Crunchy granola anyone?

I guess I tend to be a crunchy granola type - studying natural resources, growing my own fruit (see the figs in the pictures that follow), preferring wind and people powered watercraft, and that sort of thing.

Here's one the crows decided to get. They get to the fruit when it's hot and they're thirsty.

A nice ripe fig

So, in honor of the granola image, here's a recipe for the granola I've made for years. I like it with yogurt and fruit in a parfait for breakfast (not very crunchy granola of me), and I usually have dried fruit in the winter. Unless, of course, I don't have granola and have steel-cut oats. I found adding the fruit just before serving makes it much more chewable; if you add it before cooking it becomes too sticky to your teeth and pulls out fillings!

Winnie's Morning Granola

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups nuts (your preference, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc in good sized pieces)
1 1/2 cups coconut (large flakes of unsweetened is preferred)
3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

optional: 1 cup mixed wheat germ, oat bran

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Warm oil and honey (I microwave for about a minute, but you could warm on the stove in small saucepan), add brown sugar.

Place remaining ingredients in a large bowl, toss with hands. Add warm wet ingredients, mix well. Spread on two cookie sheets with raised edges, non-stick works well here.

Bake for 5 minutes, stir around on sheets, and then exchange sheet locations. Bake another 5 minutes and remove from oven if coconut is toasted to light brown. If not, bake another few minutes until coconut is golden brown and smells toasty.

Take off cookie sheets into a large bowl to cool, stir while cooling or will clump into large chunks. Bag into a one gallon bag to hold for breakfasts. Recommended portion size is 1/2 cup or less.