Book of Days Tales

Into the late 19^th century, students at the universities in Scotland were expected to provide their own firewood and food in their accommodations. Since many of them had family homes on farms that were at a considerable distance from their universities, they were allowed to go home on one Monday per month to collect oats for their meals – their principal staple. By 1896 this custom had been reduced to one Monday in the year – the second Monday in February – called Meal Monday or Oatmeal Monday. It remained a student holiday well into the 20^th century but is no longer in force. Nonetheless, you could still celebrate today with a dish using classic oats. I routinely make apple crumble, oat cakes, and dozens of other oatmeal dishes. When I lived in New York I was well known for making granola, which I gave away freely.  Here is a basic version, which you can modify to suit your tastes. Especially – add various dried fruits of your choice.

Ingredients

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 ½ cups slivered almonds
1 cup coconut flakes
½ cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
⅓ cup packed brown sugar, or to taste
⅓ cup honey
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp salt (or to taste)
2 cups dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325º F/ 165º C.

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix oats, pecans, almonds, and coconut together in a large bowl; set aside.

Combine oil, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently until the mixture begins to boil, then remove from the heat. Pour over oat mixture and fold together until dry ingredients are well coated. Spread the granola on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, making sure to stir the granola periodically to avoid burning. At the end, bake on the top rack under the broiler until golden, about 5 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

Toss cooled granola with cranberries (or other fruit).

Store in an airtight container.