granola {for haddy}

granola | movita beaucoup

My sister’s birthday is on Thursday – she’ll be turning 40. So, I’ve decided to have four days of Haddy-inspired posts this week. Naturally, I turned to Rosie Beaucoup for assistance.

granola | movita beaucoup

movita: I want to do four days of Haddy-inspired posts to mark her birthday. I was thinking I’d share some of her favourite childhood recipes.

Rosie Beaucoup: Great idea!

movita: So, can you tell me about the things you used to make for her? The stuff she would have asked for?

Rosie Beaucoup: Okay.

(long pause)

Rosie Beaucoup: Just, uh… just give me a minute.

(another long pause)

movita: I just need a few things that she really, really liked. Maybe a dessert? Maybe the meals she requested on her birthdays?

Rosie Beaucoup: Right. I’m thinking. Uh…

(tapping a finger on her nose)

Rosie Beaucoup: I mean, I’m sure there was something

(inaudible mumbling)

Rosie Beaucoup: In fairness, she was really quite fussy…

(yet another long pause)

granola | movita beaucoup

movita: Okay, I think my cats are hungry. Maybe just let me know when you think of something?

Rosie Beaucoup: Just. Give. Me. A SECOND. I know there’s something…

(staring out the window)

Rosie Beaucoup: Okay, I’ve got it. She really liked those little boxes of raisins.

movita:

Rosie Beaucoup: You remember, those little red boxes of…

movita: I know what bloody boxes of raisins are! But I can’t post a recipe for boxed raisins!

Rosie Beaucoup: But she really liked them.

movita: Never-mind. I’ll keep thinking. I’ve gotta get going, okay?

Rosie Beaucoup: WAIT! She also really liked wieners!

movita: Good grief.

Rosie Beaucoup: AND she almost choked to death on one! I remember because your grandfather had just arrived for a visit, and she turned blue…

granola | movita beaucoup

So, Haddy, here’s a childhood recipe that contains your most favourite treat – raisins – and absolutely no wieners. It’s a take on the granola that Rosie Beaucoup used to make for us when we were kids. But, since we’re getting older, I’ve thrown in some stuff like ground flax seed to keep us alive. I hear flax seed will also help you deal with hot flashes.

This recipe makes a crapload of granola – 16 cups worth – so you could always halve it if you don’t have a big roasting pan and storage container. Also, you can swap out ingredients. Don’t feel like pecans? Leave ‘em out. Hate cranberries? Find something else to shove in there! I hear prunes and dates are good for the elderly. The options are endless, and just a small bowl of this stuff will keep your belly full until your first coffee break. I’m sure you’ll remember that this is not a crunchy granola – it is honeyed and softer than the stuff you buy at the grocery store. That means you can eat it very quietly when you are at work. Let’s face it, crunching in your cubicle isn’t cute at 40.

Oh, and here’s a photo of you enjoying some of your favourite raisins early one Christmas morning:

granola | movita beaucoup

Keep it classy, k?

. . .

Granola

recipe: adapted from a family gem

print and bake

Yields 16 cups.

Dry ingredients:

  • 6 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking sort)
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • 1 cup bran
  • 1 cup ground flax-seed
  • 1 cup toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup hulled, raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup hulled, raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the granola goo:

  • 1 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mise en place – begin by getting organized. Measure out all of your ingredients. Ensure that you have a roasting pan/casserole dish that is large enough to hold 16 cups of granola (with room for stirring and turning the ingredients over during baking) and a container large enough to store your granola in. 

Pre-heat oven to 300°.

Place the dry ingredients into a large roasting pan, and mix to combine.

To make the granola goo, place the honey, milk, applesauce, canola oil, butter, salt and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the butter has completely melted, the ingredients are well incorporated, and the mixture is hot to the touch.

Pour half of the granola goo over the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the remainder of the goo, and mix well to combine. This incorporation is important – you don’t want dry patches of ingredients. Insure everything gets moistened by the goo.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. When stirring, ensure that the ingredients get well rotated in the pan – bring the granola from the bottom up to the top to ensure even baking.

The granola is done when it has turned a golden brown throughout. It will be very hot, and still somewhat moist throughout. Remove from the oven and place the roasting pan on a cooling rack. Because the granola is very hot, there will be carry-over baking – keep stirring the granola frequently as it cools to ensure the heat escapes, and the bottom layer of granola doesn’t overcook. The granola will dry somewhat as it cools, but it is not a crunchy, clumpy granola.

