Crunchy Fruity Granola

When you already have the Platonic form granola, why make a different recipe? Well, this one is from one of our favorite kids' cookbooks: Salad People. It's got pictures so pre-readers can learn to follow the directions! And, it tastes just like an oatmeal cookie (read: lots of oil and sweetener).

• 3 c. rolled oats
• 2 c. combined seeds and chopped nuts*
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. canola oil
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1 T. vanilla extract (I think I left this out...)
• 1 c. assorted dried fruit (we used raisins and Craisins)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 13x18-inch baking tray with nonstick spray (I didn't worry about spraying anything--not with that much oil in the recipe! I also used my broiler drip pan for this.)
2. Combine the oats, seeds and chopped nuts, salt, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
3. Combine the oil, honey, and vanilla extract in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, and pour this into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and spread on the prepared tray (GREAT fun for kids to mix this with their hands).
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
5. Cool on tray. When it has cooled down and become crunchy, add the dried fruit.
6. Eat plain or with milk.

*The combined nuts and seeds can be any combo of the following: pecans, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. We use walnuts, pecans, almonds, and sunflower seeds.

~Yields 6-8 cups