Warning: Contains Crunchy Content

"What have you been up to, Margaret?"
"The usual, Mom. A little of this; a little of that. Let's see...well, I made granola last night."
(laughter from the other end of the phone)
"That's....er...nice, honey. Glad you're having fun. But uh, your dad and I have to get going. The frozen pizza's almost done."

To my parents, baking your own granola is about as, well, granola-crunching hippie as it gets. It's another one of her college "experiments," they sigh. She'll soon come around. Soon enough, she'll give in to a life of blissful ignorance, free of the guilt that organic-types plaster onto every Styrofoam cup or non-fair trade coffee bean they see. This crunchiness will soon pass.

Or so they think. They haven't dipped into the eternal spring of homemade cereals. Only then would they understand this "college experiment" will stick with me. For if, as they surmise, granola baking is a sure sign of unabashed hippie-dom, I'm guilty.

Homemade granola is just too good to leave to Phish fans and Bonnarooo road trips.

I have been perfecting my recipe over the last year, ever since my roommate's mom first bestowed upon us a jarful. It's a continual work in progress. Granola, thank God, is foolproof. The ingredients are as simple — or complicated — as I want. The necessities: oatmeal, honey, and vegetable oil. The extras: sunflower seeds, coconut, brown rice syrup (totally excessive), nutmeg, and so on.

It's easy, it's cheap, your house smells like peace and love, and you get serious hippie cred, to boot. What's not to love?

Granola

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 oz. butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cups regular oatmeal (not instant)
• 1/4 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, or a combination)
• 1/4 sunflower seeds, shelled
• 1/4 unsweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a rimmed baking sheet, combine oil, butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir in oatmeal, nuts, seeds, and coconut until everything is well-coated. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Granola will crisp as it cools.

Yield: one big jar of granola.