While my idea of a good time may be Christmas Kasha, for most of the rest of North America, Holidays are all about the party mix.  And when the non-vegan family is coming in for a meal, it’s all about feeding them stuff that tastes great that they’ll love.  So whole foods go on hold somewhat and out comes the old classics revisited.  Enough so that my maternal Grandmother is likely rolling over in her grave at the liberties I’ve taken with her beloved recipe!  Where’s the butter, the Worcestershire sauce, the Chex cereal, Bugles and pretzel sticks she would ask me?  Replaced with pecan, cashew, coconut and Shredded wheat squares.  Yet the spirit of her original recipe remains: tons of richness (read fat) and lots of salty spice on crunchy bits to wolf down with reckless abandon alongside a mocktail or cocktail of your choosing.

Yield: 10 cups

What you need:

• 4 cups Shredded wheat with bran squares
• 2-1/2 cups Cheerios
• 2 cups puffed Kamut
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup coconut strips (the smiles)
• 1/2 cup vegan butter-flavoured coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (yes, such a beast exists)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder (unsalted)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder (unsalted)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cereals and nuts.  Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil.  Whisk in the olive oil, vegan Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, chili powder and salt until uniform.
4. Pour the oil mixture over the cereal and nut mixture in the bowl.  Mix well to coat everything as evenly as possible.
5. Transfer the mixture to an 11×17 rimmed baking pan.  Bake at 250 F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so to make sure everything toasts evenly.
6. Remove from oven and cool before eating; or storing in an airtight container to hide until there’s company to share it with.

Variations:

• Replace the chili powder with curry powder or berbere spice blend for a different taste and colour.
• Go the way of my Grandma, omit the salt, chili powder and onion powder and use 4-1/2 teaspoons of seasoning salt instead.
• Change the nuts and cereals listed for those you like best.  My mother made it with Shreddies until she discovered the Shredded wheat squares while my Grandma was partial to Chex or Life squares in her kitchen.