In protest of clusters!

When Megan went to Turkey the year after she graduated, her host-family had only one rule: that she bring with her an entire suitcase full of Trader Joe's Ginger Granola. When suitcase #1 was full of all the belongings she'd need for the next six months, surely you'd think Megan could stash her beloved teddy into suitcase #2, but no! No room for precious keepsakes, photographs of loved ones, extra pairs of underwear. No, suitcase #2 must be reserved solely for the transportation of foreign granola. The seriousness of these terms hardly surprised me - while home in Seattle over college breaks, I'd stashed more than a bag or two of the same granola into my suitcase to fortify me during my studies in remote Appleton, Wisconsin.

We mused over this one morning as we ate bowls of Trader Joe's "Just the Clusters" Ginger Granola. Whatever "Just the Clusters" is supposed to mean, it strikes me that this is actually more like a mysterious sort of cereal posing as granola and less like actual granola. The oats are all muddled together with some sort of sweet, opaque (and as far as I'm concerned unnecessary) substance to make them cluster-like. It's sort of like Michael Pollan's warning: "..a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it's not really food..."; in this case being, "...a cluster claim on a granola product is a good indication that it's not really granola..."

Especially because ginger granola seems a pretty simple thing to make, no mysterious sweet opaque substances need apply. What more does one need beyond oats, ginger, some maple syrup or honey, and a nut or two?

It seems fitting, then, that my granola be a variation on Bittman's, published in The New York Times a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, Bittman's recipe doesn't call for any fat (usually in granola, this would be canola or vegetable oil, in rare instances butter). So, my first try at ginger granola was oil free; it was delicious, but the second time I made it with a bit of oil to yield a much richer flavor. Yum. Either way, you have an incredibly crunchy, ginger-y granola that you can take at face-value. It's worth stocking up the next time you're planning international travel, resting assured that any clustering your oats are doing is in their natural, God-intended manner.

(As an aside: I loved [unsurprisingly] Michael Pollan's cover article in this week's NYT Magazine. Check it out if you haven't already.)

Ginger Almond Cashew Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, raw or roasted
3/4 cup grade b pure maple syrup
1/3 cup canola or other neutral oil (optional)
dash of salt
sprinkling of good-quality garam masala (optional)
1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine oats, nuts, syrup, oil (if using), salt and garam masala (if using). Mix thoroughly, and then spread into a 9 x 13 banking pan. Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oats are crunchy and rich, golden brown.

Stir in ginger and allow to cool (okay, okay, you can snack a bit while it's still warm!). Stored in an airtight container, this will stay fresh for at least two weeks.