Smorgas Chef at Scandinavia House

New York City is one of my favorite places to visit.  One reason I love New York is its diversity of restaurants.  You can probably eat the world in New York City, and most of it will probably be pretty authentic. On this particular short weekend jaunt, I was able to "travel" to Sweden, Japan, China, and France.

First Stop: "Scandinavia"
I had the privilege again of meeting up with several New York food bloggers for a pleasant lunch in midtown.  Andrea of High Low Food Drink was kind enough to make a reservation here for the rest of our party, Christine from Fresh, Local, and Best, Jessica from Food Mayhem, and a few non-food bloggers (Frank and Bryan).

Let me just start out by saying that my exposure to Scandinavian food is pretty rudimentary.  Sure, I've made gravlax before, and I once tried some meatballs at IKEA.  Other than that, unfortunately, my knowledge of Scandinavian food is embarrassingly nil.

NORWEGIAN SMOKED SALMON
Chive scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and sour cream on 8-grain bread $11

Smorgas Chef was a great introduction to this type of food.  The prices are very reasonable ($14.95 for a three-course lunch special); the space is bright, funky, and fun; and it's situated in a museum! The Scandinavia House,  a cultural center for Scandinavian countries, is a great place to explore and learn a bit more about Scandinavian culture.

But let's get on with the food first!

Homemade Sparkling Lingonberry Soda 3.50
I loved my sparkling Lingonberry soda, which was nicely fizzy but not too sweet.

BABY GREENS
White balsamic vinaigrette $6
Although simple, this salad was perfectly made.  The greens were fresh and crunchy, the amount of salad dressing was just right, and the flavors were refreshing - exactly what I wanted.  It did not taste particularly "Scandinavian" to me, but then, maybe I don't really know what Scandinavian salad is supposed to taste like . . .

SMÖRGÅS SEAFOOD CHOWDER
Mussels, salmon, cod, shrimp $7
Bryan got the soup and thought it was pretty good - a light, creamy soup filled with various types of seafood.

HOUSE-CURED GRAVLAKS CLUB
Avocado, romaine, tomato, bacon, spicy tartar sauce, 8-grain bread $14
I got the gravlax club, which I thought was pretty good, although nothing particularly exciting.  The salmon was fresh, and the combination of flavors was nice.  To be honest, it felt too American to me (it's a club sandwich, after all), and I was enviously eying some of the other dishes that seemed more "authentic."

SMÖRGÅS BOARD
House-cured gravlaks, pickled herring, Swedish meatballs, traditional accompaniments $15
Jessica got this dish, and thought it was only OK (that salmon looks delicious to me though!)

HERRING SAMPLER
Four of our herring varieties, lefse potato wrap, potato salad $12
Andrea got this dish, and thought it offered an "authentic pickled herring experience" that someone who likes sour, vinegary flavors would enjoy.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS & LINGONBERRIES
Chive mashed potatoes, zucchini, carrots, grädd sauce $14
Christine quite enjoyed the sauce that accompanied the delicious, tender meatballs, thinking that this dish was overall comforting and hearty.

Here they are, snapping away . . .

It's always fun to get together with food bloggers.  We naturally already have a few things in common (we write, we photograph our food, and we LOVE TO EAT!) so of course it's easy to hit it off right away.

Thanks gals for meeting up with me!

P.S. So many people guessed that the Scandinavian restaurant I had visited was Aquavit that I'm really curious to try that restaurant next time!

The Big Apple

I always love going to New York City.  There are countless great museums, amazing shopping, wonderful neighborhoods, and of course, the food!  I had a great opportunity a few weeks back to visit one of my favorite cities again, this time for a work event.  Bryan and I decided to stay the weekend to soak in just a bit more of what the city has to offer.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the posts you will be seeing next week as part of this Big Apple mini-Series.



The Waldorf Astoria Hotel - full of history, old world elegance, and beauty.

A fun lunch in a unique Scandinavian restaurant with New York food bloggers!

Some say these are the best soup dumplings in Chinatown.

An omakase at the original Iron Chef's restaurant.

Does this look familiar? We visited the New York flagship restaurant of this renowned chef.

Stay tuned as I go into detail next week about our experiences at some of these amazing dining establishments.  Can you guess where I went?

