When my brothers and I were kids, we didn't often see our dad at the stove, except when he was making fruit fly food. His regular baking routines came later on, when he didn't have five kids to deal with.
A biologist, he developed his own syrupy concoction which required him to stand over a conquering the summer infestation of the irritating little flies. I think for him it was just another lab experiments. If...then...
We always had a huge garden, which greatly helped balance the budget when feeding five kids and two adults on the salaries of a college professor and private piano teacher. Our summer days of swimming, biking and generally being kids, always included some time picking and preparing whatever vegetables and fruits were in season.
Later, when I was in high school, he began baking incredible loaves of bread. He even made his own bread pan for baguettes like those we'd eaten in France and Switzerland. (Fifty or so years later, I still use that pan.)
Somewhere along the way, he began to make pecan rolls, testing variations on a recipe until he'd created his own. In the '70s, he taught several of the Saturday morning courses in the curriculum for the college nursing students. Usually those students were older and (often) more serious than his traditional students, which always made him happy. To make their Saturdays more pleasant, he'd often take them some homemade pecan rolls. His cooking bible was the original Joy of Cooking by who he referred to as the Rombauer sisters.
In the '70s, our parents read Frances Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet and Recipes for a Small Planet. Lappé was an American researcher and author in the area of food and democracy policy, and was an early proponent of plant eating. In Diet for a Small Planet, she explored how our everyday acts are a form of power to create health for ourselves and our planet and how needless waste is built into a meat-centered diet.
Our parents had always made us aware of waste and how we could all contribute to using our resources more thoughtfully. Though they'd always made sure we had a nutritious diet including a large percentage of plant foods, it was in the '70s that they increasingly made more of those foods others would buy mass-produced.
One of my favorites was the granola Dad made from a recipe he'd spent a long time developing. Often on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I'd find him in the kitchen, stirring a huge stainless steel bowl of granola, then transferring it to baking pans before baking. He'd stay nearby, always reading a textbook, Scientific American, or a mystery novel -- stopping frequently to stir the granola as it baked.
This served as breakfast, a topping for yogurt or ice cream, and a quick snack.
My chunky version of Dad's granola
In 1995, when our daughters were 12 and 10, we created a family cookbook as a Christmas present for our families. We invited our parents, siblings, and in-laws, to contribute favorite recipes and compiled them into a handmade cookbook. Dad contributed his granola. I used his recipe for years, but have also developed my own chunky version.
Note: Granola freezes well, so double it! Dick Pannabecker's granola
1/4 c. safflower or canola oil
1/2 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. rolled oats
1 c. wheat germ
1 c. sliced almonds
1 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. whole wheat bran
Directions: Heat first three ingredients. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl and add heated liquid ingredients. Spread on oiled cookie sheets or baking pans. Bake at 325 degrees 20-25 minutes (stir twice during baking.)
MPS' chunky granola
⅔ c. light brown sugar
½ c. mild olive oil (sub: safflower or canola oil)
3 c. rolled oats
3 cups rolled oats
1 c. sliced almonds or chopped walnuts (I prefer walnuts)
⅓ c. unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
⅓ c. sesame seeds
⅓ c. flaxseeds
Directions: Preheat the oven to 300° and position a rack in the center. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; spray the paper with vegetable oil spray.
In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, oil and honey. Cook over low heat until just warmed through. In a large bowl, stir the honey mixture into the rest of the ingredients until evenly distributed. Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the granola cool. Invert the baking sheet onto a work surface and tap out the brittle. Peel off the parchment paper. Break the granola into chunks. Return it to the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Note: Try adding other nuts, seeds, grains, if you have preferences. I sometimes add pumpkin seeds, toasted quinoa, wheat germ. I've also swapped in applesauce for some of the oil.