Sides – OwlCat Designs

December 30, 2012

Chicken Sausage Patties

Sausage can be a mixed bag of tricks. Store bought it often contains a lot of fat with the flavor that we all want. But if you want to control fat and sodium content, blending up your own patties (unless you know of a great source that makes chicken sausage from just breasts) is often the only choice. It’s quick and cheap and oh so versatile! Trim all visible fat from the chicken breast prior to making these.

Ingredients

1 boneless chicken breast half, coarsely chopped (1/2 to 3/4 pounds)
1 egg white
3 tablespoons scallions or onion to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika, sweet
1/4 cup fresh herbs such as parsley
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper pieces, red and green (about 1/4 pepper each)
1 tsp crushed red pepper, (optional, to add some spice)

Directions

Pulse all the ingredients except the peppers in the blender until chopped, but not pasty
Stir in the pepper pieces and using a table spoon, form into 2-3″ patties.
Cook in a hot skillet until cooked through and nicely browned. (Or bake in a 375ºF oven)
Can be made in advance and frozen. When needed just pop in the microwave or defrost and heat in the toaster oven.

Serve as a side with soup or White Bean Stew with Leeks and Thyme

December 26, 2012

Warm Winter Salad

Now that the holidays are coming to a close, and New Years is staring to wave at us with all its new beginnings and good resolutions. Why not indulge in something reminiscent of comfort food, but without the guilty pleasure price tag? This salad is just right for that. Sustaining enough to not leave you looking through the cookie jars in the break room, but nourishing and light at the same time. It’s a salad for those that don’t like salad. Like my one friend that doesn’t see why anyone would want to eat ‘crunchy water’. This would even work for her, a no greens salad!

And of course, where would we be with our healthy living resolutions if it were not going to be convenient? So this one packs neatly into a jar, dressing and all. When ready, just shake, remove the lid and heat up ( I like mine warm), or enjoy cold!

per serving you will need:

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato
3 tbsp chick peas (cooked or canned)
5 small mushrooms, quartered
1/2 small zucchini, diced into cubes
3-4 tsp roasted garlic dressing
2 cup mason jar

Directions

Prick sweet potato with a fork, wrap with 2 paper towels, drizzle some water on the paper towel for moisture and microwave until soft and cooked through. (Alternately use some leftover roasted sweet potato, peeled) Once cool enough to handle, peel and cube and set aside to cool completely.
Heat a teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet, add mushrooms to pan and quick sauté for 1 minute. Set aside to cool. Add zucchini to pan, and sauté for another minute, set aside to cool completely.
Layer ingredients into a 2 cup mason jar in the following order:

creamy roasted garlic dressing
sweet potato
chick peas
zucchini
mushrooms
lid

You can assemble this salad completely and store in your fridge for up to 4 days!

December 18, 2012

Sweet Potato and Tarragon Gnocchi

It’s been cold and rainy again and all I want to eat is soup, stew and gnocchi. So here another New World take on classic potato dumplings. They involve a little sticky work, but are so worth making. The tarragon really takes this former ‘poor people’s food’ from everyday to special occasion.They also freeze great, so make more than you need, freeze right on the sheet then store in zip top bags and cook from there when you’re ready. That way you could A) store them for a busy week night or B) make them ahead as a holiday side dish to serve with your Christmas dinner.

The dough is a bit sticky, so make sure you flour the work surface well

ready for the freezer!

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 egg
about 1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 sprigs French Tarragon, leaves only, chopped

They will look like little pillows 🙂

Directions

Heat oven to 375, poke sweet potato with a fork and roast on a cookie sheet until soft hen pricked with a knife, about 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the sweet potato.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats, set aside.
Set sweet potato aside until cool enough to handle, then peel and squish through a potato ricer into a bowl, let cool 10 more minutes (you want it to be cool to the point where the egg does not cook when you add it).
Stir in the salt, tarragon leaves and the egg, then gently incorporate the flour.
Set dough aside for 15 minutes to allow the flour to absorb some of the moisture.
Then flour your work surface well, and cut off a portion of dough the size of a baseball. Gently roll into a rope, about 1 1/2″ diameter, keeping your hands floured.
Using a knife, cut 1″ sections of dough from the rope and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all dough has been used up.
For eating right away: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook about 8-10 gnocchi at a time until they swim to the surface, skim out using a wire mesh strainer, drain and serve.
For use later: Freeze on baking sheets until gnocchi are firm, then transfer to zip top bags and store in the freezer until ready to use. Then bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook 5-6 gnocchi at a time, cooking less gnocchi at a time and making sure the water stays boiling, since the frozen dumplings will bring the water temperature down drastically and if the water isn’t hot enough, you risk having them fall apart.

