Granola

Without any warning, my children simultaneously decided that they like cold cereal for breakfast.  While I should feel excited that I might no longer feel obliged to make the pancakes, eggs, or oatmeal that they usually request on a busy morning, my enthusiasm is curbed by the thought of them starting their day with a bowl full of sugary, processed carbohydrates.  So this weekend they both enthusiastically assisted me in making granola, helping to fill the kitchen with slow-roasted sweetness and assuring me that they would love it.  So far, I've fed two child-sized bowls' worth of soggy granola to the dogs.  It tastes good to me, and Doug seems to be enjoying it, so maybe we'll try again tomorrow morning . . . 

My recipe is a modified version of Deborah Madison's from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone:

6 cups oats
1 cup chopped nuts (we used pecans)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flax seed
1 T. vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup honey (I've also used maple syrup or a combination of the two)

Mix well and spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

After completely cooled, add 1 cup dried fruit (since McLean detests most dried fruit, we used dried coconut). 

Store in an airtight container.

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Any other granola recipe suggestions?  I'd love the one from Whole Foods for the Whole Family, Mom or Keely :)