Bill’s Bircher Muesli

Weekends are a great opportunity to break away from the run of the mill week day breakfast. I have made Bill Granger’s Bircher Muesli  a few times and I think it is delicious!

On Saturday we took another trip out to Hewitts Farm for some end of season pick your own. Our stash included 2 big bags of apples (there were about 10 varieties available), lots of beetroot, a cabbage, sweetcorn & a couple of small heads of brocolli. Plus we raided the farm shop for 3 more Crown Prince Pumpkins, small squashes, a celeriac, potatoes, carrots & turnips. Think we are set for the week!!

Our very own Cabbage Patch Kid!

When we got home James put the juicer to work and about 25 apples later we had 1.5 litres of apple juice. Enough for the Bircher Muesli and more for the fridge. With our last batch I took some juice and blended with some mango and then poured them into ice block moulds – Izzy loves them. We can even get away with bribing her with them!

So back to Bill’s Bircher- you must try it – so yummy!

Bircher Muesli with Pear & Blueberries (courtesy of Bill Granger – Bill’s Food)

Ingredients:-

200g rolled oats or mixed rolled oats, barley & rye

375ml pear juice (I used apple)

2 pears, skin left on and grated (I used 1 pear & 1 apple)

125g plain yoghurt

4 Tbsp toasted chopped almonds (would no doubt add more delciousness but I didn’t have any to hand)

80g blueberries (I used a mix of raspberries, blueberries & blackberries)

Put the rolled oats, barley & rye in a bowl with the pear juice and leave to soak for 1 hour, or overnight, in the fridge. Add the grated pear and yoghurt and mix well. Spoon the muesli into serving bowls and top each each with toasted almonds & blueberries. Serves 4.

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Muffins are magnificent!

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for our family and I am finding being in the kitchen so therapeutic and as strange as it may sound, a real place of healing for me. Can’t be a bad thing huh? So this may explain the blogging splurge!!

You have to love Saturday mornings – what’s not to love! This morning was a ‘Mummy & Me’ morning as Daddy had a 6am tee off and so we got up and decided to make muffins and then take them to the park to eat after having a scoot!

Izzy's job!

Triple (or Double, in this case!) Berry Muffins (courtesy of Bill Granger – Simply Bill)

Ingredients:-

120g unsalted butter, at room temperature

225g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons  natural vanilla extract

170 ml sour cream

210g self raising flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

sea salt

150g mixed berried (I only used blueberries & raspberries)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line twelve 125ml muffin holes with paper muffin cases.

Cream together the butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla and sour cream and mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt and mix until almost combined. Add the berries and gently fold through the mixture. Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes until golden.

These are delicious muffins – over the course of the day Izzy has eaten way too many!! We caught her up at the table half way through another one having helped herself. Cheeky girl!

In the Park

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Upside-down plum cake

I had never cooked a cake in this way – I had to re-read the recipe a number of times to make sure I really was supposed to cook it in a frying pan – sounded a bit strange! Easy to make and the resulting cake is moist and scrumptious. It is a real treat – the sort of cake you need to eat with a fork and a nice hot cup of tea. Perfect!

Upside-down plum cake (courtesy of Bill Granger – ‘Simply Bill’)

Ingredients:-

850g plums

50g unsalted butter, softened

115g caster sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:

100g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

155g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat he oven to 180C. USe a sharp knife to slice the cheeks from the plums and discard the stones. To make the caramel, melt the butter in an ovenproof 28cm frying pan over low heat. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until dissolved. increase the heat and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until golden and caramelized. Transfer the plums to the pan and cook gently for 2 mins.

To make the cake, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt over the mixture and beat until smooth. Beat the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff. Fold into the mixture with a metal spoon. Spoon over the plums in the pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 40 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to rest for a minute before carefully turning out and serving with cream or creme fraiche.

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