a crock pot recipe by caramelizing the onions and deglazing the pan with wine and placing everything in the crock pot and cooking on low for 6-8 hours.

Marinara Sauce

This summer I began a quest for a great marinara sauce.  I'm tired of Ragu, Prego, and all the rest.  I decided that I can figure this out.  How to make a tomato sauce not taste bleh.  I think I found it in the Pasta & Co. Cookbook.  My husband and I were shopping at a thrift store and we came across this book for half price.  This little baby is a wealth of information.  A treasure trove.

You will want to make this sauce when you make pasta next time.  Thank me later.

Amazing Marinara Sauce
(modified from Bolognese Sauce from the Pasta & Co. Cookbook)

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
8 cloves garlic finely minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 small bay leaf
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup tomato paste whisked into 1/4 cup water
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes in heavy puree

Saute onion, celery, and carrot until onion is translucent in the olive oil.  Add spices and saute until it smells great.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine, taking special care to scrape the brown bits off the bottom.  This is where the great flavor is.  Reduce the wine by 1/2.  Stir in the tomato paste/water slurry.  Bring all of this to a simmer.  Add the tomatoes and bring it back to a simmer.  Simmer the sauce over low heat for one hour.  If the sauce is too thick, add one cup of the pasta water to loosen it up.

To serve, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the sauce and garnish with shaved Parmesan. 

Makes about 6 cups of sauce.

Recipe adapted from the Pasta & Co. Cookbook.

I Cook First!

Yesterday, I found out about a great blog called:  I Cook First.  You can find it here.  It's a great collection of Asian recipes from many different I'm so excited about these recipes and I'm not sure which I will cook first...  Kalbi, Bulgogi, Pho...  Maybe I will cook the Singapore Clay Pot Rice shown above.   There are so many to choose from and the all look amazing!

Thanks, Jenny!

Lemon Cupcakes

Today we have two picnics and an appointment wedged in between.  I needed to make some dessert and a salad; also, I need to bring a main course for one of the picnics.  Whew.  Anyway, I made a homemade Texas Sheet Cake and with that taking up all my make from scratch energy I found a lemon cake mix and lemon frosting in the back of my pantry.  I made those for a dessert to go to the first picnic.  Since lemon cupcakes and frosting are kind of boring when you don't make them from scratch, I decided to kick it up a notch and make a garnish for them with crystallized sugar and lemon zest.

Lemon Sugar Garnish

Zest one lemon

1 1/2 tablespoons of large crystallized sugar

Mix it together and sprinkle it on top of cupcakes.  You can also use this to rim the glass of your favorite mixed drink or sweeten tea with it when you have a sore throat.

Enjoy!  The sun is shining and we are rejoicing here in the Pacific Northwest.

Pumpkin Bars: Baked with Love!

This is one of my favorite food pictures this summer which is coincidental because this is my favorite pumpkin bar recipe.  It's my favorite for two reasons.  First - they taste amazing.  I love the taste of pumpkin and you can't go wrong with these.  Second - it makes two 9 x 13 pans of the bars and the ingredients are all you might have on hand, except the canned pumpkin.  I don't usually add the walnuts, but you can if you want. Fresh grated nutmeg is wonderful in here.

Here you go!

From AllRecipes.Com

Pumpkin Bars I

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9 x 13 pans.
2. Mix all ingredients until well blended and then divide between the two pans.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and frost bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Corn Casserole with Green Chiles & Cotija Cheese

Wish I would have taken a picture...

All I can say was this was good.  I'm venturing out writing more recipes because I realized it's kind of silly for me to write about other people's recipes.  So here goes...  Recipe #3 for the week - written by me. 

Corn Casserole with Green Chiles & Cotija Cheese

1/2 diced onion
2 cloves minced garlice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups frozen corn
1 cup sour cream
1 7 ounce can green chiles
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
Jiffy Cornbread mix or similar size
2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350.  While oven is preheating, saute the onion and garlic until translucent in the olive oil.  In a big mixing bowl, combine the corn, sour cream, chiles, and cheese.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cornbread mix, and melted butter.  Combine both and pour into a 9X9 baking dish.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the center sets and the top is golden brown.  Serve hot.  Try not to eat it all before your guests or family have it.

I think you could add cheddar cheese or pepper jack for a bit more kick.  I thought about adding chopped jalapeno but decided not to this time. 

Original recipe, please credit Kandi Dodrill or link back to the post if you are publishing it.  Thank you.

