Thanksgiving week found us at Ellie and Cowboy’s new place a couple of hours beyond the middle of nowhere. They were excited to show us their new home and the massive ranch Cowboy is managing. Since the closest grocery store is two hours away, Ellie asked me to pick up a few items for her. Because she bakes almost everything from scratch, missing essential staples is nigh unto catastrophic. Maintaining an accurate inventory of her food storage was difficult for the past 18 months, mostly due to frequent moves and cramped quarters. But now they’re set for at least a few years. Her kitchen is bigger than mine! So because she is her momma’s daughter, the holes will soon be filled and not become empty ever again.
But because she is a Gen-Z, she dares to ask AI to generate recipes for her. Now, I’ve heard horror stories from people following some of those AI recipes, and laughs from the ones who weren’t suckered by them. Ellie remains unfazed. She knows enough about baking and cooking to recognize a bad recipe. And she likes that whatever AI she’s using to generate recipes understands her well enough to know that she prefers using whole grains, and honey or maple syrup instead of sugar. Personally, that creeps me out and I told her as much. Her counter to that argument was this perfect (IMHO) granola.
AI Granola
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup finely chopped nuts
½ cup unsweetened coconut
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup honey or maple syrup
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dried raspberries
½ cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 300°F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and salt.
Stir in the honey or maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla until everything is thoroughly coated.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the raw mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet. Using the back of a spatula, press the raw granola together into a single tightly packed layer.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not stir.
Without opening the door, turn off the oven and leave the granola inside 20-30 minutes to dry and firm up.
Remove from oven and let cool for 2 hours. Then break into chunks. Add the chocolate chips and dried raspberries.
Variations. I don’t know that I’d use raspberries and chocolate chips a lot, but maybe. They’re just expensive. But think of all the flavors you can make. Banana. Blueberry. Blueberry-peach. Blueberry almond. Pineapple-coconut. Strawberry. Cranberry-coconut. Heathens could add raisins. Ellie used freeze-dried raspberries because I’d just given her some.
Update. I made this with pumpkin seeds and pecans for the nuts and used unrefined coconut oil for more coconut flavor. Absolutely yummy.
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This is very similar to a recipe that I’ve used for years. It was given to me by a friend.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good--thank you!
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