Saturday, 16 August 2008

the d-i-y breakfast chronicles

jamie oliver calls it pukkola, it’s sold in grocery aisles as muesli, there is the soaked version called bircher muesli but whatever the name it is a brekkie food that i absolutely love. so here’s a home grown recipe. part of it is inspired by my mum and part of is my own addition. i am not particularly pushed with the measurements just because you can make it bulk and when you serve it’s really up to you how much you can tuck into and what consistency you like…
 making it…
two cups of pinhead/steel-cut oats (or rolled oats with do. i prefer the texture of steel-cut /pinhead oats)
a generous handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds
a generous handful of nuts – almonds hazelnuts pecan nuts (basically whatever you fancy)
a handful of plump raisins
some chopped dates or apricots
i like to dry roast my oats which is; preheat your oven to 325 degrees farenheit/160 degrees centigrade. spread the mixture of oats, nuts & fruit on a baking tray and roast for 5-7 minutes. be sure to stir in between as you don’t want the oats to burn. the oats should turn a light golden brown color. once that is done mix in the dry fruit and store in an airtight container.
putting it together & eating it
try and let the oats soak over night. it really does wonders for the texture. i like to soak mine in organic apple juice or milk. spoon out a measure of oats that works for you into a ceramic bowl. cover with apple juice or milk, cling wrap and put in the fridge. in the morning pull out the bowl of soaked oats and add milk or yoghurt to loosen up.
for the final touch here are a couple of ideas.
a couple of tablespoons of rachels organic yoghurt
a table spoon of runny honey
a mashed banana
grated apple
summer berries that leave streaks of color when stirred with a spoon