Raspberry Lemonade Granola

It's a shy one, this recipe.  Raspberry Lemonade Granola has been hiding from you for two months, sitting in my freezer, waiting for the perfect still-spring-but-almost-summer day to appear.  

Spring seems to be a time of unveiling.  

Flowers pop out of the ground, sharing their beautiful colors with passersby.  

Not one Facebook friend, not two Facebook friends, but numerous Facebook friends share their secret with the Facebook world: "So-and-so is now in a relationship."

Maybe you surprise yourself.  A dormant, timid, little trait of yours appears with boldness; a part of yourself that you never knew existed inside you until the moment it came out.  That happened to me this spring.  

Let's celebrate the newness with a still-spring-but-almost-summer cocktail, or at least some Raspberry Lemonade Granola.  

Raspberry Lemonade Granola

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup shredded coconut 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup raspberry preserves

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

Other additional mix-ins:

Freeze-dried raspberries

Dried cranberries

Slivered almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together oats and coconut.

In a microwave safe bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, preserves honey, zest and salt.  Microwave for twenty seconds and stir again.  Pour liquid over oat mixture.

Stir oat mixture with liquid until well absorbed.  Spread oats evenly onto pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and gently stir granola, but be careful not to break up any large clumps.  Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes, or until granola has reached a light golden brown. 

Cool granola in pan for 20 minutes and then transfer to aluminum foil to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  

Serve atop plain/vanilla/lemon yogurt, vanilla ice cream, or eat it as a snack on its own.  

Granola lasts for 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, or for up to two months in the freezer.