This recipe brings back so many memories of my grandparents because the star ingredient is pistachios, and as a kid, one of my favorite snacks was pistachios – not the perfectly shelled kind, but the bright red, dyed ones still tucked inside their finger-slicing traps. My grandfather would hand me a bag and after about 10 minutes I probably managed 5 pistachios and my fingers would be bright red and raw. Opening those shells wasn’t easy. You had to work for your pistachio in the 70’s! Speaking of the 70’s … Remember these places?

I spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up. My Gram and Grampy were incredibly influential in my life, and I’ve been reflecting on how their unconditional love and support shaped my path. Their presence provided stability, guidance, and opportunities that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.

My home life wasn’t always happy, and like many, I faced childhood trauma and challenges. Thank God for my grandparents, Margaret and Pasquale. From third grade through high school, I spent nearly every weekend with them—plus our cherished Thursday night dinners and those red pistachios.

On Thursday evenings, my grandfather would pick me up after school, and we’d drive to Sylvania, my grandmother’s workplace, to wait for her. The two of us would watch the exit doors, competing to see who would spot her first. I’d wave out the window, watching as she made her way to the car – an eternity to my ten-year-old self.

Our go-to restaurants were Yokens (which I called The Happy Fish), Supino’s, and the York Steak House. If you grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts in the ’70s and 80’s, you’ll recognize them – they were all hugely popular at the time. Every once in a while on those Thursday dates, my grandfather would ask me if I wanted ice cream for dinner, but I never did. I’m still not a big fan of ice cream, but looking back, I wish I had said yes at least once! If I could go back in time, I’d order a small, pistachio ice cream hot fudge sundae, extra nuts, whipped cream, and a cherry.

Maybe one day, when our granddaughter is old enough to decide, I’ll suggest ice cream for dinner. Shhhh… don’t tell her parents.

This is my granola recipe that features my favorite nut: pistachio.

Pistachio Granola
Makes about 9 cups

Ingredients:
450g rolled oats
145g unsalted shelled pistachios
60g slivered almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
43g unsweetened coconut flakes (not shredded)
⅓C maple syrup
75g brown sugar
65g coconut oil
optional: 140g dried cherries

Directions:
Heat oven to 300°.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, pistachios, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes. Set aside.

In a small saucepan on low heat, warm the sugar, maple syrup and coconut oil until the sugar has just dissolved completely. Add this to the bowl of oatmeal mix and gently stir until oatmeal is completely coated.


Spoon the granola in an even layer onto the baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Check on the granola from time to time to give it a quick stir so it bakes evenly. Remove the granola from the oven and let it sit for a minute and then gently stir in the dried cherries if you’re using them. Let it finish cooling before removing to your storage container.

Note: I weigh ingredients for baking using a kitchen scale. You can find a scale online or in stores anywhere from $10 – $100. They all do the job. If you don’t have a food scale you can find an online calculator to give you the approximate cup measurements.