Ideas for serving them:

with freshly grated Romano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil,
top with your favorite sauce,
bake in the oven topped with a little Parmesan cheese until slightly browned (highly recommend)
serve alongside roast chicken or game and don’t forget the side of cranberry or lingonberry jam!

December 14, 2012

Avocado, Sweet Potato & Corn Salad

What’s better than a healthy meal? A healthy meal that’s easy to make, tasty AND portable. Here’s another installment in our ‘lunch salads to go’ series. Assembled in a mason jar, layered so the dressing stays on the bottom until needed. Substantial enough to hold you over until dinner time, and when you mix the avocado with the citrus dressing first, the salad can be prepared ahead and will keep for 3 days in your fridge without turning brown.

Makes 1 two-cup jar

Ingredients

1 tsp minced shallot
1/2 avocado, cubed
1/3 cup sweet potato, cooked, cooled, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup sweet corn (from a ‘no salt added’ can)
2-3 radishes, sliced thinly
4 slices red, hot chili pepper (optional), diced
3-4 tbsp Citrus dressing

Directions

Toss shallots and avocado with the citrus dressing, then layer into the glass jar, followed by sweet potato, the corn, the hot pepper (if using) and finish with the sliced radish.
Store in the fridge until ready to use, then shake the jar until the dressing mixes throughout, use a fork, eat right out of the jar, or invert onto a plate.
Enjoy.

December 7, 2012

Cheesy Cornbread Muffins (gluten free)

We all know those people that won’t touch anything that says healthy in any of it’s conjugations, and since these days gluten free is in the news a lot, that get’s lumped into that same ‘healthy’ category and they won’t touch it. In their minds for some reason, healthy equals not tasty. But let’s face it, just because you have to adjust your diet, or want to change the way you eat, you do not have to go without and you certainly don’t have to deprive your self. You’re not going to last in your new healthy lifestyle, if you constantly feel that you are forced to live on dungeon food of moldy bread and water. But I digress, we were talking gluten free, which for some can be a healthy choice for others it is a must (due to various digestion and auto-immune response issues).

When people first transition from a SAD (Standard American Diet, funny how that works out) to a gluten free life, it can be confusing and disheartening. And let’s take kids for example, they often refuse things that taste different from what they are used to or have a different texture. And frankly some of those gluten free products out there taste just a little better than saw dust, and probably just as good for you. Not that I would know what saw dust tastes like, but I imagine it to be pretty close to that. But trust me you can live a full and healthy life without gluten, without having to go buy the saw dust bread that the grocery store carries or for that matter even set foot into that section of the store.

Yes, you may have to eat different things, but you certainly have a whole host of choices out there, especially if you are a bit more open minded about what you put in your mouth. For one, there are numerous other cuisines out there that do not rely as heavily on wheat and wheat products as the western diet does. In many Asian countries you could eat all day without running into gluten, many Mexican dishes are gluten free. Many dinners you make at home are already gluten free. And, as I always repeat, make it yourself and you control what goes in it. Some unexpected items have wheat derived gluten ingredients, some salad dressings for example, so read the labels or make it yourself. And if you make corn bread or corn muffins, you get to decide what flour and how much butter you will put in. Gluten free baking can be a bit tricky at first since gluten is what makes the bread have the characteristic holes, well to be exact the gluten forms a sort of ‘web’ that traps the gas and creates the holes. So gluten free flours just don’t do that. And the texture often suffers accordingly, which brings me back to the picky eaters… Well you’re in luck, you can now have corn bread to have with your chili! The texture when they come out of the oven is so light and airy I almost called them corn souffle muffins. Trust me, no one will be able to tell they are gluten free!

