Yes, it is the last day of July {just like I was saying last month, where the hang is this year running off to so fast?!??} and, yes, I am {again} only just getting around to posting. Can I pleeeeeez explain??

This month I was super busy organising catering for our church’s evening congregation for their annual camp. Me + a whole lot of lovely people + a kitchen full of food I can make whatever I want with = HAPPINESS!!! I planned the menu, did the shopping, managed the team of fabulous kitchen volunteers and had THE BEST TIME. I even managed to get some snaps of the ridiculously magical snow we had in Hanmer Springs where the camp was held, which is alpine enough to see much more of the cold white stuff than we do in low-lying Christchurch.

I even did a spot of recipe development during the camp which I will share after I’ve had a chance to perfect it 😉

In the meantime, muesli! Or granola, as my American friends might prefer to call it.

I decided to make this after paying $6 for two cups of what was basically oats with a couple of almonds mixed in. Muesli is one of those things that is a million times better homemade than bought. Probably because I get to choose to add in only the things I like! For me, that’s crunchy almonds, sweet dates and tasty figs, mmmhmm… It’s also done in under an hour and usually at a fraction of the cost of the bought stuff (depending on what you use for your add-ins).

A wee note: I don’t like my muesli overly sweetened by sugar or honey, I prefer the dried fruit in it to the sweet-talking 😉 So feel free to add more sweetener for your taste. Just remember: it’s a breakfast food, so if you use all your ‘sugar credits’ so early in the day, what’s to look forward to come dessert time?! 😛 Without further ado, here’s the recipe.

Toasted Muesli / Granola

• 6 c quick cook oats (not the large, whole/rolled oats)
• 1 c wheat germ
• 1 c coconut chips or desiccated coconut
• 1 c ground almonds (optional – I used them to give a greater variety in ‘grain’ size and pack in some protein!)
• 1/4 c maple syrup or honey
• 1 & 1/2 c raw nuts of your choice (I used 3/4 c cashews and 3/4 c almonds)
• 1 c raw seeds of your choice ( I used 1/2 c pumpkin seeds and 1/2 c sunflower seeds
• 1/4 c flax seed/linseed (optional – I used them for extra fibre)
• 2 & 1/2 c chopped dried fruit of your choice (I used 1 c dried dates, 1 c dried figs and 1/2 c dried cherries)

1. Preheat your over to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Farenheit).
2. Mix the quick-cook oats, wheat germ, coconut and ground almonds together and spread on a large oven tray.
3. Drizzle the honey/maple syrup over it then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, stir with a fork to incorporate the honey/maple syrup {it is easier to mix in after this first baking period when the syrup is hot}.
4. Bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes {depending on how browned you like your muesli}, removing the tray to mix every 10 minutes with a fork.

5. Place the raw nuts and seeds on a separate oven tray. Bake for 30 mins, removing the tray to mix every 10 minutes with a fork {the nuts and seeds can be baked at the same time as the oats on a separate oven shelf}. After baking, leave the nuts for 15 minutes at room temperature before transferring them to a chopping board and roughly slicing.

6. Add the nuts, seeds and chopped dried fruit to the oat mixture while they’re cooling, stir together with a fork and leave to finish cooling.

We love to have this muesli mixed with milk and heated for a minute in the microwave before adding canned fruit slices and yoghurt – a hearty winter brekkie! We often only half-fill our bowls with muesli and supplement it with plain quick cook oats, as it’s got so many good bits that we can make it last longer by ‘diluting’ it.

I hope you try this and that it helps you stay warm over the final third of winter xx