[Update: Posts in this series]
Other posts in this Big Apple Series
Per Se
Morimoto
Joe's Shanghai
Waldorf Astoria
Smorgas Chef

The Big Apple

I always love going to New York City.  There are countless great museums, amazing shopping, wonderful neighborhoods, and of course, the food!  I had a great opportunity a few weeks back to visit one of my favorite cities again, this time for a work event.  Bryan and I decided to stay the weekend to soak in just a bit more of what the city has to offer.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the posts you will be seeing next week as part of this Big Apple mini-Series.



The Waldorf Astoria Hotel - full of history, old world elegance, and beauty.

A fun lunch in a unique Scandinavian restaurant with New York food bloggers!

Some say these are the best soup dumplings in Chinatown.

An omakase at the original Iron Chef's restaurant.

Does this look familiar? We visited the New York flagship restaurant of this renowned chef.

Stay tuned as I go into detail next week about our experiences at some of these amazing dining establishments.  Can you guess where I went?

Meyer Lemons

You'd have to be in a food blog coma if you haven't read at least one blog post about the Meyer lemon. Before I started this food blogging thing, I had never heard of this lemon before.  However, this past winter, it seemed like every other post was about the Meyer lemon.  People were making all sorts of dishes out of Meyer lemons: cakes, pies, chicken, ice cream, lemon curd . . . the list goes on and on.

I was really intrigued.  What is a Meyer Lemon?  And what makes it so special?

The Meyer lemon originated from China, and is actually a cross between a regular lemon and a Mandarin orange!  For years it was used mostly as a decorative houseplant because of its pretty fruit. It wasn't really recognized as a food item until the early 1900's when Frank Meyer, an American agricultural explorer sent by the US government to seek out new plant species, brought some samples to the US.  Since then, people like Alice Waters and Martha Stewart have made this fruit really popular in America.

The color difference between a Meyer lemon and a regular lemon is striking.  In the picture below, I have laid Meyer lemon slices next to normal lemon slices.  Note how the Meyer lemon is almost orange in color while the normal lemon is a pale yellow.

The Meyer lemon is much less tart and has a light sweetness that must come from the Mandarin side of the family.  Its flavor is much more floral and less astringent, and is quite enjoyable on its own (the regular lemon is much more tart!).  The skin of a Meyer lemon is much thinner, much less pithy than a regular lemon's rind.  In fact, some say you can eat the rind, although I have not tried that yet.

You can substitute the Meyer lemon for regular lemons in most recipes, as long as you keep in mind that the Meyer lemon is less tart, slightly sweeter, and has a more floral and complex flavor.

Here's a lovely salad I have been enjoying as part of my "detox" diet for the last few days.  After two weekends in a row of traveling to both NYC and DC (more on my dining experiences there soon!) I really needed to clean out some of those rich foods from my system!

Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette 

This salad uses the Meyer lemon as the base for the vinaigrette. The rest of the ingredients are very flexible.   In fact, I have been varying up the ingredients a bit each day.  One day I might decide to add almonds for crunch, while another day I'll use cucumbers and add a soft-boiled egg (which, by the way, tastes fantastic with a slight drizzle of truffle oil and sea salt!).  As a general rule, you just want to chop everything about the same size.  It's really pretty flexible, and everything tastes great with the refreshing citrus vinaigrette.

Ingredients

baby arugula

smoked mozarella, quartered and sliced

bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled

roasted almonds

red bell pepper, chopped

hard boiled eggs, sliced

mini-cucumbers, sliced

Citrus Vinaigrette
I used the citrus vinaigrette recipe from my Thomas Keller citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens post.  As for modifications, I used a 1:1 ratio of Meyer Lemon juice and regular lemon juice as the "citrus juice."  I wanted some tartness (from the regular lemon), but  I also wanted the sweeter, more aromatic flavors of the Meyer lemon.  I also found that adding just a touch of sea salt really brought out the flavors of the dressing and made the entire salad much more delicious.  Of course, you can use regular salt or kosher salt if you don't have sea salt on hand.

Toss the arugula with the citrus vinaigrette.  Add in your favorite ingredients, and enjoy!  Optionally garnish with pretty slices of lemon. :)

Meyer Lemons

You'd have to be in a food blog coma if you haven't read at least one blog post about the Meyer lemon. Before I started this food blogging thing, I had never heard of this lemon before.  However, this past winter, it seemed like every other post was about the Meyer lemon.  People were making all sorts of dishes out of Meyer lemons: cakes, pies, chicken, ice cream, lemon curd . . . the list goes on and on.