Ingredients

6 oz Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese) softened
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 cup potato flour ( or use your gluten free flour mix of choice)
1/4 cup tapioca flour ( or gluten free flour mix)
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup grated Mexican cheese mix or cheddar
1 or 2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Pre heat oven to 375ºF and prepare muffin tins (line with paper or grease well)
Stir the softened cream cheese until smooth, then add the sour cream, milk, egg and sugar and stir to combine.
Mix the dry ingredients, cornmeal through baking soda, add the salt then add everything to the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Stir until blended, adding a little more milk if dough is too thick.
Last mix in the cheese.
Fill your muffin cups (makes about 12 standard size) and bake in the pre heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and tester comes out clean.
Have them with campfire c hili , snowstorm venison chili or as snacks anytime

Oh and Remember this? I finished it! Finished and ready for gifting! On to new shores…

November 27, 2012

Sweet Potato Knöpfli (Spätzle)

So what if you would add sweet potato to color and nutrify (like my new word?) the standard Spätzle? Besides being pretty and orange you would also have added nutrition, right? Although once you tired them, you’re not going to care about any of that, they are good freshly out of the water or like shown here, reheated in a skillet to add some crunch the next day. As I was re creating these (when I first made them and promised to have them up on the blog soon, I apparently was so exited that I forgot wholly and totally to write down the recipe 🙁 Soooo, I got to re-create them, and doing so I was wondering if it is a tad strange that this German-speaking lady does not have any recipe’s for the original version up on the blog yet? Something so quintessential as Knöpfli! You may know the little dumplings as Spätzle, but where I am from they are Knöpfli, little buttons 🙂 After reminiscing about this, maybe I will put how to go about making the originals on my list of things to do…

Ingredients

I medium sweet potato
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/2 to 3/4 cups flour
pinch of salt

Directions

Bake the sweet potato in a 375º oven until cooked and soft throughout when tested with the tip of a knife. Let cool slightly then cut it open and scrape the flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork and set aside to cool some more. (Do NOT microwave the sweet potato, baking will help remove some of the moisture making the result much drier, if your dough is too soft, it won’t stick together when boiling)
Mix in the water, egg and salt and stir well to combine. Then add the flour, stirring gently starting with 1/2 cup. The resulting dough should be thick and only move slowly when you tilt the bowl. If necessary add the additional 1/4 cup of flour (This depends on the size of the sweet potato for one, but also on how humid or dry your kitchen is). Set aside for half an hour to let the dough rest.
Set a pot of water to a boil. Get out a small wooden cutting board and rinse it off with cold water. Scoop about 1 cup of the dough (it should be thick and blob like, not runny) onto the board, holding it slightly tilted over the boiling water, and using the back of a flat knife, ‘cut’ slivers of it and slide off the board into the water. The Knöpfli should be roughly 1/4″ wide by 2″ to 3″ long.* Leave them in the boiling water until they swim to the surface. Skim them out using a wire mesh strainer or slotted spoon. Set aside to drain. Repeat process with remaining dough.
Serve hot right away or heat some butter in a skillet and cook them until browned. (My favorite way)

*This is the old fashioned way of making them, you can also buy a special tool that allows you to make them much quicker and push the dough through what looks like a coarse grater.

Here with herbs in the dough and below after pan frying the next day

November 14, 2012

Harvest time or how to winterize your pantry

All the leaves are already past full color or already gone and I am enjoying the last couple of warm days ( presumably) until spring. It’s Fall and with Winter fastly approaching, I am going a bit into storage mode here. I guess yet another thing leftover in our system from long ago. But doesn’t the cold weather make you want to gather things too, stash them and store them up for the colder times coming? Winter IS coming. I feel like the guys from that HBO Series ‘game of thrones’ (I don’t have a TV, I got hooked on the books), if you’re watching that, you know the Starks of Winterfell, with their “winter is coming”. Crazy story, in that world they live in, the seasons can last a lifetime, but just imagine once the tide is turning and you are facing Winter, and you don’t know for how many years? Gosh, makes you depressed and want to hibernate just thinking of it! I sure am glad we got four seasons, neatly coming around once a year, or thereabouts. Lately one wonders sometime, no?

In the last couple of weeks I made a yummy soup with the last couple of tomatoes from the garden, you know the rock hard green ones I saved from the hard frost the other week, now they finally made it to yellow and red and usable 🙂
But here’s what really convinced me its fall and getting colder, my saffron crocuses are blooming. Some days five or six others four at a time. Each little flower grows only three stigmas, and you have to hand pick and then dry them. It takes 110,000–170,000 flowers or two football fields to gross one kilogram. No wonder this is the most expensive spice in the world! The average retail price is $1,000 per pound, or US$2,200 per kilogram. But boy is it awesome when you have that saffron risotto made with your very own hometown saffron! I don’t pluck the whole flower like in the picture below, I like having them bloom out there between all the fallen leaves.