Raspberry Tarts so easy a 9 year old can make them!

Can you make pudding?  Can you scoop it into premade graham cracker crusts?  Can you decoratively place raspberries on top of the pudding?  That's good. I knew you could.  Read on.

Raspberry Tarts Ala Ellie

1 small box of vanilla instant pudding - 4 servings
1 cup milk (basically 1/2 the amount of what is required on the package)
6 Pre-made Individual Graham Cracker Crusts
Raspberries to garnish

Whisk the milk into the pudding mix.  Let sit for a couple of minutes until thick.  Spoon the pudding into the premade crusts.  Garnish with Raspberries.  Can be served immediately or refrigerated up to 8 hours.

Enjoy!

Patty Pan Squash & Chorizo

I promised the recipe and here it is!  I made it up myself.  It was fabulous.

Patty Pan Squash with Chorizo
4 patty pan squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp olive oil
3 small links of chorizo (about 1/4 pound)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cut the top off and hollow out the squash so that a well exists in each.  Dice the squash that was removed from the squash and save for the next step.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes or until they are slightly cooked.

Heat the olive oil and sweat the onions with a bit of salt.  Crumble in the chorizo when the onion is translucent.  When the chorizo is almost done, drain off the grease and add the diced squash and cook gently.

Stuff the filling into the well of the squash and bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the squash is soft to the touch but not mushy.  Mushy is bad.  Kids DO NOT LIKE mushy vegetables.  Trust me.

This would be great with a bit of jalapeno or green chiles for some heat but you have to know your audience.  Mine was not happy with the mere thought of some heat so I didn't add it.

If you use this recipe on your blog, please note Eastside Girl Friday as the author or link back to this post.  Thank you.

The Summer of the Pickle

And the canned item.  Ever wonder how many canning jars 10 pounds of pickling cucumbers will fill?  Wonder no more. 

Let's hope the boy won't eat them all this week.  I can't keep up....

On a similar note, I have plans to make several canned items this summer to use over the winter besides the pickles.  I plan to make Candied Jalapenos, Blueberry Pie filling, zucchini pickles, strawberry jam, raspberry jam, and some sort of blueberry spread.  Yum. 

How I Keep Herbs Fresh

This could also be titled one of the many ways I reuse mason jars.  It's a quick and easy thing to do when you get home from the grocery store.  Rinse the bundle of fresh herbs, cut the bottom 1/4" off and plunge into a pint sized mason jar filled about halfway with cold water.  I keep it in the refrigerator but you could keep it on the counter.  The herbs last a whole lot longer in the refrigerator. 

Salsa Competition Results

Thanks for all the good wishes!  Six Salsas were entered and three were mine.  I turned in my salsa entries at 10:30 and they were judged at 2.  They announced the winners at 4.  Ellie and I went back for the judging and a friend came along with her daughter.  Ellie and I waited until 4 but our friends had to leave early.  We saw a lot of friends there at the market and had some fresh raspberries, shaved ice, and took home a pint of Blackberry Whidbey Island Ice Cream.  It was AMAZING.  I highly recommend it.  Now onto the details...

My Canned Fresh Salsa took first place and my Roasted Salsa Verde took second! There was a one point difference between first and second place.  The prizes were a blue ribbon and a $50 gift card for first place and a red ribbon and a $25 gift card for second place.  I have the ribbons hanging on the bulletin board in my kitchen with last year's ribbons...  I hope there are some more entries next year.  I think it would make the whole competition fun to have more people enter.  But I will be back for next year. 

Winning Salsas from Last Year's Competition

I entered three salsas in last year's competitions.  I won first and second place with two of them and then a please do not ever make this again with the third - it was downright awful.  I won't post that recipe...  :)  Here are the two that swept the competition below. 

Blue Ribbon Cowboy Caviar

1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can (15.5 oz) black eyed peas, drained & rinsed

½ red onion chopped

½ medium sweet onion chopped

¼ cup green bell pepper chopped

2 fresh tomatoes chopped

1 finely diced jalapeno pepper with ribs and seeds mostly removed

1 chilaca pepper finely diced

1 fresh ear of corn blanched and cut off the cob

1 cup Italian Dressing (recipe to follow)

¾ cup chopped cilantro

Kosher Salt to taste

Mix everything in a large bowl.  Then season to taste with the Kosher Salt.  Refrigerate for two hours or overnight to all the flavors to marry.

