Today’s Fire

Today’s fire is brought to you by Uncle’s Robbie’s Homemade All Natural Granola. Yesterday, I shopped for ingredients to make some home style granola. I played around with making this delicious product while working at a boy’s residential school. I used the top of a wood cook stove to heat the mix in a large cast iron frying pan. When it was finished, I stored it in used oatmeal canister’s. I added homemade labels and titled my product with some catchy name. Today’s version is an example. My current kitchen furnishings are different and more up to date.
We have a gas range and a selection of cookware that falls short of the large size I was accustomed to using. My concoction was made up of rolled oats, dried cherries, crushed almonds, and shredded coconut. Heating this mélange over a gas flame requires constant turning and stirring. Using a wooden spoon I worked over a half hour trying to keep my product from burning. Quickly I figured out that a gas burner does not deliver an even heat as does the top of a large cast iron wood stove. Even constant stirring did not prevent s few groats from blackening. I either removed these with my fingers, or tried to hide them in the haystack I was mixing.
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It seemed to be progressing slowly and not turning an even golden tan color that distinguishes toasted granola. To speed the process, I spread half the mixture on a flat tin and placed it in the broiler part of the oven. . I figured toasting it this way for a few minutes would deliver the desired product. After checking the broiler flame and placing the pan beneath it, I walked outside to capture some morning air. As soon as I came back into the kitchen, I was greeted by the shrill blast of the smoke alarm and the sight of black smoke pouring out of the oven, Opening the door, I was greeted by a flaming pan of granola. I quickly donned oven mitts, grabbed the fiery pan and walked it out the back door.
Setting it in the driveway did not extinguish this blaze. It was becoming a sustainable fire and released thick black smoke. I tipped it over and stomped it out with my foot. All the principles of fire making came to bear during my experiment making granola. A combustible material was heated to its burning point and in the presence of an open flame and oxygen source sprang into a fire. As soon as I reduced the air and heat with my stomping it scattered and went out. It will take another attempt to get back into the granola making business. Luckily I have half the quantity of oats I did not use. I must find another method using this new fangled stove.

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