Kashmiri woman harvesting saffron flowersPart of my little harvest: dried on the left, fresh on the right

Please be aware that the saffron crocus is NOT your common garden crocus which bloom in the spring, that one is poisonous…

Other than that I have been busy preserving things for the colder months. I got a dehydration. Yeah, I finally broke down and bought one. So now i can dry apple slices and more…
I made mummy dries cinnamon apple and dried pineapple. Great for hiking. Weights nothing and tastes great!

Pineapple dehydration is extremely useful when the pineapple isn’t as ripe as it looked at the store!

For the cinnamon apples, just slice thinly and sprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon before drying in the dehydrator in a single layer.

And I had to replenish my beans, as I ran out of black beans sometime before making the Santa Fe Chicken Soup and had to improvise with dark red kidney beans. Which by the way worked just fine 🙂

And of course I have been taking advantage of all the fall bounty in produce. With the shift to colder weather our bodies need different foods than in the summer. Cut back on cold salads, and reach for something warm, whether it’s a simple homemade vegetable soup, braised brussels sprouts or a creamy soup, you need something warming and sustaining. Orange is the color of the season and sweet potato & co. are calling my name!

I have been enjoying Pumpkin Crêpes, Pumpkin Cream Cheese stuffed French Toast, Apricot Pumpkin Muffins, Kabocha Chowder and these Sweet Potato Spätzle, recipe will be up in the next couple of days, so check back soon!

November 12, 2012

Beans and how I cook them

Soaking the beans in plenty of water overnight is essential

With making most things from scratch, the question sooner or later arises: What about beans? As I have mentioned before, I do cook my own beans and then package them rather than buying cans. It’s first of all cheaper, then it’s also better for the planet and most likely much healthier for you, not only due to the sodium content in most canned varieties but due to the materials used in the can lining that have come under more and more scrutiny lately. And if that does not have you convinced to cook dried beans, maybe the fact that they just taste so much better will! And it is really not all that time consuming if you are organized about it. Yes, it is easier if you have a pressure cooker, like the one I brought back with me from Switzerland. Mine is a Kuhn-Rikon Duromatic, kinda like this one, but any good quality pressure cooker would make your life easier, not just for beans (Do NOT get the cheapo ones with the wiggly-rocking-weight-thingy balanced on top, not worth it)

the next morning: after soaking

I usually cook a couple of pounds of beans in one day, depending on the size of your cooker (refer to the manufacturers guidelines) about a pound at a time. So yes, I will cook several batches, one after another and then store them in the freezer for an easy addition to soups and other meals. I know some resources say that you can cook the beans without soaking, or ‘quick soak’ them by letting them sit in boiling water, here’s my experience: You know all the things beans are supposed to do to you, the bad things why folks don’t want to eat beans? In my experience, the gentler you prepare the beans the less they cause you to have to forego your upcoming social appointments. 😉 That includes soaking them overnight, draining and rinsing them before putting them in the cooking pot and cooking over gentle heat. Yes, it takes a bit longer but the results are way worth it.

Trust me.

Have I ever led you astray? No? See!

Finished Product: Black eyed peas

Here’s the way I like to do it. You need:

1 lb dry beans, soaked overnight
water
snack sized zip top baggies (about 6-8 per pound)
1 or 2 gallon sized freezer bag
pen for labeling

For most beans: 1 pound dried beans = 2 cups dried = 4 – 5 cups cooked beans= 3-4 cans of beans!

Rinse the dried beans in cold water, then to soak overnight place in a good-sized bowl (the beans will swell and get bigger as they soak up the water) and cover with cold water. You want them covered by at least two inches of water.
In the morning drain and rinse the beans, then put them in the cooking pot of your choice
Option A: Regular pot is fine, just cover with plenty of water and bring to a boil then reduce and simmer until tender, can take 1-2 hours depending on the variety.
Options B (my preferred method): Pressure Cooker, (following manufacturers guidelines) For mine that means cover with about a finger’s width of fresh water, close the lid and place on the stove over medium heat. Slowly heat until the pressure valve gets up to the first red ring, turn heat to low and set your timer (*see below).
After releasing the pressure from the cooker by running cold water over it, open and drain the cooked beans in a colander in your sink until cool, then package in snack sized zip top bags, and store 6 to 8 baggies in a gallon sized bag labelled with the type of bean and the date before putting in the freezer.

