Oven-dried blueberries

In light of my recent creation of yummy granola, I've decided to make another batch (sometime in the near future).  Of course, always using the same fruits, nuts and sweeteners could make the consumption of granola a bit monotonous; so I wanted to try my hand at making oven-dried blueberries.  For my attempt, I chose to use the smallest, least sweet and juicy blueberries I could since honey is used to sweeten them anyway.  I also cut the recipe, using only 1/3 cup of blueberries and ended up leaving them in the oven for 3 and a half hours (oops!).  In the end, they still turned out better than I had expected.  

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries

1 tsp honey

Method:

1) Mix blueberries and honey in small bowl

2) Preheat oven to 225F and bake on lined baking sheet for 2 hours, 

   or until fruit has shriveled slightly

Sweet and crunchy granola

I’ve always loved granola, whether it’s sprinkled on top of tangy yogurt, eaten as cereal with milk or just a grab-and-go snack.  Although I usually prefer steel cut oatmeal, rolled oats work perfectly for granola and still contribute to our daily intake of whole grains.  Here’s my recipe for a delicious sweet and crunchy, maple-olive oil granola.               

           

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (hulled)

1/4 cup pistachios (hulled)

1/4 cup dried cherries

2 tbsp golden raisins

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Method:

1) Combine oats, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, maple syrup, olive 
   oil, cinnamon and salt in large bowl

2) Preheat oven to 300F

3) Spread mixture evenly onto lined baking sheet

4) Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown

5) Mix with dried cherries and raisins, let cool and enjoy

Mmmm.....
Simply delicious with plain yogurt, honey, pear slices and a handful of blueberries