My Dad's Granola

For as long as I can remember, my dad's had a yellow recipe box.
It's french's mustard-yellow plastic and holds 3x5 cards,
relatively few, really, considering it's been his box for 30-some years.
The recipes include the ever-guarded Moyer eggnog and dated revisions,
a crab quiche from his bachelor years living in The Glass House,
sangria, SOS, key lime pie, and a recipe for granola. The granola recipe
surfaced sometime in the last decade. I don't know where it came from,
but since it's one of the five things my father cooks and loves,
I figured I'd try it.

The biggest difference between this one and the one I've been making
is the butter. Once you combine melted butter and honey,
you have something near perfection and teetering on dessert.
Eating this granola feels a bit more like eating the top off of a cobbler,
which, of course, is delicious.

Here is the recipe in its true form. I substituted a lot to use what I had.
The beauty of granola is that nearly anything works. Enjoy*

Homer's Granola

2 c rolled oats (I used quick -- makes a crumblier granola, less ideal)
3/4 c unsweetened coconut (I only had sweetened and then used less honey/syrup)
1 and 1/4 c nuts and seeds (I used sliced almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts)
recipe calls for 1/4 c sesame seeds
1/4 c slivered blanched almonds
1/4 c whole hazelnuts, peeled or unpeeled
1/4 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c cashew halves
1/4 c + 1 T unsalted butter
1/4 c honey
1/4 c maple syrup (I only used honey)

-preheat oven to 300
-melt butter, add honey and syrup, pull off heat once simmers, set aside
(I melted butter in microwave)
-in large bowl combine oats, coc0nut, nuts
-combine butter mixture and oats mixture
-spread thinly onto sheet pans lined with parchment or onto buttered pans (I used plain pan)
-bake at 300 20-30+ minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes to ensure even browning
-let cool on rack, store, label, date

voila!