Italian Dressing Recipe

1 tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp Italian Spice Mix

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp dried parsley

2 tbsp Kosher salt

Mix the ingredients together and store in a sealed container.  To make the dressing, pour ¼ cup your favorite flavor of vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp water, and 1 ½ tablespoons of the dry mix together in a jar or bowl.  I use the Good Seasons cruet because the measurements are on the side.  J  The mix can be used on flat bread.  Combine the mix one to one with olive oil and brush on fresh flat bread dough.  Bake for suggested amount of time for your bread recipe.

Second Place Fire Roasted Tomato, Chilaca, & Chipotle Pepper Salsa

½ white onion chopped

1 tsp vinegar

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (such as Muir Glen Brand)

1 whole chilaca pepper

2 heaping tablespoons of Spicy Chipotle GarLic It! Garlic Finishing Sauce

Kosher Salt to taste

After chopping the white onion, place in 16 oz bowl with vinegar and cover with ice cold water.  Allow to soak for ten minutes, then drain without rinsing.  While the onion is soaking, roast a pasilla pepper until the skin is black and blistered.  You can do this on the stove top if you cook with natural gas.  Cover the pepper allow to steam while cooling so the skin is easy to remove.

Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a bowl with the GarLic It! and allow to sit until the other ingredients are ready.  Once the pepper is peeled, finely chop and add to the tomato mixture.  Add in the onions and refrigerate for at least one hour for the flavors to marry.

Three Salsas for the Salsa Competition

Last year I entered the salsa competition at the local farmer's market.  Since there was no limit to entries, I entered three.  I'm an over achiever like that.  :)  I won first and second place.

Winning first and second place fueled my fire to enter again this year.  I was all gung-ho to make different salsa recipes and try them out on my family and friends throughout the year.  Good intentions...  Sigh.  Anyway, I came up with three recipes this weekend.  Canned Fresh Salsa, Roasted Salsa Verde, and Triple Pepper Salsa were the pithy names that I settled on.  My family was no help at all so if you think they are silly, blame them.

Here are the recipes:

Canned Fresh Salsa

4 pint jars with rims and seals to fit

14 ripe tomatoes (I used tomatoes off the vine)
kosher salt
1.5 large onions
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 pound  Jalapeño Peppers

2 poblano peppers
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 tablespoon  cumin
½  of a 6 ounce can tomato paste
PER JAR 3 tablespoons lime juice

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the tomatoes by dropping them in the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. You will need to do them in batches. Transfer the tomatoes to a sink or tub filled with cold water.

Peel the tomatoes, and chop them coarsely. Layer them in a large strainer - such as comes in a set for cooking spaghetti - with the salt. Much of it will run out with the water. Let the tomatoes drain for several hours to overnight, in a cool spot (but not in the fridge.) Don't forget to keep them a little raised from the bottom of whatever pot you strain them into, so they are not sitting in their own water.

When you are ready to proceed, put the canning jars into a large canner with water to cover them by one inch at least, and bring to a boil. Boil the jars for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and then chop the onions in a food processor, de-stem and deseed the Jalapeños (wear gloves – not kidding – the voice of experience here!) and poblano peppers, and peel and mince the garlic.

Take the strained tomatoes, and chop them to the texture you would like - a food processor is fine for this. Mix them with the chopped onions, garlic, and chilies in a large canning kettle or other large, deep pot. Chop the cilantro and mix it in, along with the cumin.

Mix the tomato paste with a cupful of the salsa, until it is lump-free. Mix it into the pot of salsa. Taste the salsa, and add some salt if you think it needs some more. Bring the salsa to a boil.

Lift the sterilized jars from the boiling water bath and empty them. Half should be emptied into the sink, and half should be emptied back into the pot to keep the boiling water level up.

Add three tablespoons of lime juice to each jar. Fill each jar with salsa, with a wide mouth funnel to within 1 cm of the rims. Wipe the rims with a clean paper towel dipped in the boiling water, and seal according the manufacturer’s directions.

Return the jars to the boiling water bath and boil them for 20 minutes, well covered in water.  Remove from the water bath, allow to cool, check seals and label the jars with the date and batch number.

Adapted from here.

Roasted Salsa Verde:

5 tomatillos husked and cut in ½

½ Walla Walla Sweet Onion

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch Kosher salt

1 Anaheim Pepper

1 jalapeño pepper

½ cup cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup water

Kosher salt to taste

Toss the tomatillos and onion in olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.  Place tomatillos, onion, Anaheim pepper and jalapeño pepper on a hot grill and roast.  Turn frequently so that all sides of the vegetables get roasted.  When the tomatillos and onions soften remove from the grill. 