I was really intrigued.  What is a Meyer Lemon?  And what makes it so special?

The Meyer lemon originated from China, and is actually a cross between a regular lemon and a Mandarin orange!  For years it was used mostly as a decorative houseplant because of its pretty fruit. It wasn't really recognized as a food item until the early 1900's when Frank Meyer, an American agricultural explorer sent by the US government to seek out new plant species, brought some samples to the US.  Since then, people like Alice Waters and Martha Stewart have made this fruit really popular in America.

The color difference between a Meyer lemon and a regular lemon is striking.  In the picture below, I have laid Meyer lemon slices next to normal lemon slices.  Note how the Meyer lemon is almost orange in color while the normal lemon is a pale yellow.

The Meyer lemon is much less tart and has a light sweetness that must come from the Mandarin side of the family.  Its flavor is much more floral and less astringent, and is quite enjoyable on its own (the regular lemon is much more tart!).  The skin of a Meyer lemon is much thinner, much less pithy than a regular lemon's rind.  In fact, some say you can eat the rind, although I have not tried that yet.

You can substitute the Meyer lemon for regular lemons in most recipes, as long as you keep in mind that the Meyer lemon is less tart, slightly sweeter, and has a more floral and complex flavor.

Here's a lovely salad I have been enjoying as part of my "detox" diet for the last few days.  After two weekends in a row of traveling to both NYC and DC (more on my dining experiences there soon!) I really needed to clean out some of those rich foods from my system!

Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette 

This salad uses the Meyer lemon as the base for the vinaigrette. The rest of the ingredients are very flexible.   In fact, I have been varying up the ingredients a bit each day.  One day I might decide to add almonds for crunch, while another day I'll use cucumbers and add a soft-boiled egg (which, by the way, tastes fantastic with a slight drizzle of truffle oil and sea salt!).  As a general rule, you just want to chop everything about the same size.  It's really pretty flexible, and everything tastes great with the refreshing citrus vinaigrette.

Ingredients

baby arugula

smoked mozarella, quartered and sliced

bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled

roasted almonds

red bell pepper, chopped

hard boiled eggs, sliced

mini-cucumbers, sliced

Citrus Vinaigrette
I used the citrus vinaigrette recipe from my Thomas Keller citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens post.  As for modifications, I used a 1:1 ratio of Meyer Lemon juice and regular lemon juice as the "citrus juice."  I wanted some tartness (from the regular lemon), but  I also wanted the sweeter, more aromatic flavors of the Meyer lemon.  I also found that adding just a touch of sea salt really brought out the flavors of the dressing and made the entire salad much more delicious.  Of course, you can use regular salt or kosher salt if you don't have sea salt on hand.

Toss the arugula with the citrus vinaigrette.  Add in your favorite ingredients, and enjoy!  Optionally garnish with pretty slices of lemon. :)

The Upper Crust

The secret's in the dough. And they're not telling a soul about it.

My friend likes to play with pizza dough - to the point that she's gotten into the habit of asking for a bit of pizza dough to play with when she goes to pizza restaurants. Bertucci's sells their pizza dough, and will gladly give you a bit to play with.

Guess what? The dough at The Upper Crust is so proprietary they won't let it out of their sight. So my friend wasn't able to even get a sample.

This secret dough results in some pretty tasty pizzas.

Jordan Tobins, the 31-year old founder of this place, spent a year playing around with the ratios of yeast, water, and rising times to figure out the optimal recipe for this pizza dough.  What results is a crust that is amazingly thin, crunchy, yet holds its own against the toppings.

Tobins says that the secret is actually in the freshness of the ingredients.  "The real key is freshness. The fresher the sauce, the sweeter it is . . . use fresh ingredients and it will taste great every time." Though he was a pre-med student in college, he abandoned that after graduation to pursue a career in the restaurant industry, opening up his first Upper Crust in Beacon Hill in 2001.  It was a huge success, and since then he has opened countless more, mostly in the New England area.

My favorite is the Harvard Street, which is essentially like a Margarita pizza, made with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and garlic.  I love chewing on the crunchy, thin crust.

