I never thought I could make granola cereals here in the Philippines. But luckily Chef John has good recipe that we can substitute with our local ingredients that’s available here in the city. I am not a cereal eater but with the granola I am into it. Well, really Bob was the one saw the recipe and gave me the link. Watching the video it was really easy to make. The trick part for me was finding the local dried fruits that my kids will eat. Our youngest Jared, he is picky when it comes to what food he eats. He is so choosy. But luckily with the granola he is liking it a lot. He eats it as his snacks too just like Dad and siblings.
Take a look at the video of Chef John making granola:
Here’s the recipe that Chef John made:
Ingredients for about 6 cups of Granola
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut (pure coconut, not candied)
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped candy covered chocolate pieces (like M&M’s)
- 1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit (any combo of cranberries, cherries, strawberries, blueberries.
My take on the recipe: Some changes from his recipe!
- 6 cups Australian oats (I like to used that brand since the oats were a bit bigger than the other brand)
- 1/2 cup or so of peanuts
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts
- a small amount of dried coconut from the dried mixed fruits
- 3/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pancake syrup
- 3 tablespoon of canola oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup or so of chocolate candy nips (similar with M&M, but you can use M&M too)
- 1/4 cup raisins, chopped
- 3/4 cup dried fruits (dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya)
- maybe 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
It was easy to follow the video that he showed. Just put together the oats, dried coconut, peanuts, cashews and salt. To make the syrup, just put the brown sugar, pancake syrup, oil in a pan, try to mix it and put in the stove (medium heat). Bring to a boil, leave it in the stove for almost a minute. Pour it on the oats mixture and mix it thoroughly. After mixing dump the oats mixture into the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread it evenly. Bake in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. I did bake my granola for 40 minutes total, but take out and stir every 10 minutes. Like what he said the cooking really depends on how brown you like your granola. Bob wants it the way he said on the video. When I made the first time I did put more than enough dried fruits. It was good but the dried fruits over power the oats. So now I made a few times and know how much dried fruits to put in it. Taste really good.
I’m really trying to use the local ingredients because it’s much cheaper than the imported one. Next time I will make I will add dried banana. I am looking for a dried mangosteen. Hopefully it’s not expensive. I’ve seen all those ingredients on our malls here, they had at the grocery stores and the store called Healthy Option. But I am not going to pay a hefty price for it. Bob and the kids were okay with the local ingredients anyway. Gotta use the local then.
Every place here in the Philippines has different fruits. Try what good fruits you have there in your area. Like in Camarines area they might try the local nut that’s famous in that area “the pili nuts”. Let us know what fruits you include on your recipe, maybe that fruit might be available in our area too.
Like what chef John suggested it will be good as a give away gift.
Have fun making!
Feyma, This looks delicious, and I LOVE granola!! It is great as a snack or a great breakfast. It’s also great that it is easy to transport around with you if you were to travel around town, or even hiking. I don’t hike, but if I did, I’d take this along with me for energy. 🙂
Hi Scott Fortune – It’s really good and delicious. Good idea there, it really is a handy snack to bring along with you when traveling. Not so expensive too when making your own granola cereal.
Nice to see you here. Have a wonderful weekend!
Feyma,
It looks and sounds tasty, no need to change it all!! I would add goji berries and blueberries here in the states.
Hi Dirk – Yep, it’s really good. Hey, I saw those 2 berries that you just mentioned on one of our grocery store here. Sorry to tell you but it’s way too expensive for me to get one and try. One pack alone was like over 8 bucks. I don’t think it’s over 200 grams a pack.
Anyway, glad to see you here. Have a pleasant weekend!
actually Feyma, your receipe looks better than the chefs version. my son is really interested in making dried foods like jerky and fruits and we have been looking into purchasing a small commercial type dehydrator. i really dont like the plastic trays in the ones you can buy here at places like walmart. I really want one with the stainless steel trays. they will last longer, be easier to clean and wont affect the taste of the dried food. i find the commercially dried fruits have chemicals on them that i am sensitive too and really want to make our own. talk about mangosteen. i know bob really likes it and i saw mangosteen saplings for sale in gingoog in an online ad from there. they were only $1 a foot and it said a two foot tall sapling will grow big enough in three years to start producing fruit. something you might be interested in for your land on samal then bob can have fresh mangosteen from his own back yard. thanks for the food/snack receipe.
Hi Donna – Thank you. Speaking of dehydrator, we used to had the plastic tray dehydrator before. My niece plugged it to the wrong voltage and got damage. Really we enjoyed having even that plastic dehydrator though. But now I’m using our oven just on low temperature and it work too. I made tuna and beef jerky. All of us liked it a lot. I will try drying that mangosteen since the fruit is cheaper now per kilo.
I might try planting that mangosteen and other fruit trees on our land in Sarangani Province. I will my siblings there take care it for me.
Take care Donna and have a great weekend!
I love granola too. I use a Nigella Lawson recipe that uses apple sauce. You could probably substitute another fruit puree and other local ingredients. I don’t like raisins that much so I leave them out. You can find the recipe here: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/andys-fairfield-granola-138
HI Maria – Thank you for giving us another recipe and the link. I will try that and let you know. I also like Nigella.
Good to see you here. Have a great day!
Hi. Nice post 🙂 I just want to ask, where you bought the Australian oats and dried fruits?