Cherry Granola

A few years ago I spent a couple summers selling food stuff at the local farmers market. I had breads, granola, brownies, cookies and even big trays of huge cinnamon rolls. It was a lot of work, but it was also fun.

Our local market was held in the afternoon so I'd get up ridiculously early to make sure everything was baked fresh that day. I had a pretty decent system of what needed to be started first and what order they needed to go into the oven. The hardest part was not eating all the inventory myself because who can resist fresh baked bread? Not me.

My best seller week after week was this granola. I always made it with cherries in it when I put it out for sale, but for family I also made it with dried blueberries, craisins and almost any other dried berry you can think of. It tastes amazing all on it's own too without the fruit so you have lots of choices.

Cherry Granola

6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
2 cups pecans, chopped as fine as you'd like
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 300*F.

In a greased large roasting pan, combine the oats, coconut and pecans.

In a small saucepan, combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat gently over medium heat stirring constantly until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and mix well.

Bake until browned, about 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and add cherries. Stir to mix well. Cool on a large baking sheet. Store in an airtight container.


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Buttermilk Pancakes

Nothing says home to me like these pancakes. Always a staple for breakfast, but they make a fantastic dinner too.

I was given this recipe many, many years ago right after I was married. Unfortunately I can't remember the source which makes me a bit sad.

I'm not always the most hospitable morning person so these only get made for breakfast on a good day. Most of the time we enjoy them for lunch, especially Sunday lunch which could in fact be labeled as brunch I suppose. It's so easy to whip these out right after church and save a heavier meal for later in the day. I'll also make these as dinner on those nights when I am completely exhausted from work and have no interest in cooking.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
2 Tbls. brown sugar
2 Tbls. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and buttermilk until well blended.

Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until smooth.

Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan slowly over medium heat. Test the temperature by sprinkling a few drops of water on the pan. If they bounce, the temperature is right. You can grease the pan lightly if needed.

Ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle or frying pan for each pancake. Cook until small bubbles appear on the tops and begin to break and the edges of cakes are dry. Flip pancakes and cook until brown on other side. Set the completed pancakes aside and continue with remaining batter.

Enjoy!


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