The Lucky Luciano, which has chorizo sausage, hearts of palm, fresh tomatoes, and scallions, is quite creative and really good as well.

Other pizzas I've tried there that I like include "The Newbury" (a margarita pizza with breaded veal slices on top), "The Uncommon Pizza" (pineapples, bacon, and jalapenos), and the "Slightly Pesto" (pesto, tomatoes, and garlic).

They try to be environmental, and at least in Harvard Square, their delivery guys deliver the pizzas on bicycles!  It's hilarious to see these bikes maneuvering around Cambridge with a stack of pizza boxes tied to the back.

Upper Crust pizzas taste fantastic fresh out of the oven.  I love going to the restaurant and eating it there. The pizza loses a bit of its magic when delivered, although it's still pretty enjoyable, and still better than any other delivery option I can think of.

The Upper Crust has been expanding quite rapidly in the last year or so.  I was pretty thrilled when they opened one up in Harvard Square really close to me this past year.  We often get delivery (on bikes!) from them.  Prices are on the higher end, with large pizzas costing around $20.  A large pizza can comfortably feed three larger eaters and 4 smaller eaters.

Even though some lament the "chainification" of this place (arguing that it has lost some of the quaintness of the original Beacon Hill location), I personally love how it's more accessible now.  I definitely go to the one in Lexington on a regular basis, and I've been known to stop by the Beacon Hill one on occasion too if I happen to be in the area and need a quick bite to eat.  Of course, since I live in Cambridge, I definitely order from the Cambridge location as well (which is too tiny for sit-down anyway).

They also sell by the slice, which makes it a pretty good place to drop by for a quick lunch or dinner.  Several of them have alcohol licenses, so you can even enjoy a glass of wine with your pizza slice.  This place has become Bryan's default choice for a quick dinner whenever he's in the Lexington area.

Of course, there are specialty places in Boston that have better pizza (Emma's and Gran Gusto immediately come to mind).  However, when it comes to finding a place that's quick, delicious, inventive, and delivers, this place can't be beat.

The Upper Crust (Beacon Hill)
20 Charles St
Boston, MA 02114


The Upper Crust (Lexington)
41 Waltham St
Lexington, MA 02421


The Upper Crust (Harvard Square)
49b Brattle St Harvard Sq
Cambridge, MA 02138

The Upper Crust

The secret's in the dough. And they're not telling a soul about it.

My friend likes to play with pizza dough - to the point that she's gotten into the habit of asking for a bit of pizza dough to play with when she goes to pizza restaurants. Bertucci's sells their pizza dough, and will gladly give you a bit to play with.

Guess what? The dough at The Upper Crust is so proprietary they won't let it out of their sight. So my friend wasn't able to even get a sample.

This secret dough results in some pretty tasty pizzas.

Jordan Tobins, the 31-year old founder of this place, spent a year playing around with the ratios of yeast, water, and rising times to figure out the optimal recipe for this pizza dough.  What results is a crust that is amazingly thin, crunchy, yet holds its own against the toppings.

Tobins says that the secret is actually in the freshness of the ingredients.  "The real key is freshness. The fresher the sauce, the sweeter it is . . . use fresh ingredients and it will taste great every time." Though he was a pre-med student in college, he abandoned that after graduation to pursue a career in the restaurant industry, opening up his first Upper Crust in Beacon Hill in 2001.  It was a huge success, and since then he has opened countless more, mostly in the New England area.

My favorite is the Harvard Street, which is essentially like a Margarita pizza, made with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and garlic.  I love chewing on the crunchy, thin crust.

The Lucky Luciano, which has chorizo sausage, hearts of palm, fresh tomatoes, and scallions, is quite creative and really good as well.

Other pizzas I've tried there that I like include "The Newbury" (a margarita pizza with breaded veal slices on top), "The Uncommon Pizza" (pineapples, bacon, and jalapenos), and the "Slightly Pesto" (pesto, tomatoes, and garlic).

They try to be environmental, and at least in Harvard Square, their delivery guys deliver the pizzas on bicycles!  It's hilarious to see these bikes maneuvering around Cambridge with a stack of pizza boxes tied to the back.

Upper Crust pizzas taste fantastic fresh out of the oven.  I love going to the restaurant and eating it there. The pizza loses a bit of its magic when delivered, although it's still pretty enjoyable, and still better than any other delivery option I can think of.