*Some of my favorites are listed below; with the times that I have found produce perfectly cooked beans (I will update as I add more species and specifics)

All ready to freeze, packaged in portions ( I could probably have let them cool a little longer,a s you can see there is condensation in the bags)

And please understand that every pressure cooker is different, the beans could be fresher or older, so you do need to experiment a little. A lot of times I can tell by the smell of the steam escaping the pot if they still smell ‘green’ and need more cooking. I pre-soak all of these beans, unless otherwise stated. I also find that letting the pot stand off the heat for a while before releasing the pressure by running cold water over the outsides and the top keeps the beans nicer. NEVER EVER try to open a cooker that is still under pressure, this could be highly dangerous as the water still boils inside the cooker long after it’s been removed from the fire! Also too drastic of a pressure change and they tend to burst, same when you cook them at too high a pressure, so stick with the first red ring. This is not an activity to watch TV next to.

Type of bean: time at first red ring: standing time before releasing pressure:

Small Red: 4-5 minutes: 5 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Adzuki Beans: no soaking 5 minutes: 6 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Baby Lima: 5-7 minutes: 3 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Black Eyed Peas: 6-8 minutes: 4 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Cannellini Beans: 8 minutes: 4 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Black Beans: 9 minutes: 6 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Red Kidney Beans: 10-12 minutes: 6 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Pinto Beans: 10-12 minutes: 6 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top
Chick Peas: 10 minutes: 4 minutes: then run cold water over sides and top

Some tips:

*Buy beans at a place where they have a quick turnover. WHile they are dry and will keep a long time, quality will diminish over time, just like with anything else you eat. Buy your beans at a latin or indian grocer, folks that eat a lot of beans tend to not have them on the shelf as long.

* Don’t salt beans until they are cooked, or you are adding to the cooking time! (I usually forget in the end and just salt when using the beans)

*Do not mix beans from two packages bought at different times. Cooking time varies with how old and dry the beans are as well as by variety and a new bag plus one that just showed up in the back of your pantry could cook at different times leaving some beans hard and some mushy.

September 24, 2012December 16, 2017

Rosemary Black Pepper Socca

Socca, a delicious street food from the south of France, more exactly Nice (in Switzerland, Nizza as the city is known in italian) is something I just recently discovered. I know, right? not while travelling in France, mind you, but living on the good old East Coast of the US. Which just goes to show that good food knows no boundaries.

“La socca de Nice, ou socca caouda, est un des plats les plus populaires de Nice semblable à une grande crêpe mais à base de farine de pois chiches et cuite au feu de bois.
A l’origine, c’était le plat du pauvre, bon marché et consistante.”

Basically saying: Nice’s ‘Socca’ is one of the most popular dishes from that region, resembling a big crêpe but made from chickpea flour and cooked over wood fire. Originating as poor folk’s dish, cheap and filling

Today, it is as much casual as it can be sophisticated, and a crowd pleaser at any dinner invite or potluck. Plus since it is naturally gluten free and vegan, can be served to most anyone. Best of all it is super easy to make but tastes incredible! Use a cast iron skillet for best results but I have also come across folks making it in a pie dish, during my internet research. Traditionally it is made on a large copper disk, over very high heat and in a very hot oven. As with most street food (I was going to say any, but the Malaysian Roti Canai might be the exception to the rule) it is easy to prepare and therefore I figured must be a good candidate for outdoor cooking.

I have even had success making this directly on the camp fire (since traditionally it is cuite au feu de bois, I had to) while camping but there are no pictures to prove it, so in this day and age, it never happened, lol. The one I did manage to get pictures of was made on my camp stove. And maybe here would be a good spot to apologize for the quality of some of the pics in this post, it was quite dark when I took them. Though I have to say, my headlamp functioned quite well as a backup flash for my cell phone, no?

You can make this easily in the oven at home, but since I had a little weekend away at a campfire planned, I decided to hone my socca making skills on a real fire. Maybe not entirely traditional, since much thicker than usual, but entirely too yummy not to share 🙂 I might post a more traditional version at some later time, we’ll see, but for camp fire cooking, this is taking it out of the hot dogs and smores category that often comes to mind when hearing ‘camping’. To make things extra easy, combine the flour, salt and pepper in a zip top bag before leaving and all you have to do is add the oil, water and rosemary at cooking time!

Here shown with beef and red pepper kebabs, a match made in heaven!

