Full disclosure: This post — unlike 99.9% of the others on my blog — features a recipe that isn’t local or seasonal. Even those of us who try to eat according to a certain philosophy get cravings for other things. And today that craving was for homemade granola.

I started making it ten years ago, when I grew tired of the two kinds (with or without raisins) stocked in the small grocery store near my apartment in Hoboken. Nowadays, you can find artisanal granola in even the most far-flung spots. This summer I was astonished to find our hometown Udi’s in a teensy market in an even teensier Oregon coastal town. But good as it was, I left it there. All too often the good stuff comes at a not-so-good price.

Granola is simple to make, and if you eat a lot of it (as we do in our house), you can save quite a bit by making it yourself. Plus you can make it the way you like it. I’ve written the recipe with loads of almonds, pecans and walnuts, but by all means, substitute the nuts you like for the ones here, and add more or less honey and cinnamon according to your taste. This granola is especially good over yogurt, but it can also be eaten by the handful like trail mix.

Homemade Granola
Adapted from a recipe in How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

6 cups oats
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup dried coconut, preferably unsweetened
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Split oats between two large saute pans and cook over medium heat for several minutes, or until they begin to toast. Roughly divide the nuts, seeds, coconut and cinnamon between the two pans and cook for 4-5 minutes more. Pour into a large, shallow baking dish (my Apilco lasagna pan works perfectly) and sprinkle with salt. Gently stir in the honey and place in a preheated 300-degree oven. Bake 10 minutes. Stir, then bake another 10 minutes. Stir again and, if necessary, bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add raisins and dried apricots. Cool completely and store in a sealed container. We keep ours on the shelf for a week; if you plan to keep it longer, please refrigerate.