Have you ever?

Have you ever baked granola in the afternoon?


I've made it in the morning, when I wished it would hurry up and finish cooking because I was hungry and ready to scarf it down.

And I've made it in the evening, yawning away the ten minute intervals between stirs, wishing that I had finished this particular chore earlier that day.

The afternoon is the best, I think. It has the same sort of yummy guilt about it that a nap after lunch does. Everyone else is slaving away at a desk, and here I am, stirring a pan full of crispy, golden, cinnamon-scented oats.

I use this recipe from David Leibovitz, who in turn got it from Nigella Lawson. I've also used this one from Orangette, a crispy granola dotted with dark chocolate chunks (it sounds too decadent, but trust me, it's just decadent enough). Both are lovely, but the first makes two (two!) pounds worth, which is even lovelier.