Ingredients

1 cup chick pea flour*
1 cup water
1/2 onion diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

*chickpea flour can be found at many health food stores or the gluten free section of your grocery store. But the cheapest way is to find an Indian grocer and get it there, it’s called ‘Besan’

Directions

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a 8″ cast iron skillet*, cook the onions until soft, turn down the heat and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until starting to brown and caramelize. Set aside return the skillet to the heat, and keep heating on medium high.
Mix chick pea flour, water and 1 tsp salt, stirring with a whisk or fork until all lumps are gone. Set aside (you can make this and use it right away or set it aside for several hours, it’s all good)
Over high heat, in the same skillet, heat the remaining oil, then pour in the batter. After cooking for one minute, sprinkle the top evenly with the cooked onions and rosemary, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt, then cover with a lid until cooked through and the top is set about 5-7 minutes. Serve hot as a side to roasted meat or eat on its own.

* If you have a 10″ or larger skillet, the result will be thinner and take less time cooking.

The setting during the day…

September 14, 2012December 16, 2017

Bircher Müesli

You may know versions of it as ‘musli ‘, but this cereal based dish has its roots firmly planted in Switzerland. Dr. Bircher decided, at a time when everything was cooked due to germs, that there were benefits to real and raw foods.

Per my research, for those who care to dive a bit deeper: Dr. Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (or in german) (August 22, 1867, Aarau – January 24, 1939) was a Swiss physician and a pioneer in nutritional research. At his sanatorium in Zürich, a balanced diet of raw vegetables and fruit was used as a means to heal patients, contrary to the beliefs commonly held at the end of the 19th century.

Bircher-Benner changed the eating habits of the late 19th century. He believed eating raw and whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, grains and nuts was healthier than cooked, he also rejected the use of refined products such as white flour and white sugar. His ideas may not all have been correct, he believed solar energy stored in food (in a not strictly defined or explained way) was what made them better and not the quantity or quality of nutrients. His theory of life was based on harmony between people and nature. Some of his ideas originated from observing the daily life of shepherds in the Swiss Alps, who lived a simple and healthy life.

By now this recipe has as many variations as there are days in a week, multiplied by the number of people in Switzerland (my Dad says we Swiss people are born with the Bircher Müesli recipe attached to the umbilical cord 😉 this is my basic recipe and it’s variations.

Walking though the aisles in a grocery store, you will find commercially made musli mixes, including everything from dried fruit to chocolate chips. This is the commercially available basic Swiss version I found at the store the other day!

It’s quite a popular food these days, it seems to me. But here I am taking you back to the roots, the origins of where this all came from. (using my important voice)

And let’s face it, why waste money on prepackaged stuff when you can make a better and healthier-for-you version easily at home? No cooking required and easy to make, this recipe is very versatile and adapts through the seasons depending on your fridge or gardens content of fruits and berries.

A great summer meal, I love it anytime of day, but in Switzerland, it is not considered a breakfast food. It is eaten as alight lunch or dinner with a buttered slice of crusty bread. (We love our bread) …And sometimes some whipped cream on top…

I always put it up to my Dad being a foreigner, him never being super exited about Bircher Müesli, but now I am wondering if it is a guy thing. Let me explain. The other morning over breakfast, Nelson kept talking about ‘having some ‘Beatle Music’ and pssssshhhh totally over my ehad. Well, I figured it out Beatle Music = Bircher Müesli, hahaha. Of course I thought he meant ‘beetle music’ and was utterly confused, imagining a line of beetles tapping their little feet (or legs?) rhythmically, so sadly I was left with the impression that maybe he did not like my ‘Beatle Music’ turns out he does, it’s after all juts a better version of oatmeal, cold and with fruit!

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup rolled wheat, barley, millet, and/or rye flakes (you can use all oats instead)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 tablespoons raisins
2 cups milk
1 yogurt (optional)
1 apple
1 banana
1 1/2 cup mixed fruits and berries (plums, peaches, apples, pears, oranges, grapes, strawberries or even frozen blueberries, the possibilities are endless)

optional: you can also add chopped roasted hazelnuts, pieces of dried fruit or banana)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cereal flakes (or just the rolled oats), raisins, almonds and hazelnuts and 1 1/2 cups of the milk.
Grate an apple on the large holes of a grater, stir to combine.
Cover and let stand 1 hour or until the oats are softened.
Slice the banana, chop the peach and the berries (used in the picture are peach, plum, strawberry, banana and apple) or whatever other fruit you have on hand.
Uncover the bowl, stir in the yogurt (if using) and the rest of the milk (You can add more if it looks dry) then add all the fruit, gently mix so one person doesn’t get all the fruit and serve.
Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 2 or 3 days

Healthy Breakfast!