Let the granola cool completely before storing in a tightly lidded container.

Note: My roasting pan is deep and not very long/wide. My ingredients fill it to the top. I need an hour to get my granola cooked up nicely. If you use a shallow baking dish, and your ingredients are spread more thinly, you may need to shorten your bake time. 

45 Comments

  1. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef on September 9, 2013 at 10:14 am

    OMG I’m cracking up. I could imagine myself having that conversation with my mother about my sister. Raisins. LOL in the little box. heh. Happy Birthday Granola! Hope Haddy has a terrific day on Thursday – granola or not.



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      Also, I really, really hate raisins. BLECK.



  2. Juls on September 9, 2013 at 10:21 am

    Oh this is too great. I think my sister would murder me if I were to post a picture like that on a milestone birthday! But she’s also fucking fussy. The only thing I could ever reliably cook for my sister would be steak which is great, but it doesn’t give for a colourful plate of nutrients (and creates truly disgusting flatulence if eaten if abundance). Happy Birthday Haddy!



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 11:02 am

      I believe you’re referring to Meat Belly.

      I’m very familiar with it.



  3. kellyjneil@gmail.com on September 9, 2013 at 10:37 am

    Hopefully your sister understands that references to hot flashes, being elderly and posting pics of her on the toilet helps bring others much joy.



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 11:03 am

      She’s selfless that way.



  4. Amy @ Elephant Eats on September 9, 2013 at 10:45 am

    There really is nothing like a box of raisins on the toilet. This granola sounds great and I’ve been looking for a recipe to make for my mother-in-law (a granola addict), so now I have something to work from 🙂 Does this granola have big clusters in it? She told me she likes the clusters.



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 11:01 am

      This is a cluster-free granola. It’s not that crunchy, clustering sort. (Sadly, for your mother-in-law.)

      Apparently, my sister was placed upon that toilet with a box of raisins for entertainment, in order to prevent her from seeing what Santa had left for her under the tree until it was time.

      I bet more parents will do the same after reading this post…



      • Movita on September 10, 2013 at 5:17 pm

        I’m not sure the Beaucoups even noticed the seat was up until after the fact…



  5. Lan | morestomach on September 9, 2013 at 11:08 am

    i don’t even know where to begin with that picture: your toilet matched the bathroom wall!! your sister’s nightgown set like so to preserve her modesty…

    this is such a sweet post!



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:02 pm

      That was a rental house that my parents had just before they bought their first home. Sadly, we can take no credit for it’s awesomeness.



  6. Emmalina on September 9, 2013 at 11:25 am

    I’ve heard that only the coolest and most groovy people are turning 40 this year, it’s like a thing and stuff. Just what I’ve heard though. Happy Birthday Haddy!



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 6:32 pm

      1973 was a fine, fine year…



  7. Willow on September 9, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    Haha! I can totally relate to that type of conversation. Also, I want a recipe for boxed raisins – STAT!

    Happy birthday to your sister!



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:04 pm

      It’s going to take a while for that recipe, Willow. I mean, I’ll have to test out the drying method. Figure out which grapes make the best raisins. Grow those grapes. Learn how to produce a cardboard box. You know, that sort of stuff. I’ll get something posted asap…



  8. Liz on September 9, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    Thank you for the nice recipe.



  9. Beth on September 9, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    The toilet shot- I was laughing so hard, I think I peed a little. Thanks a bunch.



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 6:32 pm

      Right? So freakin’ adorable. And also, really funny.



  10. Isabelle @ Crumb on September 9, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    I guess she should be grateful that you didn’t post a weiner-flavoured granola. Though, of course, since the recipe makes 16 cups, that’s kind of a lot of oats to sacrifice for the sake of embarrassing your sister (and really, what did those poor oats ever do to you?).
    Toilet shot, on the other hand? PRICELESS. I am simultaneously laughing my ass off and saying prayers of thankfulness that we’re not related. 🙂



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:05 pm

      Wiener granola would have been TOTALLY worth it. Also, it’s gunna get a lot worse for Haddy as the week goes on…



  11. tworedbowls on September 9, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    Hahaha this was the BEST! I don’t think I will have truly lived until someone dedicates something like this to me — complete with toilet picture. Also, please do post a recipe for raisin boxes. I’d read it.



