how to make our flax-granola - part one - the recipe

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Published on Sunday, 23 October 2011 01:16

Written by Super User

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A word about Erin before we start. Erin contacted us a month or so ago. She has very serious and extremely painful Psoriatic Arthritis on her knee and her doctors were prescribing increasingly higher doses of steroidal medicines that then forced her to take supplements as there were negative side effects. She decided to get proactive and examine her diet and began doing research on what she should and should not be eating. Meanwhile, an aunt of Erin's had just completed a 30 day course of Lyn Genet's "The Plan". The aunt recommended Erin try our flax-granola. She checked the ingredients, liked what she saw and promptly ordered it for herself off our website. A short time later, Erin wrote us, ecstatic, and described the flax-granola as a "life saver." However, she was frustrated. She wanted to make the granola at home - the ingredient list seemed so simple - but she simply couldn't figure out how we make it.

So here's how....

First a few things you'll need in the kitchen and then the ingredients.

The picture shows a large bowl (you'll want more than one). A wooden spoon for mixing and a rubber spatula. Also shown is a strainer, a cookie tray and a roll of parchment paper. Also pictured, I believe, is a black pizza stone. If you have a pizza stone for your oven, that's great. If not, you might try ceramic tiles or just try and see what happens without a stone.

Also pictured is a metal dough cutter. This is a very helpful tool but if you don't have one, a plastic bowl scrapper (shown below) of about the same size, can work.

NOTE: You can buy parchment in sheets or rolls, bleached or unbleached. Whatever is most convenient and fits your budget. And yes, if you carefully scrape the parchment when you're done, you can reuse it.

Not pictured are measuring cups and measuring spoons.

THE RECIPE

This recipe uses cranberries as the base.

6 cups water.
2 cups cranberries - sweetened dried cranberries 
1 1/2 TB spoons of ground cinnamon
4 cups Brown Flaxseed
4 cups Golden Flaxseed
up to 4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Other ingredients: after the bake you can add any number and amount of your favorite granola type goodies. I.e., raisins, currants, almond slivers, sunflower seeds, etc.

NOTE: When buying cranberries, check the ingredients. A lot of cranberries now come with added oils and some contain high-fructose corn syrup. Look for cranberries sweetened with just plain sugar or fruit juice. You can also buy your own fresh cranberries, cook them down and add your favorite sweetener (honey, cane sugar, etc.).

To begin; Dump the cranberries in one of the large bowls and bring the water to a near boil. We want the water hot but it does not need to be boiling hot.

Pour the hot water over the cranberries. Let sit for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. The water will turn pink. This is natural, not an artificial food coloring.

Lift the bowl and pour the cranberries and water through the strainer sitting atop the other bowl. Press or squeeze the cranberries in the strainer, extracting as much cranberry juice as possible into your pink cranberry water.

Spoon the cranberries into a container or baggie and set aside in the fridge for later.

While the water is still warm, add the ground cinnamon and stir till dissolved.

Add four cups of flaxseed in one cup increments alternating between golden and brown. Stir. Let stand ten minutes.

The mix will, at this point, still be watery. The flaxseed will settle to the bottom of the bowl. If there is anything floating on the surface, feel free to skim it off. This is most likely loose flaxseed husks. You don't need to remove them but feel free to do so.

At this point, you can stir in the optional walnuts.

Mix another cup each of the brown and golden flaxseed. This may be all you need. Stir vigorously. The mix should be solidifying as the flax absorbs water. The longer you stir, the more the flax will begin to solidify. At this point, it is a judgement call. If you find the mix remains watery, sprinkle in more flax until the mix feels uniformly viscous.

Cover and place in the fridge. We recommend storing in the fridge for at least four hours but you can leave it overnight, no problem, and if your bowl or container will tightly seal, you should be able to leave it in the fridge for several days until you're ready to bake.

Next post; THE BAKE