If we don’t count the several cups of coffee, I really don’t have a habit of eating breakfast. And I know it’s bad. Very very bad. While I am doing my best to get into the habit of feeding myself something nutritional every morning, I haven’t had much success in the past. Traditional Turkish breakfast dishes such as feta cheese and tomatoes in olive oil, honey and clotted cream, poached eggs with yoghurt, etc. are the last things I want to see in the morning. I’ve come to realize that I have a better chance with things that can be soaked in milk. So when I read Molly’s post about homemade granola, I wanted to give it a shot.

If she says it is the greatest, there is no need to think twice (she is one of those food bloggers whose recipes I follow religiously).

The preparation was a breeze. I’ve made it twice since then and reached a perfect mix for my own taste. The photos belong to the first batch. For the second batch, I used almonds with skins and it definitely tastes better (much healthier too). I also reduced the amount of almonds to 2 cups and got rid of pecans (not a big fan). Brown rice syrup isn’t available here in Turkey so I used grape molasses instead. Since grape molasses is already naturally sweet, I didn’t use any brown sugar. Apple sauce isn’t easy to find in Turkey as well, so I used baby food (fruit puree without additives and sugar) instead! There were lots of varieties and I’ve decided on a mix of apple and peaches.

By the way, I totally concur with her suggestion of soy milk. I was especially fond of the result after the granola was soaked in soy milk for about half an hour. It might not make sense to soften the granola after all the stirring to make it extra crispy in the oven, but the soaking process tints the soy milk (a wonderful teak color) and lends a delicious smoky flavor. Just yum!

A big thank you to Molly for introducing this great recipe.