Tropical Granola

It's important to me to be able to sit down for dinner at home with my husband, particularly without having to go back into the lab afterwards. However, being a grad student in organic chemistry, that means that some compromise must be made, and 8 pm is a late dinner (thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who cooks during the week, otherwise it'd be even later!). Between that and working up an appetite during my afternoon runs, having a snack in lab is an absolute must. We've got a candy bowl in our group room, but I prefer something that's healthier and will give me some real energy and satisfaction to get through my day.

Granola is one of my favorite snacks - it's chock full of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein, plus minerals and vitamins from the nuts and dried fruits. Store-bought granola is either flavorless or prohibitively expensive (at least for a poor grad student!), but it turns out that delicious homemade granola is super easy to make, and allows for infinite variety. It's fun to explore the bulk food bins at the local natural foods store for new flavor combinations. I've recently hit upon my new favorite, and I'm excited enough about it that I thought it'd be worth sharing. The secret to this granola is the touch of ginger and orange zest to complement the tropical fruits, combining to make for a snack that's so flavorful, it doesn't even matter that it's healthy. You could easily replace the almonds with macadamia or Brazil nuts, and pick any dried tropical fruits that you can get your hands on. This stuff is great eating by the handful, and would be just as delicious sprinkled on top of some Greek yogurt.

Tropical Granola

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds (or macademia or brazil nuts)

1 cup pistachios

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 1/2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

1 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 cup real clover honey

3/4 cup dried unsweetened mango, diced

3/4 cup dried unsweetened pineapple, diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix together oats, nuts, coconut, ginger, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Note on the coconut: you can use storebought flaked coconut if you're really crunched for time, but given that this is a tropical granola, I like having good and chunky coconut flakes to really impart their texture and flavor. To do this, remove the flesh from the shell (the thin brown outer layer is edible, so don't worry about trying to peel it off). I flaked the coconut using the slicing side of my four-sided grater; a vegetable peeler or mandoline will also work.

3. Heat honey in the microwave just long enough to thin it; about 20 sec will suffice. Pour honey over oat mixture and mix well.

4. Spread granola mixture onto an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (to reduce mess, I cook it in two batches in a 13x9" baking pan).

5. Bake for 25-30 min at 350 degrees F, or until granola is golden brown. Stir granola frequently, about once every 5 min, to ensure that it cooks evenly and doesn't burn.

6. Remove granola from oven and mix in dried fruit. Spread out onto newspaper and allow to cool completely.

7. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container, and enjoy! Stored properly, granola will last for months.