Birch Tree Allergy and Why I Developed My Own Homemade Granola Recipe

I have food allergies, though so far they have not been life threatening.  If I touch a food I am allergic to, breath it in or even eat it I get hives.  Extremely annoying, but I have never been in grave danger.  I have been in the emergency room twice, been to multiple allergen specialists in my lifetime, have had a enough pills dumped into me to make me rattle if you shook me and been poked and prodded so many times I now have a mild phobia of needles.  One fact that is quite irritating is after having multiple allergy tests and seeing many so called "specialists" not one could tell me what exact foods I am allergic to.  Only through trial and error and many itchy weeks have I been able to come up with a list of foods I need to stay clear of.

A few years ago I went to a "specialist" and told him my case history including the fact that my food allergies didn't start until my late teens (though I did and still do have hay fever), I am allergic to mostly fruits and vegis but can eat them after they are cooked, and some of these foods include strawberries, potatoes, cherries, applies, and tree nuts (but not peanuts).  After discussing this with him I had blood drawn.  A few days later he calls and says and I quote, "You're not allergic to peanuts." and I said "I know.  I told you that.  I am allergic to pecans and wanted to know what other tree nuts I am allergic to."  And his response was, "We don't test for tree nuts."  What!  Why was I there and did he even listen to the words coming out of my mouth?  

Well, a few weeks ago I was complaining to a friend of mine about my bizarre food allergies, how I can't eat them raw but can eat them when cooked, and she said, "You have a birch tree allergy."  I wondered what she was talking about and that night Googled it and thank the Good Lord for Wikipedia!  Yes, I have a birch tree allergy or more commonly called an oral allergy.  

What is the most irritating, and what actually makes me extremely angry, is this is a common allergy among hay fever sufferers and this so called "specialist" should have been able to tell me what I had and what I am most likely allergic to.  What really fries me is I was on vacation a few years back and ate some Kashi cereal and then came down with hives.  After inspection of the package I figured out the culprit must be chicory root.  Which if this moron had told me I had a birch tree allergy I would have known that the list of offenders includes chicory root and I would have known not to eat it.  Instead for over a week during my vacation I was itching like crazy and living in a fog as I downed Benadryl.  Idiot!  

All right, now that I have got that off my chest I want to let you know about a granola recipe I developed.  Most granola recipes have tree nuts and this is an easy ingredient not to add, but many of them use honey for the sweetener and oil as the fat.  Well, I love honey, but I think it adds a flavor I just do not appreciate and after it is baked the flavor becomes even more intense.  I just don't like it as a sweetener for my morning bowl of cereal.  Also, the same holds true to the healthy oils, such as olive and coconut.  They have their place in certain recipes, but I think for most baked goods butter is the way to go.  

Well, after many years of trying out various granola recipes I almost quit in despair, but a few weeks ago I thought why not take a good oatmeal cookie recipe I have and cut down on the fat and sugar and make it into a granola?  And it turned out amazing - though a bit too sweet.  My husband said it was like eating a super sweet kids cereal.  Not quite what I was aiming for.  And so the next batch I whipped up I used even less sugar and now every morning my children and husband sing my praises.  Well, maybe they don't sing, but they sure love this cereal.  

Granola

1/2 C. Butter

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1 t. Vanilla

1/2 t. Salt

4-5 C Oatmeal

1 C. Coconut

First, melt the butter and mix it with the sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour this over 4 C. of oatmeal.  Add more oatmeal until it is moist, but not too wet. Then add the coconut.  Spread on 2 jellyroll pans and bake at 350 for 20-25 min.  Stir the granola and rotate the pans every 10 min. The granola is done when the coconut browns. As you can see I store it in a ziplock back, but any airtight container will work.  I double the batch and it lasts for a couple of weeks in our home.

Now, this cereal is still quite sweet.  If you never add sweetener to cereal I would suggest cutting the brown sugar to a 1/4 cup.  Also, if you hate the idea of using sugar and love honey then by all means use it instead, but use less, as honey is much sweeter.