cara4art
10-06-2008, 12:07 AM
I've been making this for awhile now, especially with the variety of summer fruits which are now starting to go by the wayside - you do have to have a dehydrator:
one cup dry raw oat groats
3/4 cup dates, soaked
1/2 cup strawberries(during the winter, dried cranberries soaked or dried cherries soaked if you're fortunate enough to find any)
1/2 cup coconut shreds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw almonds(walnuts would work too, especially with apples for the winter version.
2 medium-sized peaches or nectarines, diced in 1/4" pieces(during the winter, apples are good)
a bit of sea salt(brings out the other flavors here
Soak the oat groats for a few hours, then drain and sprout overnight or all day(rinse and drain a couple of times during the day) - these guys sprout fast and you only want a little tail on them for this recipe. Blend the soaked dates and fruit into a smooth paste in your blender or food processor, and add the bit of sea salt(like Celtic)to the mix. In bowl, mix up all ingredients except for the date+fruit paste(which is awesomely delicious all by itself, especially with strawberries!). Then add the date-fruit paste and mix until everything is evenly coated - this is what will hold the other stuff together in clumps while it is drying. Spread out on teflex sheets on your trays(should make about 4 trays worth in the 4-tray Excalibur model which is what I have), and start the drying process by having your D on 135 for an hour. Don't worry, the food itself won't get that high temp - this just gets the air up to a higher temperature initially. Then back it down to about 115 for about 12 hours or so. If after 12 hours the mix still is still a little too soft yet, let it go for another couple of hours. What you want at the end is only slightly chewy but more crunch. The diced fruit in the mix will add the chewiness. Then take the mix out and remove from trays. What I do is to let the clumpy pieces cool a bit on a large plate before bagging it up and putting it in the refrigerator.
Another cool variant I tried with the fruit paste part of this recipe is mixing blueberries with the dates - the granola came out a really pretty reddish purply color!
A handful of this added to a bowl of fruit is wonderful, or take some along for a post-workout snack.
Enjoy!:)
one cup dry raw oat groats
3/4 cup dates, soaked
1/2 cup strawberries(during the winter, dried cranberries soaked or dried cherries soaked if you're fortunate enough to find any)
1/2 cup coconut shreds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw almonds(walnuts would work too, especially with apples for the winter version.
2 medium-sized peaches or nectarines, diced in 1/4" pieces(during the winter, apples are good)
a bit of sea salt(brings out the other flavors here
Soak the oat groats for a few hours, then drain and sprout overnight or all day(rinse and drain a couple of times during the day) - these guys sprout fast and you only want a little tail on them for this recipe. Blend the soaked dates and fruit into a smooth paste in your blender or food processor, and add the bit of sea salt(like Celtic)to the mix. In bowl, mix up all ingredients except for the date+fruit paste(which is awesomely delicious all by itself, especially with strawberries!). Then add the date-fruit paste and mix until everything is evenly coated - this is what will hold the other stuff together in clumps while it is drying. Spread out on teflex sheets on your trays(should make about 4 trays worth in the 4-tray Excalibur model which is what I have), and start the drying process by having your D on 135 for an hour. Don't worry, the food itself won't get that high temp - this just gets the air up to a higher temperature initially. Then back it down to about 115 for about 12 hours or so. If after 12 hours the mix still is still a little too soft yet, let it go for another couple of hours. What you want at the end is only slightly chewy but more crunch. The diced fruit in the mix will add the chewiness. Then take the mix out and remove from trays. What I do is to let the clumpy pieces cool a bit on a large plate before bagging it up and putting it in the refrigerator.
Another cool variant I tried with the fruit paste part of this recipe is mixing blueberries with the dates - the granola came out a really pretty reddish purply color!
A handful of this added to a bowl of fruit is wonderful, or take some along for a post-workout snack.
Enjoy!:)