bake {muesli}

my mum used to always make homemade muesli.
i think it's one of the best ever smells of my childhood. oats, nuts, grains - all toasting away with a dose of brown sugar for a bit of sweetness. i LOVED it when she made muesli.

i love muesli and i love making it myself. i have to admit i don't really make it as much as i would like, but when i do it makes me feel really wholesome.

it's very simple. you only need a few ingredients and you can add anything you wish. i start with putting the following into a large bowl:

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup bran flakes
1/2 cup of wheatgerm (the mineral rich part of the wheat kernel), i say a small bit because i don't always like the flavour to overwhelm
then i add; shredded coconut, flaked almonds, ground almonds, sesame seeds, any nuts if i have them around (peanuts or cashews are my fav) and chopped dates and sometimes i usually put a little amount of ground vanilla pods through it too.
i then melt 100g butter and combine it with my favourite honey (Katikati's finest) and pour it over until every thing is coated and well mixed. the amount of honey is up to your sweet tooth - usually most people don't want much as the dates and sultanas give a lot of sweetness to the muesli.

the oven is set to 150deg C and i tip the mix into a baking tray and lightly toast the muesli until its golden. i have to keep checking every 10mins to mix it up and make sure its an even toast.

afterwards i add sultanas because they usually catch and burn when i toast them so now i just leave them till last!

voilà! homemade muesli...its very easy and very yummy!

photo {my week}

just a few favourites from this week

 
1. cup a soup and feijoas go really well together
2. my favourite honey (which went into my homemade muesli - post on that to come)
3. i'm a biscuit freak. I'm a chocolate biscuit freak always.
4. my $4 leather op shop boots from last winter aren't coming off my feet. I looooove them so much. they may need a polish.
5. the autumn light through the trees is magical these days.
6. this kid runs everywhere. one of my favourite things ever is watching him run with these little skips in between. he's not got a care in the world really.
7. after school reunions. they actually ran to each other for a hug.

bake {raspberry & yogurt loaf}

this is delicious.

easy.

light.

perfect on a cool late autumn afternoon. i sat in a sunny spot in the lounge with the sun on my back and the fire going (yes we've started having fires already), read the paper and smelled this baking in my oven. one of those ahhhh moments where everything was just right (ignoring the school holiday induced flotsam around me).

this loaf is based on a donna hay recipe which used blueberries but instead i've swapped for raspberries. i'm sure this recipe would suit any fruit though, and right now i'm thinking the last of the seasons feijoa's would go very nicely.

150g butter
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
150g raspberries (I used frozen)

melt butter, add sugar, eggs, zest, vanilla and yogurt and mix well. sift flour into the mix and stir well. fold through the berries carefully and spoon into lined loaf tin.
bake at 160 deg C for 60-70 minutes or insert a skewer and if it comes out clean its done.

cool, slice and serve, preferably with a nice hot mug of tea. these days are shorter and cooler. i've been watching the pukekos snatch the persimmons off the tree outside our lounge, cheeky things will eat anything they see.