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:06 pm

      I’m on it… just growing the grapes now…



  12. bbeaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    Must confess I had forgotten just how well the toilet decals (not to mention the plush seat cover) went with the subtle wallpaper and elegant flooring.
    And who but McHaddy’s mom would have thought of a matching diaper pail???
    Forty years? Seems like yesterday ….

    bb.



    • movita beaucoup on September 9, 2013 at 9:47 pm

      Readers, this is Bill Beaucoup’s first comment on the blog. I guess his passion for 70’s decor finally got the better of him… Yay!!



  13. teachingontheverge on September 9, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    Happy Birthday Hadley! We have the same diaper pail… they still sell it.



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:07 pm

      WHAT?! I can’t believe it. Of course, why WOULD they take such a gorgeous product off the market?



  14. Stacy on September 10, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    I am rolling over here laughing! After just organizing 20+ years of photos into baggies (thank God for daughters who are helpers), I am in awe of a person who can put their fingers on a photo that so aptly fits a post. If I weren’t so much older than you, I’d want to be you when I grow up, Movita. If Rosie was responsible, I will be her. If that’s okay. Don’t want to overstep my boundaries here. Happy birthday to Haddy on her momentous 4 0. She rocks that nightie.
    P.S. Oh, my gawd. The faux stone floor! Too much awesomeness, decor-wise, in one photo.



    • movita beaucoup on September 10, 2013 at 1:08 pm

      We had a photo sorting party the other night. Mission: find lots of pictures of Haddy for her birthday week. It’s only gunna get better…



      • Stacy on September 10, 2013 at 2:45 pm

        Woo hoo!



  15. Movita's sister on September 10, 2013 at 5:19 pm

    I love and hate all of you.



    • movita beaucoup on September 11, 2013 at 7:19 am

      Shhhhhh, Haddy. This has nothing to do with you.



  16. shannon on September 10, 2013 at 5:51 pm

    bill beaucoup is right: that’s a wonderfully subtle bathroom you had in the seventies. I’m amazed i can actually FIND haddie in that photo.



    • movita beaucoup on September 11, 2013 at 7:20 am

      The raisins make her easier to spot.



  17. Renee on September 10, 2013 at 7:40 pm

    Best. Sister. Ever. Happy birthday Haddy!



    • movita beaucoup on September 11, 2013 at 7:20 am

      Imagine the power Haddy and I have when working TOGETHER.



  18. natalie @ wee eats on September 10, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    Can you eat granola with flax in it? Won’t you immediately die from the health benefits? 🙂 HAPPY BDAY HADDY!

    Also, that bathroom is amazing. I’m going to show it to Aaron when I get home for inspiration.



    • movita beaucoup on September 11, 2013 at 7:22 am

      At first, my body rejected the flax seed. But then it detected the honey in there, so all is good. Like, so, so good…



  19. Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen on September 10, 2013 at 11:47 pm

    Love love the photo of your sis with her box of raisins. I think we all had those little nighties, didn’t we:)



    • movita beaucoup on September 11, 2013 at 7:23 am

      Sometimes I think I should buy one of those nighties. They are just so darned adorable! But then I remember that I really hate sleeping with a copious qualities of cute fabric bunched up around my mother freakin’ neck and stick to regular ol’ pjs.



  20. FB on September 11, 2013 at 12:44 pm

    woa, my day and your sister day are both the same
    and it’s going to be tomorrow, then

    Bon Anniversaire, 12/9 !



  21. gottagetbaked on September 14, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    Lmao at least your mum remembered SOMETHING! Mine would have no idea how to answer that question. This is so sweet of you, Movita. Happy belated birthday to your dear sister, Haddy! I’m loving all the life-extending goodies in this granola, not to mention the suggestion of prunes ‘n dates to keep us regular. Ahhh, sweet adulthood.



    • movita beaucoup on September 29, 2013 at 9:00 am

      I refuse to eat dates and prunes. REFUSE. So, I guess I choose death over pooping.



  22. movita beaucoup on December 28, 2015 at 10:46 am

    Comments on this post are now closed as it was published in September 2013. Thanks for stopping by!