Tropical Muesli

I am a firm believer in local food. I think that most of the time, the best foods to sustain our bodies in a given environment are those that grow in that same environment. Native societies that eat a "native" diet are often far healthier than those who eat a "Western" diet. I try, therefore, to make a large part of our diet that food which grows in the local environment.

We recently moved to the tropics, and therefore our diet has changed quite a bit from what we ate in the mountains of Colorado. This is partly because of my beliefs about eating local food, and partly because local food is usually cheaper! Therefore, we have been eating far more fruits and vegetables than we did in the states. It is fun, because these tropical fruits are a treat for us -- they are so expensive in the States, and so very cheap here! We currently have a large stalk of bananas hanging on our porch, from a tree in my parents' yard nearby. 

As you can see from the couple of other "granola" recipes on my blog, I really like granola, or muesli. I'm not perfectly sure what the difference between the two is-- I think that granola tends to be more "clumpy" and eaten as a trail mix, and muesli tends to be more "crumbly" and eaten with milk like cereal. But I'm not sure. Since I love granola so much, it only seemed right that I would figure out how to make a version here with a more "tropical" feel.  What I grew up calling "muesli" was more tropical in nature (since I lived in Fiji), and so that is what it felt like I should call this particular recipe. 

I know some of the people who read my blog do not live in the same environment that I do, but perhaps you can get ideas on how to use things that grow in your area. If nothing else, try making this tropical muesli on a day when you just would much rather be on some South Pacific island than wherever you are, and you might just feel a little closer to the warm tropical air! 

Tropical Muesli 

1 bag/ 750g rolled oats

1/2 c vegetable oil

1c coconut oil

1 c sugar

2 c shaved coconut

1 c dried bananas (optional)

1 c dried pineapple (optional)

Mix oils and sugar together in a bowl, then pour mixture over oats. Stir until oats are coated. 

Toast coconut lightly on stove (very lightly, it will cook more later), and stir into oats. 

Spread oat mixture out on cookie sheets about 1/2 inch thick, and bake at about 350F for about 30 minutes or until coconut is golden brown (oats will not darken much). 

Mix in dried fruit. Also really good with fresh fruit piled liberally on top. 

Serve with yoghurt or milk or just eat by the handful. =]

Strawberry- Grapefruit Breakfast Crumble

When I was growing up, my mom used to make baked grapefruit for breakfast. She would halve the grapefruit, sprinkle the halves with brown sugar, and bake them until the brown sugar was crusty, the grapefruit was warm and sweet and juicy, and it was DELICIOUS. I make baked grapefruit for breakfast fairly often. The burned fingers and juice EVERYWHERE is totally worth the yumminess. But this Sunday, I just wasn't in the mood for wrestling with a hot grapefruit for my breakfast. So I decided to do something a little different.

I searched my fridge and came up with strawberries and grapefruits. I searched my counter-top and came up with multi-grain granola. And I decided I could make something work here. The result was wonderful! Not very sweet at all (since it has no sugar in it, just a bit of honey), the warm fruit gave this a tart-sweetness that was very refreshing and lovely for a summer Sunday morning breakfast. My husband poured cream over his... and I did too, on my second helping, because it looked really good.

That does kind of negate the healthy factor, but oh is it good! Besides, cream is not refined sugar... perhaps it does have fat and calories, but it is at least not super-processed! =D

 I sliced my strawberries and grapefruit into fairly large chunks. (I sliced those grapefruit slices into quarters after the picture)

I tossed them with some spices (cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg) and a little flour and honey.

I spread them in a pan, and topped them with butter and granola.
And then I baked them for just long enough to melt the butter and soften the fruit (about 15 minutes).
Super easy, super yummy breakfast! So good with cream, or if you want to be a little healthier, yogurt.

Strawberry-Grapefruit Breakfast Crumble (printable recipe)

1/2 lb strawberries, thickly sliced
1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1Tb honey
2 Tb whole wheat flour (or regular flour)
3Tb butter
1c multi-grain granola (or any other granola, or mix of oats, nuts, seeds, etc)

Preheat oven to 400F (205C).
Toss fruit with spices, honey, and flour.
Cut butter up into small pieces and mix with granola, until mixture is crumbly.
Spread fruit out in pie pan (or small casserole dish).
Spread granola mixture over top of the fruit.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until butter is melted and fruit is soft.
Serve with cream or yogurt for extra yum.

Chai Spice Granola

This is the confusing time of year. The time of year where one day feels like fall, bordering on winter, and then the next day feels like Oklahoma didn't get the memo that it doesn't lie directly on the equator. You never know if the next day you need to wear a sundress or a scarf. It's weird. Weird Oklahoma.

On a recent fall-ish sort of day, I decided to make granola. But you know me... I get bored easily. Boring old same-same granola didn't sound like any fun to me. So I thought I'd try something different. The result was delightful. Crunchy, crispy, clumpy granola with a spicy bite to it. Sooo good with homemade yoghurt. Just ask my mom. She tried some.

It literally tastes like chai tea.... in granola form.
Yeah.
Awesome.
So awesome you want to make yourself right now, right?
Ok, ok, stop begging. I'll give you the recipe.

 

Keep in mind that this is granola, and therefore, things don't have to be exactly like in my recipe. If you want walnuts, then add walnuts. If you don't want/have sesame seeds, don't add them. Anything that is crunchy and that you want in your granola, then by all means, add it in.  Oats are kind of important though. Don't leave out the oats.

By this time, the house smells really good. Really, really good. By the time the granola is finally done, I want to eat it all
all
all.

Chai Granola (print recipe)

Ingredients:
4c oats
1c almonds
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 c vegetable oil
4 Tbsp sesame oil (or just more vegetable oil)
1/4 c honey
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp vanilla

1/2c raisins

Mix the ingredients from oats to pepper in a large mixing bowl. Remember that you are in charge here, if you want more or less of anything, go for it. I like extra ginger and pepper, it makes the granola more spicy. I also have a real hard time not adding more cinnamon and nutmeg. I like spiciness in my granola. Pretty much, I just think of the oats as the things which hold the yummy spices. If I could make granola just out of spices, I probably would.

In a small sauce pan, mix the oils, honey, and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for a little while, whisking constantly, until it is all frothy. It will make this bubbly froth stuff. That's when you add the vanilla. Then pour the frothy stuff all over the dry mix, and stir the two together really well. Mix, mix, mix, until all the oats have that yummy sweet honey stuff on them.

Spread the granola out on a cookie sheet, no more than 1/4- 1/2 inch thick. Bake this in the oven at 300F for about 15 minutes, or until it looks golden brown.

Take out the cookie sheet and set it out to cool. Do not mix granola up at this point unless you do not want clumpy granola. But I like clumpy granola. Then, when it is dry (it will be hard), scrape it up off the cookie sheet with a spatula, break it into the size of clumps you want, and add the raisins. The reason I add the raisins now is because I have had too many bad experiences with the raising burning into little charcoal balls in the oven long before the rest of the granola is crispy.

Pour all of your granola into a cute jar. Seriously, if you are going to cook you really need a bunch of cute jars. It's important. Go buy them at thrift stores for fifty cents apiece. Or ask your mother-in-law to get them at garage sales for you. That works for me.