Two Almondy and Oaty Breakfasts

Greetings my lovelies!

Well, January is almost halfway done, and the clock is a-ticking ever closer to the start of the school year. Gah! I'm trying to remain calm though - enjoy the holidays while they last, I say! Rowing has also restarted for the year, which is good and bad. I think I may have gotten too used to sleeping in! Whenever I have a break from rowing, I always take my extra sleep for granted, and then I get angry at myself when I no longer have the freedom. Such is the nature of the human psyche, I suppose!

My sister's birthday was a success - she got her L's and has started driving! My Dad tells me she's a good driver, but I think I'll have to be the judge of that! (Because, I, as a superior P-Plater, know absolutely everything there is to know about the rules of the road.)

Also I have been stressing about taking down the Christmas tree. I think I'm doing it tomorrow. I've put it off for ages, because I get depressed when I have to box away all the cheeriness for another year. But never fear, because supermarkets have already started selling Easter Eggs! Oh dear.

So I'm not sure if I've ever disclosed this on my blog before, but cereal and muesli are pretty much my favourite foods. They're AMAZING. You can eat them any time of the day, and I frequently do. They're just the complete package! Wholesome, tasty, and pretty to look at. And so versatile!

So yesterday I thought I'd whip up a couple of my favourites and share with you lovely people! The photography and recipes are quite simple after the exhaustion and extensive celebration that was the birthday cake post of last week. But I think the simplicity reflects the nature of these delicious breakfasts/anytime foods. They really aren't anything fancy, just yum!

So hopefully these recipes will turn into your staples too!

P.S. Will you just look at that lovely golden colour of the granola! Sigh... until next week, kids!

Before...

...and after!

{Bircher recipe adapted from Donna Hay's 'No Time To Cook', Granola recipe adapted from Joy the Baker}



Bircher Muesli 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sultanas

1 1/2 cups good-quality apple juice

2 cups traditional rolled oats

2 medium red apples, peeled and grated

1 cup natural or dry-roasted almonds, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup thick natural or vanilla yogurt

Blueberries and Milk, to serve (Optional)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, soak the sultanas in the apple juice for 10 minutes. Then add the oats, and combine so that all the oats are able to soak in the apple juice. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.

Add the grated apple, almonds, cinnamon, maple syrup, and yogurt to the bowl, and stir to combine. Either serve immediately, with the blueberries on top, and milk to pour, or cover with clingwrap and refrigerate overnight (I admit it is thicker and tastier the next day, but by no means is this necessary - it's delicious straight away nonetheless!)

Toasted Almond and Hazelnut Granola

Serves 8

Ingredients:

3 cups traditional rolled oats

1 cup natural almonds

1 cup natural hazelnuts

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar

Method:

Line a baking sheet with baking paper, and place the almonds and hazelnuts on it. In a preheated 180 degrees celsius oven, toast the nuts for 10 minutes, or until fragrant.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, cooled and roughly chopped nuts, coconut, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter, oil, maple syrup and brown sugar together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is starting to bubble. Give one last big whisk, and pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, tossing together so as to evenly coat the oaty mixture with the melted mixture.

Spread the mixture either into a large baking dish, or two lined baking trays, and pop back into the 180 degrees celsius oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden. Twice during baking, remove the granola from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon.

Let cool and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Serve over chopped mixed berries and yummy yogurt, or with milk.



Hazelnut and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi again.

I did the stupidest thing last night - accidentally deleted the whole contents of my computer. It's amazing how sad you feel when technically all you've lost is a couple of intangible gigabytes, but I guess that justs shows our complete and utter reliance on cyberspace and the Inter-web. All my photos of precious memories, all my music and documents - gone! My mum says to call the computer doctor, but I doubt he has wizardly powers that will allow him to conjure up my data from the abyss of billions of empty recycle bins. Or wherever all that rejected data goes.

 I felt awful, so today I just had to make some cookies to cheer myself up.

These are no ordinary cookies! These are enhanced by the wondrous addition of hazelnuts, which, I think, gives them a lovely crunch and is also kind of like deconstructed Nutella! And who wouldn't love Nutella in biscuit form?

This recipe was pinched from the lovely blog 'Always with Butter'. It's probably my favourite food blog as it is just so sweet! And Julie's photographs are quite simply, stunning. 

Hazelnut and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes

1/2 cup caster sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 and 2/3 cups plain flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup chocolate chips (milk or dark or both)

2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped.

Note: to toast the hazelnuts, place the nuts in a pan (no oil) over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until fragrant, and they start to colour. Nuts burn easily, so please be careful!

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Line 2-3 baking trays with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugars with electric beaters until fluffy. Add egg and mix again.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt into the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Roll tablespoon sized balls of the mixture with your hands and place on the baking trays, evenly spaced.

Bake for 20 min, until golden. Cool on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Hope this recipe adds some cheer to your day! This just goes to show that if ever you do something stupid, just bake and it will be all better.

Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake

Hello.

Yay for my first recipe post! Basically, if I were a knight, this cake would be my trusty steed. It's a knockout every time! I love the fact that it eliminates the flour - this creates a moist, decadent texture on the inside, and a crunchy crust on the outside. It's so yummy! I serve it with cinnamon cream, but you could serve it with good icecream or even just whipped cream if you like.

So. My first recipe came with my first 'food photography shoot'. I was a bit hesitant because I had never done it before, and I don't have an overly fancy camera - just a little digital. But I think it turned out ok, especially with my little rabbit friends to help me out!

My cat is chocolate too! So of course she wanted to assist me.

Note: You will need a springform pan for this cake.

Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake:

(Serves about 10 - if you don't scoff it all down as soon as it's cool enough to eat!)

Ingredients:

200g chopped dark chocolate (good quality)

125g unsalted butter

225g (1 cup) brown sugar, firmly packed

100g hazelnut meal (almond meal is fine too)

5 eggs, separated.

{For the Cinnamon Cream}

250ml (1 cup) thickened cream

1 tbsp icing (confectioners') sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

- Grease and line a 20cm springform cake pan.

- Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over boiling water in a small saucepan (make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl!).

- Remove from the heat to cool slightly.

- In a large bowl, mix sugar and meal, and then the melted chocolate mixture, and stir until there are no lumps. Add egg yolks one at a time, stirring well after each one.

- Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until firm peaks form. Gently fold the whites into the pan.

- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until, when tested with a skewer, it comes out pretty damn clean.

- Cool completly in the pan before "springing" open and placing on a pretty little plate that perhaps your nan gave you. Or, you know, just a white plate.

To make the cinnamon cream:

- Whip the cream using a hand mixer.

- Mix in the icing sugar and cinnamon until well combined.

- Dollop on top of your slices of cake to serve.

Yay! Now it can be your trusty steed/ favourite cake/ reliable friend too! Enjoy :)