Grill the peppers until the skins are blistered.  Steam the peppers in a covered bowl until the skins easily come off.  Peel off the skins and remove the seeds and ribs from the two peppers. 

After all the vegetables cool to room temperature, put them all in a blender with the cilantro, cumin powder, and garlic powder.  Pour the water in and blend until smooth.  Season the salsa with salt to your liking.

Chill and use as a salsa, topping for enchiladas or burritos, or on scrambled eggs.

Triple Pepper Salsa:

½ Anaheim pepper, seeds & ribs removed

½ Poblano pepper, seeds & ribs removed

1 Jalapeño pepper, seeds & ribs removed

½ White onion, diced

4 Tomatoes on the vine, vine removed and chopped

1 Clove of garlic, minced

¼ Cup cilantro chopped

½ Teaspoon cumin

Juice of one lime

Salt to Taste

Mix in a bowl, chill for at least two hours, and serve with tortilla chips.

So there you go.  I'll report back tomorrow and let you know how I did.  I'll post the winning recipes from last year, too.

Pulled Pork That Will Make You Want to Slap Yo Mama!

Pulled Pork That Will Make You Want to Slap Yo Mama!

1.5 cups white sugar
1/4 cup salt
2.5 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne (or more if you are spicy)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Pour all of this into a plastic baggie and keep in a cool dark place.  This will last you through several recipes. 

The Pork

1 pork shoulder roast (boston blade or butt - doesn't matter)
I like to use a bone-in roast, because I prefer the meat right along the bone.  Boneless roasts work just fine though. I use the largest roast I can find that will still fit in my crock pot.
1 beer (dealer’s choice)
1 whole onion - chopped

Rub your pork liberally, on all sides, with pork rub.  Place in a large bowl (well covered) or bag and refrigerate 12-24 hours. Remove pork from fridge, place in crock pot with the onion.  Pour beer around roast.  The liquid should only come an inch or two up the sides of the roast. 

Cook for at least 12 hours.  If you have a smaller roast, it will be done before that.  Most roasts can cook a lot longer if you're leaving it overnight.  About an hour before you serve, open the lid of the crock pot and use a pair of tongs to slip the bone out. Drain out any excess liquid in the pot.  Use the tongs, or a pair of forks, to shred the meat.  If it doesn't shred easily, either force it with a knife or cook it longer until it submits.

At this point, you have a pot full of really succulent pork that you can serve at least 2 ways.  As carnitas, on a tortilla with some onions and cilantro.  Or with some bbq sauce as pulled pork.

For pork BBQ, after you shred the meat pour the sauce into the crock pot and let it cook for another 30-45 minutes.  Then serve on buns with cole slaw.

borrowed from Babycenter...

Homemade Granola - You'll Thank Me in the Morning!

Well, today the weather is cold.  Rainy.  Thunder.  :(  My youngest is at camp and I have been to the market to buy fruit to pretend like it's summer.  Cold and rainy weather tempts me to stay inside and make warms things.  I'm sure I'll bake something before the day is through.  I have a batch of this already in my pantry but I should make it about once a week. (I just went to the pantry to get out the granola and snap a picture of it and guess what - it's all gone.  Looks like I'm making granola, cleaning out the refrigerator, and doing the laundry today!)  My family loves to eat it for breakfast and snacks.  A special shout out of thanks to Gramma Judy for teaching me how to make it.  She doesn't measure anything (well neither do I) so I had to make it a few times to get the measurements right.  This is good for you, feeds your body, and grows your brain.  Make it today and you'll thank me in the morning.  :)

 

Granola by Kandi (and Gramma Judy!)

7 cups oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut shavings
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup pepitas
8 ounces sliced raw almonds
Pinch of Salt
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons Honey
¾ cup Grade B Maple Syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375º and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Mix oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, salt, and brown sugar together in a very large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk olive oil, honey, maple syrup and vanilla extract until it emulsifies which means just mix it until it all blends together.  Emulsify is a kitchen word for mixing it all together.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir well to incorporate.

Divide the mixture on the two baking sheets and spread it out to an even layer.  I line my baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, depending on how golden you would like your granola.

Cool completely.  Stir in a cool, dry place.

Variations:
If you would like to add dried fruit, do so after the granola has cooled off.  I like to add cashews, pecans, walnuts, or pine nuts.   You can also add spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, or nutmeg.