The Upper Crust has been expanding quite rapidly in the last year or so.  I was pretty thrilled when they opened one up in Harvard Square really close to me this past year.  We often get delivery (on bikes!) from them.  Prices are on the higher end, with large pizzas costing around $20.  A large pizza can comfortably feed three larger eaters and 4 smaller eaters.

Even though some lament the "chainification" of this place (arguing that it has lost some of the quaintness of the original Beacon Hill location), I personally love how it's more accessible now.  I definitely go to the one in Lexington on a regular basis, and I've been known to stop by the Beacon Hill one on occasion too if I happen to be in the area and need a quick bite to eat.  Of course, since I live in Cambridge, I definitely order from the Cambridge location as well (which is too tiny for sit-down anyway).

They also sell by the slice, which makes it a pretty good place to drop by for a quick lunch or dinner.  Several of them have alcohol licenses, so you can even enjoy a glass of wine with your pizza slice.  This place has become Bryan's default choice for a quick dinner whenever he's in the Lexington area.

Of course, there are specialty places in Boston that have better pizza (Emma's and Gran Gusto immediately come to mind).  However, when it comes to finding a place that's quick, delicious, inventive, and delivers, this place can't be beat.

The Upper Crust (Beacon Hill)
20 Charles St
Boston, MA 02114


The Upper Crust (Lexington)
41 Waltham St
Lexington, MA 02421


The Upper Crust (Harvard Square)
49b Brattle St Harvard Sq
Cambridge, MA 02138

Homemade Granola

Making homemade granola is so easy, so basic, so flexible, I really am not sure why I'm even posting this "recipe."  Well, of course I'm sharing this recipe because this is a food blog, and I love sharing about my food experiments.  However, I also have a sneaking suspicious that there are at least some of you out there like me.

Like me in the sense that you love granola - have loved it for YEARS - yet never took the effort to try making it.  In my case, I think I never tried it because I thought it would be hard, or maybe I was too lazy to figure it out.

Well, let me tell you.  It's uber easy, super cheap, very flexible, and tastes so much better than "supermarket" granola.  Better yet, you control what you put in there, and you can ensure that the ingredients are free of preservatives, additives, nuts, and the like.

Making this took me a total of 30 minutes, with only 5 minutes prep time.  So easy and so good  . . .

Homemade Granola
Prep time: 5 minutes
Bake time: 20-25 minutes
Cool time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups oats
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1-2 T brown sugar (optional - if you like it sweeter)

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until all the oats are somewhat wet.  The whole mixture should be a bit clumpy and wet.  If you like clusters, you can add a tiny splash of water (like 1-2 tsp) to help some of the oats stick together.

Spread out the mixture on a pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Halfway through baking, you can stir the granola around. It will smell wonderful as the honey begins to slowly caramelize.

The longer you bake the granola, the darker in color it will become.  If you like your granola relatively lightly golden brown, remove it after 20 minutes.  It may still seem kind of wet, but don't worry!  It will harden as it cools.  Definitely take it out before the honey burns (i.e. when "golden brown" has turned into "black").  I learned this the hard way!  After 30 minutes in the oven a portion of my oats had turned brown/black! [Although, to be perfectly honest, I really like slightly burnt food, and I actually loved the slightly burnt sugar flavor in these oats.  I  ended up eating most of the not-yet-completely-burned-bits of this batch . . YUM!]

Let the granola cool.  Stir it around a bit - it will dry up nice and crunchy.

Of course, once you've made the basic granola, you can stir in other add-ins like dried fruit, coconut slivers, chocolate chips, etc.  I happen to be super picky when it comes to granola, and I actually like mine plain.  If you want to add nuts or seeds, you should mix them in with the oats and honey before baking.

Note: this version that I make is not super sweet.  If you're used to the sweetness level of Nature Valley or Quaker granola bars, you might think this is not sweet enough.  Feel free to add some brown sugar (1-2 T) during the mixing stage at the beginning to sweeten it up.

Low Fat Version: You can easily lower the fat content by reducing the amount of oil. I tried this recipe by reducing the amount of oil to 1/6 cup.  The final product definitely tasted lighter, but still very good.  If you are dressing up the granola with other additions anyway (e.g., raisins, chocolate chips, etc) it might be perfectly fine to have low fat granola as the base.  In my case, since I was eating the granola plain, I could taste the difference that the fat made, and I slightly preferred the normal "fattier" version.

