It’s hotter than you-know-where in my little apartment! Though I’m normally keen on a perfectly over-easy egg on a piece of toast for breakfast, there is no way I’m turning on my stove in the morning, when the apartment has finally cooled (which is not to say that it is cool - maybe lukewarm is a more appropriate word?) after a night of inactivity and open windows. No, I don’t want anything to do with a hot breakfast.

What I really want - and this shocks even me - is cereal. It’s an unusual craving for me, and even when a bowl of the stuff does sound appetizing I try my best to resist because it simply doesn’t last long in my stomach and I am, inevitably, hungry again long before lunchtime. 

Plus, the sugar! Boxed cereal is packed full of the stuff. I’m already hopped up on enough strong black coffee to have any need to be shoveling sugar into my body by the heaping, milk-soaked spoonful. 

All that said, if there is one cereal whose charms I absolutely can’t resist (and one that actually satisfied my ravenous morning appetite), it’s my mother’s homemade granola. I like it best with almond milk or sprinkled over yogurt or vanilla ice cream. It tastes of my sweetest childhood memories, and plays such a central role in my family’s gastronomical genome that I can’t imagine that it won’t be passed down to generations to come. Additionally, it’s easy as pie to make (erm, much easier than pie actually) and doesn’t take much attention to detail (Mama claims to have forgotten her granola in the oven once, letting it cook all night long, and finding it perfect the next morning.)

Since the sweetness comes from honey and coconut, you can control the amount of sugar by decreasing the amount of honey or by using unsweetened coconut. Mine isn’t very sweet, and I like it that way, but I also think it would be interesting to increase the honey by half or so.

Mama’s recipe makes a lot of granola, but it’s easily halved or doubled based on the size of the oats container you use. I recommend following the measurements in this recipe and storing the finished granola in a sealed container to keep it fresh. Keep in mind that the below measurements for the nuts and coconut are those that I used, but can be increased or decreased as you wish! The coconut’s my favorite, so I could happily have increased the amount. Also, it would be super easy to add or substitute your own ingredients at the end. Let me know what tastes best to you!

Mama’s Granola

• 1 42-ounce container of old fashioned oats (not instant)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup very hot water
• 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut 
• 2 cups raw walnuts
• 1-1/2 cup raw, slivered  or sliced almonds
• 1-1/2 cups salted, toasted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 200ºF. With a wooden spoon, combine oats, vegetable oil and honey in a large bowl. Fill the measuring cup used for honey with the hot water and use water to empty any remaining honey into the mixture. 

2. Turn mixture into a large roasting pan or two smaller pans. Place on center rack in oven and bake for several hours until dry, turning occasionally with a spoon.3. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, toast the coconut for about 20 minutes (or until golden at the edges) in a 300ºF oven. Spread the coconut into a thin layer on a baking sheet and stir every 5 minutes.

4. Return oats to a large, clean bowl and add remaining ingredients. Move to a storage container (a large Mason-type jar works well) and enjoy often!