CEiMB - Nutty Granola!!

Any Neil Diamond fans out there? I've never liked him myself, mainly because of that stupid song he sang about Cracklin Rosie. Yikes. But he did a song called "Crunchy Granola Suite."

Let me hear that, let me near that
Crunchy granola Let me hear that,
let me near that Crunchy granola suite
Drop your shrink, and stop your drinkin’
Crunchy granola’s neat
Sing it out
Alright Da da da daDa da da da daDee dee dee doDeedle-ee dum dum
I’ll have a double please

This week for my CEiMB group, we made granola. I have never been a granola fan. It is mostly too sweet for my tastes. I would go so far as to say I hate granola bars and cereal of any kind. I did love the granola grabber cookies we made in our TWD group. Anyway, I made this home-made granola last week and I have to say that we have not been able to keep our hands out of the huge baggie of granola. I have been eating it every morning for breakfast with yogurt, but also as a snack when I get home from work. I can't seem to get enough of it! I keeping telling myself it is healthy and not big in calories.

I used sliced almonds, pecans, whole cashews, and sunflower seeds as the nuts in it. I added some golden raisens and dried tart cherries to give it some flavor.


I also have to share with you all about my shopping excursion the other day. First to Target to buy a candy thermometer - cost was $10.00. Man is that sucker big. But it worked great on my frosting for TWD.

Then I headed to T.J. Maxx. I always love to look in their cookware section to see if they have any good bargains. I got myself a couple of new playtoys for the kitchen. One was a pan I could easily use for Kugelhopf. It only cost $6.99. Of course, now that I actually have a Kugelhopf pan, I'll probably never make Kugelhopf, right? I also bought a tiny canister for $3.99 but I am not sure what I will store in that. Those purchases just felt really good! I love bargains.
Thanks Leslie at Lethally Delicious for choosing this recipe. It made me think outside the box and prepare something I never would have thought about cooking for myself.

Comments

MacDuff said…
Oh, man. I was totally planning on skipping this recipe because I had a root canal this morning, but now you say it's delicious? Crap.

And that kugelhopf pan is to die for. I loved the recipe, and want to use it again just to make more french toast and bread pudding out of it. So good!
Sara said…
This granola looks so good, I have never made granola before!
Nancy/n.o.e said…
Peggy, I'm just hopping out of my seat over here! First, I recently made granola too and I think I'm going to post it on Friday. One thing to keep in mind is that a serving for granola is usually 1/4 cup because it's so dense and has so many nuts and things. I'm so glad you like it - I've been hooked on granola since we made the grabbers - that was the first time I made my own.

Next, I swear I've bought half my kitchenware at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, or Homegoods. Such great deals. LOVE that kugelhopf pan!!!

I just made kugelhopf this past weekend, and have several other recipes to try, including one by Peter Reinhard and one from David Lebovitz's site that looks really good.

Finally, all the reading I've done about kugelhopf says that it's better the second day, or that people like it dry so they can toast it, or it can be easily frozen, etc., That eliminated a lot of the craziness of Dorie's recipe which indicated that it needs to be eaten asap or never. Plus, we enjoyed Dorie's originally for several days...

Nancy
Anonymous said…
It turned out great! We can't leave it alone either.
Pamela said…
I was a little disappointed that I over cooked my granola, but I picked out all my burnt fruit and I'm making the best of it. It's quite tasty, that's for sure.

And I went to Marshall's on Sunday and found a Cuisinart stainless steel saute pan for $10.00!! With a lid! The cashier looked at me with a cocked eyebrow and double checked the price. I was so thrilled! Anyway, glad you guys liked the granola!
Aggie said…
I'm not a fan of granola bars either...but I love granola sprinkled on stuff! Like yogurt or ice cream...mmmm. Yours looks delish! Love the raisins and cherries!
Barbara Bakes said…
I had fun exploring your blog today. I'm a big granola lover, yours looks delicious!
Cathy said…
I am not a fan of Neil Diamond in general, but we do love "Sweet Caroline" and sing it to our own sweet Caroline regularly! Wasn't this granola incredible? Oh, and nice pickups at T.J. Maxx!!! I am so overdue to go there. Your kugelhopf pan looks exactly like mine, and I don't think that David got a deal on mine!
Unknown said…
What a nice idea to add the golden raisins, they look so pretty. I have bought many a cookware item at TJ Maxx, they have some really great stuff sometimes!
Sara/Imafoodblog
Maria said…
Great granola!! And great finds!! I love it when I find a good deal on fun items!
NKP said…
Good score on the kugelhopf, I found one this week too!
Love homemade granola, I make it every couple of weeks. Congrats on developing a love for your own homemade granola, now you can play with the recipe.
Leslie said…
Want. Kugelhopf. Pan.

Your granola song will be dancing in my mind all day! Love it! I love cashews and plan to use them next time. Your granola looks so good! I'm glad it turned you into a granola liker. Thanks for cooking with me this week.
Amanda said…
You got a Kugelhopf pan?? Cool!!
Jennifer said…
You crack me up with your Neil Diamond songs! The granola looks great. I was such a slacker this week, but am definitely going to have to make this recipe soon! Especially after all the rave reviews it has gotten!
Jennifer said…
oh, and thank you so much for my blog award!!! You rock!
Matt's Kitchen said…
I now have what is supposedly a foolproof kugelhopf recipe from a colleague whose mother brought it with her from Austria in the 1950's. Her family has been making it ever since. As soon as I make it, I'll post it. The cool thing is that it has no yeast. Yay! Yeast and I have a bad history...
This granola is quite tasty. I also wanted to thank you for the awards!! I was so excited. I am going to pick them up next week and do what I need to do with them. I have been so busy lately and am going to be out of town all weekend. THANKS!
Anonymous said…
I loved this granola too. Love your new TJ Maxx finds. Isn't fun to go shopping for kitchen stuff there? Love it
Marthe said…
Your granola looks perfect! I love your new pan too!!

You won my Pay it Forward Giveaway!! Can you please email me your adress? My emailadress can be found on my blog!!
Amanda said…
I'm with you, I'm not really kicked on granola either, but my kids love granola bars. great bargain hunting though!

I'm stopping by everyone on my blogroll to let them know that I've started a new blog event called Thrifty Thursdays if you are interested in blogging along! http://amandascookin.blogspot.com/2009/02/gauging-interest-thrifty-thursday.html :)

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