Weekday mornings are a bit of a panic in our Irish home. Book bags, shoes, hair ties, racing for the car…wait!…”Did you finish your brekkie?”. Most days there’s no time for rashers and sausages and lovely eggs. Nope. Crack of dawn, Monday to Friday, we can be a slap, dash, thanks for the hash kind of family.
Maybe we should get up earlier? You know if I tried to push that agenda forward there would be a revolt in our Irish house!
So I’ve been thinking about breakfast a lot lately. You may have noticed that I posted a smoothie recipe last week {the first of many, I hope). While smoothies are great, I feel strongly they shouldn’t be the sole breakfast food at the start of every day.
What else will the family eat in the morning when we are short on time? Cereal…ok. Pancakes…out of the question! Porridge…better. We need something quick and healthy and yummy.
Thankfully I have a huge collection of cookbooks and handwritten recipes. Old and new, from all over the world, I’ve been buying, copying and gathering them since I was a blushing bride. I have so many books that they are not only stored in the kitchen, where there’s limited space, but our sitting room as well.
A lengthy search last week turned up what has proven to be a new winner in our house: muesli. The recipe chosen was handwritten quickly and given to us by our childminder, Nadia. Until now, I’ve never tried it.
Nadia’s muesli is easy to make. It has a slightly sweet, slightly salty flavour. The toasted rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds make it oh so more-ish. And, maybe because it’s homemade, it doesn’t have any of that over-the-top sugariness. We’ve been serving it over Weetabix, Special K, yogurt and fresh fruit this week {not all at once, mind you!}.
The true test of success however has not just been in the empty breakfast bowls this week. I believe we’re on to a winner with Nadia’s muesli for two more reasons. Firstly, my oldest daughter asked me to put some in her school lunchbox for break time tomorrow. And secondly, my lovely Irish husband asked me to make a double batch when we got to the bottom of the jar this morning. I don’t know what you think, but I don’t need a fourth reason to make more of Nadia’s muesli.
I hope you try this recipe. You’re sure to love it and may even make it your own by adding a few different ingredients such as chocolate nibs, dried cherries, cystalised ginger, dried apricots or whatever catches your fancy first thing in the morning. Enjoy!
Nadia’s Muesli
Makes 5 cups/600 grams
Ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50 ml/¼ cup maple syrup
1 oz/¼ cup brown sugar
50 ml/¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
340g/12 oz/3 cups rolled oats
86g/3 oz/½ cup raw almonds chopped in half (walnuts and pecans are nice too)
2 oz/¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
1-2 oz/1/3 cup raisins
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
2. Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add oats and mix to coat.
4. Spread mixture out on a large, rimmed, baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes.
5. Add the almonds and pumpkin seeds and bake for another 15 minutes. Continue to stir every 5 minutes.
6. Remove the hot muesli from the oven and allow to cool completely before adding raisins
7. Add raisins and store in a sealed container to keep fresh.
Related articles
- Yvonne’s Toasted Muesli (ontotheplate.wordpress.com)
- Power Breakfast in a Jar-MUESLI! (madonnutrition.wordpress.com)
In an Irish Home 