Cereal killer

My sister passed on a recipe she and her housemates use to make up a batch of muesli each week, adapted from a Bill Granger concoction. It was exactly the kind of unnecessarily-time-consuming, convenience-be-damned project that appeals to my inner procrastinator. And unlike the granola I’ve posted here previously there’s no cooking involved, so it’s perfect for heat-shimmery days in sunny Brooklyn kitchens. In turn I’ve made a few tweaks. My batch ended up with about half the rolled oats called for, resulting in a decadently chunky but less economical mix. If you’re a fan of coconut, use the chunkiest you can find – I was initially worried by the size of the stuff I picked out, but it has ended up being my favourite part.

Convenience-be-damned DIY Muesli

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups rolled barley
• 1 cup bran cereal
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 & ½ cups shredded coconut (chunkier the better)
• 1/3 cup chia seeds

So that’s your basic mix of seeds and grains. Get creative with the combinations of nuts and dried fruit that you add. Since arriving back in the US (and summer!) I’ve been eyeing off all the fresh berries and fruits available for a song at the markets, so I knew I wouldn’t mind my muesli being a little plain so I could really taste those juicy sweet strawberries and blueberries at breakfast. That said, my sweet tooth still needs a bit of the natural sugar of dried fruit. So to my basic muesli I added:

• 1 ½ cups juicy sultanas/raisins
• 2/3 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup unsalted nut mix (brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds)

I bought up all my supplies at Whole Foods – luckily I had plenty of time on my hands to measure out and price code all the different grains etc. It cost me about $17 all up including the glass jar, so at first glance it’s cheaper to just buy a box of muesli! But I’m only halfway through my jar of muesli after nearly two weeks of pretty eager servings, so it doesn’t work out too badly.