A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! You can imagine my surprise this afternoon
to peek around the corner and see two giggling girls “galloping” down the
narrow hallway at The Buggy Stop. Our
four-year-old was “driving” her 10-year-old sister down the hall holding onto
her apron strings as the “lines.”
The brief blur of billowing skirts along with their
unbridled joy for the fun of the moment was a snapshot of their childhood I
hope I shall never forget.
Interestingly, the subject of childhood memories has come up
here more than once lately. We’ve had
some interesting family discussions this week as our older children reminisce
and compare their early years to that of the current crop of youngsters.
They are of the opinion that their younger siblings have it
much easier than they did. While they
are probably not the first older children in a large family to think this over
the years, it is a thought that bears serious consideration.
Certainly our parenting philosophy has not changed, but it
is probably safe to allow that some of our application has evolved over the
years as our family has grown and circumstances inevitably change.
One of these conversations about “old times” brought out the
fact it had been a long time since we had homemade granola for breakfast. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure I had
not made granola in the eleven months we’ve lived here in Enterprise. There were many years where homemade granola
was the only cold cereal regularly on the Hamilton’s breakfast table.
We would buy quick oats in a 50 lb. bag from a bulk food
store near Hutchinson. Raw sunflower
seeds were also very affordable there, and if finances allowed, we could afford
to splurge on some raisins.
I would melt butter, add some brown sugar, homemade pancake
syrup, salt, and vanilla, whisk it together and toss it with the quick oats and
sunflower seeds until coated. It was
then toasted in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. The trick was to take it out when just dry
and golden brown but not overly brown and burned.
We would make yogurt by the gallon with the milk from our
first milk cow, “Clarabelle,” and mix it with our homemade granola for breakfast. Yummy!
Alas, current circumstances have prevented our having a milk
cow, and our cold breakfast cereal has been coming in cardboard boxes from the
store. The novelty of cardboard cereal
from a box has worn off, and ironically the children have been longing for what
was once so commonplace and boring for breakfast.
When I looked up the granola recipe in the breakfast section
of my 3-ring binder of family recipes, I was surprised to discover the recipe I
once had memorized years ago did not look right to me now. Where did my old friend go? I may never know, but after all, my memory is
not what it used to be . . .
I turned to a recipe given to us by an Amish Mennonite
friend back in the Hutchinson area. She
gave us some of her granola as a gift years ago, and everyone loved it. I begged the recipe at the time and filed it
away. This morning I pulled it out and
soon the kitchen was fragrant with the spicy smell of sweetened, toasting oats
once again.
It’s a good thing granola recipes are forgiving. If you don’t like sunflower seeds, substitute
sliced almonds. Can’t stand cinnamon or
coconut? Leave them out, if you please. As long as you have oats tossed with syrup
and toasted, you’ll have granola.
I didn’t happen to have coconut, flaxseed meal, or even
sunflower seeds on hand this morning.
Fortunately, I did at least have a few dried out raisins tucked away in
a corner of the pantry out of the kid’s reach!
Homemade Granola
12 cups (42 oz.
canister) oatmeal,
quick or
old-fashioned, or any
combination of both
1-1/2 cups shredded
coconut, optional
1 cup ground
flaxseed meal, optional
3/4 cup raw or
roasted, salted
sunflower seeds, optional
1-1/2 cups brown
sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks)
butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup peanut
butter
1-1/2 tablespoons
vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 cups raisins,
as desired
1. Preheat oven to
350 degrees.
2. Place oatmeal,
coconut, flaxseed meal, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl; mix well.
3. Melt butter in a
saucepan, add remaining ingredients, and whisk over low heat until peanut
butter is melted and syrup is smooth.
5. Pour syrup over
oatmeal mixture in large bowl and stir until evenly coated. Spread evenly 1/2” deep into 4 (9x12”) pans,
2 large cookie sheets, or whatever rimmed pans you have handy..
6. Place pans in oven
on both racks and bake 15-20 minutes.
Rotate pans from top to bottom rack.
Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 15 minutes more. Stir carefully to avoid completely breaking
up clumps. Continue baking, checking and
stirring every 15 minutes until granola is dry and light golden brown.
7. Remove from oven
and add raisins; stir in. Allow to
completely cool before transferring to an airtight container. May store at room temperature.
Yield: 12 to 14 cups granola.
Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in
Enterprise, Kansas. She and her husband
own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled
children. You can reach The Buggy Stop
by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.
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