yes, I am granola

I’m sure those of you who are gluten-free have heard of Carol Fenster’s “1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes.” People seem to love this book, even though the meals themselves are often gluten-free anyway. More annoyingly, when a recipe calls for a gluten-laden ingredient, such a Worchester sauce, she blithely calls for a gluten-free version of the ingredient.

Aside from my discontent with the book in general, there are some good starting points. This granola recipe is altered enough that I wouldn’t have to give Dr. Fenster any credit at all anyway. However, like I said, her recipe was my springboard.

Dry ingredients
3 cups rolled oats (the gluten-free kind)
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup raw sunflower hearts
1 cup cooked quinoa
¼ teaspoon salt
X cups of dried fruit, nuts, etc

Total cups of dry ingredients, T = 6 + X *


Liquid ingredients for each T/3
½ cup honey
¼ very hot water
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons loose-leaf hibiscus tea (yes, I know it is not currently liquid)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300º F. If you are slow like me, it is okay to wait until the very end to turn on the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, mix the liquid ingredients until the honey dissolves and the hibiscus begins to steep.

Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture and mix it into a colloid mixture. Pour the mixture of mixtures into a thin layer onto the baking sheets. This is the time when I usually turn on the oven.

Bake the mixture for 15 minutes and then stir. Repeat this until the granola is as brown as you would like it.

You can freeze or refrigerate this. I suggest freezing part so that you don’t eat it all in one sitting.


* For example, if you do not add anything further, double the liquid ingredients. If you add a cup each of almonds, dried blueberries, and tiny pretzels, triple the liquid ingredients.


Granola is one of my favorite foods. It is also one of the most treacherous in terms of allergens. Make your own and decide what should go in it.