Real food

After four years of college cafeteria food, it continues to be delightful to eat real food. In the eight months of having an independent household, Ross and I have not had a prepackaged meal for dinner. We have bought some Lean Cuisines for lunches, and recently we bought some ramen bowls (I hate ramen and will not be eating those, but the idea was that Ross and Jess could eat them for lunch). We eat a lot of vegetables and whole grains. I always buy organic, cage-free eggs and frequently buy organic, free-range meat. High-quality meat is expensive, so we don't eat that much meat.

This afternoon I made granola. The great thing about granola is that there are a few basic ingredients (oats, oil, honey, cinnamon, salt) and after that you can really use whatever grains, nuts, seeds, spices, or dried fruit you want or have handy. Today I used flax seed -- I bought some yesterday at the natural grocery because I'm trying to diversify my grain intake and flax is high in omega-3 fatty acids. I modified this recipe and it is good. Here's what I did:

2 and 2/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup golden flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup slivered almonds

0. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
1. Combine oats, flax seed, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Whisk until combined.
3. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture. Combine using your hands until oats are evenly coated.
4. Spread granola evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove cookie sheet from oven. Turn granola with a spatula. Add almonds.
6. Return cookie sheet to oven and bake for 15 more minutes.
7. Let cool and store in airtight container.