Over all, this is a rather forgiving recipe as long as you make sure you don't bake for too long!  You can add  a touch of molasses into the honey mixture to change the flavor a bit. To lower the fat content, you can simply reduce the amount of oil you add, or try substituting with apple sauce (note: I have not tried this - just read about it).  To reduce the likelihood of burning your granola, you can easily bake at lower temperatures and just increase the  baking time. Most importantly, monitor the color of the granola and make sure it doesn't start turning black!

What about you?  Have you ever made homemade granola before?  If so, I'd love to hear what additional tips you might have to offer.

Nom Nom Nom . . .

Homemade Granola

Making homemade granola is so easy, so basic, so flexible, I really am not sure why I'm even posting this "recipe."  Well, of course I'm sharing this recipe because this is a food blog, and I love sharing about my food experiments.  However, I also have a sneaking suspicious that there are at least some of you out there like me.

Like me in the sense that you love granola - have loved it for YEARS - yet never took the effort to try making it.  In my case, I think I never tried it because I thought it would be hard, or maybe I was too lazy to figure it out.

Well, let me tell you.  It's uber easy, super cheap, very flexible, and tastes so much better than "supermarket" granola.  Better yet, you control what you put in there, and you can ensure that the ingredients are free of preservatives, additives, nuts, and the like.

Making this took me a total of 30 minutes, with only 5 minutes prep time.  So easy and so good  . . .

Homemade Granola
Prep time: 5 minutes
Bake time: 20-25 minutes
Cool time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups oats
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1-2 T brown sugar (optional - if you like it sweeter)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until all the oats are somewhat wet.  The whole mixture should be a bit clumpy and wet.  If you like clusters, you can add a tiny splash of water (like 1-2 tsp) to help some of the oats stick together.

Spread out the mixture on a pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Halfway through baking, you can stir the granola around. It will smell wonderful as the honey begins to slowly caramelize.

The longer you bake the granola, the darker in color it will become.  If you like your granola relatively lightly golden brown, remove it after 20 minutes.  It may still seem kind of wet, but don't worry!  It will harden as it cools.  Definitely take it out before the honey burns (i.e. when "golden brown" has turned into "black").  I learned this the hard way!  After 30 minutes in the oven a portion of my oats had turned brown/black! [Although, to be perfectly honest, I really like slightly burnt food, and I actually loved the slightly burnt sugar flavor in these oats.  I  ended up eating most of the not-yet-completely-burned-bits of this batch . . YUM!]

Let the granola cool.  Stir it around a bit - it will dry up nice and crunchy.

Of course, once you've made the basic granola, you can stir in other add-ins like dried fruit, coconut slivers, chocolate chips, etc.  I happen to be super picky when it comes to granola, and I actually like mine plain.  If you want to add nuts or seeds, you should mix them in with the oats and honey before baking.

Note: this version that I make is not super sweet.  If you're used to the sweetness level of Nature Valley or Quaker granola bars, you might think this is not sweet enough.  Feel free to add some brown sugar (1-2 T) during the mixing stage at the beginning to sweeten it up.

Low Fat Version: You can easily lower the fat content by reducing the amount of oil. I tried this recipe by reducing the amount of oil to 1/6 cup.  The final product definitely tasted lighter, but still very good.  If you are dressing up the granola with other additions anyway (e.g., raisins, chocolate chips, etc) it might be perfectly fine to have low fat granola as the base.  In my case, since I was eating the granola plain, I could taste the difference that the fat made, and I slightly preferred the normal "fattier" version.

Over all, this is a rather forgiving recipe as long as you make sure you don't bake for too long!  You can add  a touch of molasses into the honey mixture to change the flavor a bit. To lower the fat content, you can simply reduce the amount of oil you add, or try substituting with apple sauce (note: I have not tried this - just read about it).  To reduce the likelihood of burning your granola, you can easily bake at lower temperatures and just increase the  baking time. Most importantly, monitor the color of the granola and make sure it doesn't start turning black!

What about you?  Have you ever made homemade granola before?  If so, I'd love to hear what additional tips you might have to offer.

Nom Nom Nom . . .