Harvest of the Month

For the fourth year in a row, I coordinated Fuel up to Play 60 Ambassadors from my middle and high schools to ring the Salvation Army bell at our local grocery store. While doing so, they also spread the word to our community about our program as well as handed out free samples of the “Harvest of the Month”, which was cranberries. I worked closely with my Food Service Director and she put together a great cranberry granola for all of the shoppers to sample. We also handed out copies of the recipe so people could make it at home. I was thankful for the several volunteer Ambassadors. It was a frigidly cold day and we managed to do this for a longer span of time than year’s past. We covered eight hours of raising money for an incredible charity while educating our community.

Did you know that cranberries are native to North America? They are farmed on approximately 40,000 acres across the Northern United States and Canada. Fresh cranberries are harvested in September and October.

Homemade Granola with Dried Cranberries

Prep time – 10 mins
Cook time – 25 mins
Total time – 35 mins
Serves – 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 3 TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss together the oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium-size mixing bowl. Whisk together the oil, honey, hot water, and vanilla extract in a separate small mixing bowl.
3. Gradually pour the liquid over the oat mixture. Toss together until well coated. Spread the moistened oats evenly on the sheet pan.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Toss in the coconut and dried cranberries. Put back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Toss occasionally to ensure even browning.
5. Remove from the oven, toss in the dried cranberries and allow the oats to cool. Store granola in an airtight container.

Authors Note

Make sure the water is hot for this recipe. It helps to dissolve the honey for more even distribution among the oats.

Courtney
Wisconsin
9^th Grade