Shake and Bake Chocolate-Nut Granola

By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

Last week seems like a surreal nightmare. Flashback: Two days before the Full Moon, I was on the phone with Visionary Clarisa Bernhardt. Our energy levels were high. After our two hour conversation, I logged onto the computer and clicked my mouse instinctively to the USGS map. There it was. An 8.8 quake with a large square near Chile--a bit smaller than the 9.5 that hit back in 1960. Would history repeat itself? Then, it was to CNN on the tube and talk of tsunami followed. I dreamed of white waters hitting shore(s). And when I woke up I, like so many people around the globe, watched with horror on Saturady how 53 nations were at risk of a tsunami--the entire Pacific region.

Today, six days later, I am still awestruck. Sure, as a quake sensitive I was a guest on Captain Jack, Lan's A.M. Talk Show, and will be writing my monthly Earth Changes column for Oracle 20/20 magazine. After all, I did predict a 7.0 Japan quake and tsunami would hit in 2010--and that it did. Yes, I believe this quake spawned the Great Chile Quake and perhaps yesterday's 6.4 in Taiwan.

So what does granola have to do with all this seismic activity? Well, quake sensitives often crave crunchy food before earthquakes. And I have all the ingredients to whip up a batch of homestyle granola that mixed with fresh fruit and organic milk is a great breakfast or snack. And honestly, while bad luck runs in threes, so they say...I'm sensing another quake may be on its way sooner than later for the West Coast. In the meantime, here's the quick and easy recipe and it's a little crunchier than my sweet granola recipe.

Shake and Bake Chocolate-Nut Granola

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup nuts (almonds and walnuts)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut (optional)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Mediterranean sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg (it's earthy)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (60% cocoa content)

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and coconut. In another bowl mix honey, oil, and salt. Mix well. Stir occassionally. Bake about an hour till crispy and in little balls. Store in tight container.

So there you go. Pre-quake food for sensitives. As a native Californian who has survived a strong 6.2 in Morgan Hill and a major 7.1--the World Series Quake that rumbled through the San Francisco Bay Area--my home--I get it. I know what it's like to feel the Earth move and deal with the aftershocks and wonder "When Will the Big One Hit?" After all, the Great 1906 San Francisco quake shook in the 20th century (including the Ghirardelli building) and the Bay Area will shake again (we did have a widely felt 3.4 minor shaker yesterday) in the 21st century. Mother Nature's moves can wreak havoc on the nerves from head to toe. It's time for feel-good chocolate with its mood enhancing compounds and crunchy good for you nuts in my Chocolate-Nut Granola. Gosh, my Golden State hippie chick roots are showing, huh?