Figs and nuts toasted muesli

If you want to control what goes into your toasted muesli (and also half the price of the supermarket box), you can make your own.  It does not require specific equipment: an oven and a small food processor, a chopping board and a knife.  You can even do without the food processor.

This recipe uses some dry fruits and nuts.  Feel free to adapt the ingredients, for example you may want more nuts of various kinds and no dry fruits, or you may substitute the apricots with shredded coconut.  I did not write down my first attempt to toasted muesli, it was a lot of nuts, chia seeds and coconut.  One guiding rule: use (based on weight) round 60% weight of rolled oats. Commercial toasted muesli are most often 80% rolled oats.

muesli homemade

Ingredients:
  • 750 g rolled oats
  • 150 g dry apricots
  • 150 g dry figs
  • 150 g pepitas
  • 150 g hazelnuts
  • 150 g raw macadamia
  • 1/4 cup olive oil (use any good vegetable oil of your choice)
  • 1/4 cup of liquid honey
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Method:
  1. With a large knife, cut the figs in strips and the apricots in small pieces up to 5 mm long
  2. Place the nuts (macadamia and hazelnuts) in a small food processor and blend to reach small to medium size. For example, you want each hazelnut cut at least in two and each macadamia at least in four.  I find that there will be some full nuts left and I will cut those with the knife on the chopping board.  There may be a few whole nuts left, that’s all right.
  3. In a large baking tray, place all dry ingredients, roughly mix.
  4. Put the honey and oil in a small bowl, heat up 15 seconds in the microwave and pour over the mix.  Using your hands, coat all the ingredients as much as you can.
  5. Then bake on 180-200°C. After 10 minutes, use a fork to move the muesli around. Repeat every 10 minutes until toasted.
  6. Once cooled down, transfer in a storage jar .

muesli homemade

No more porridge wastes!

This is it, no more porridge wastes! What do you do with left over porridge? Generally there aren’t any left over when there is porridge.  However, I must say,  quite recently my daughters have doubled up on breakfast requirements and I came home twice last week with a saucepan and left over porridge in it.  There is no such thing as serving porridge twice, eurrhh.

So, last night , while some left overs were heating up, I scooped the porridge, added a little this and a little that and Voila!

Moist (almost) gluten free porridge Cookies

No need to waste your leftover porridge, make these (almost) gluten-free cookies with your leftover porridge!

If you are wondering, which cereal I used, the recipe uses rice flour.

Recipe HERE.

GF porridge cookies GF porridge cookies GF porridge cookies

 

Note for GF people: Are oats gluten free?

It is a little complicated here. Oats are a different cereal to wheat. Oats do not contain any gluten.  They do contain, however a protein called avenin which can induce an immune reaction in one out of five coeliac persons.

Added to that is the fact that oats can be “contaminated” at the farm by equipment also processing (harvesting, storing or transporting) wheat.

As a result in Australia, oat products cannot be called gluten-free.

If you want more info, you may want to read Coeliac Australia ‘s position statement.

And look what just came out of the oven! I can still hear the crust cracking!

I don’t mean to be out of consideration to people who are unfortunately affected by coeliac conditions.  For those who read my blog for the first time, I am not coeliac and I have been making our bread for 2 1/2 years.  Today I increased the water ratio in the sourdough recipe, let it rise in the fridge when wandering around with the children all day and shaped and bakes these baguettes tonight.  I am very happy with the result!

high water content sourdough

Gluten Free Porridge Cookies

I made these gluten free porridge cookies (and the recipe) one day as I had enough of seeing left over porridge go to the compost bin.

Now, if you are coeliac, you may need to be careful, this recipe contains oats, which has a protein that can trigger an immune reaction (but not always).

GF porridge cookies

Ingredients:
  • 1 egg
  • 230 g of porridge with sultanas.  If you need to cook the porridge, use 1 volume of oats for 2 volumes or water or a mix of water and milk (I prefer a mix).
  • 100 g of white sugar
  • 100 g of butter
  • 1 tsp of raising powder
  • 230 g of brown rice flour
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
  2. Melt the butter and mix it with the leftover porridge to loosen a bit the mass.
  3. Add the sugar and the egg.  Mix well.
  4. Then mix in the rice flour and raising powder.
  5. Place little mounts, about the size of a tablespoon on a lined baking sheet.  Bake until light brown.
  6. Cool down on a wire rack.

Note: the dough is quite wet and sticky but not runny, it keeps its form when spooned on the tray. If your porridge is quite runny, you will need to increase the flour a little.

GF porridge cookies GF porridge cookies