Just a little mention that this was scheduled to go out yesterday when it was written (my Tuesday) but got pushed back due to last minute realization of pancake day and my urgent need to pass on my realization. x wt….

Hello sweet early crocuses and snowdrops…

~

We had an extended weekend with friends who stayed over Sunday night and turned our Monday into an extended Sunday… love that. So is today really Tuesday? Doesn’t feel like it because Chloe is on winter break for a week and O is on his semester break, it’s 9.30am and I’m writing from bed with lemon scones, kumquat marmalade and tea that O just brought down. Don’t hate me.

I did truly see signs of early spring yesterday as we walked down to the river with our friends. The sun shone and the air was crisp with a slight hint of warmth. Well maybe the warm part was my imagination but clearly it was sunny. This is the beach we picnic and play frisbee on. There are these incredible chunks of ice that have drifted up onto the rocks and beaches in the last couple weeks. Today however, out my window sits a light snow on the ground with those gray snow clouds hovering like a thin blanket. Still winter. This makes me want to stay in bed.

We had a Sunday breakfast on Monday of traditional meat and cheese and brötchen, but our friend Shawn and his mum are Canadian, so I added a little quiche using my leftover crust from last week’s Deep Dish Quiche and lemon scones and yogurt. I also had a fresh batch of meusli which was my focus for today… but you know with the problem of my short attention span, sometimes, well often, I get sidetracked. On that note… umm I forgot what i was going to say. (Maybe something like  IT WAS PANCAKE DAY)

O could live on meusli. I make 2 big jars about every 2-3 weeks depending on if I’m in low carb mode. We always have it with fresh seasonal fruit,  occasionally with off season 20 cent a piece raspberries and usually with bananas that remain cheap year round. Why is that? Really somebody tell me. I prefer fruit on the bottom, then yogurt (which is gorgeous in Germany) topped with some meusli. O does fruit, muesli and milk.

What is the difference you ask between granola and meusli? Or maybe you didn’t because you already know or (gulp) don’t care….well I’ll tell you anyhow…or LiveStrong.com will. Basically, muesli is raw grains with no added fat and granola is usually cooked with oil and honey, sometimes sugar, and is chunkier. We had a great granola recipe at Chez Chloe cafe that I’ll pull out this summer. I’m hoping to go through our whole menu when we are on Orcas Island from end of June till beginning of August. I’ve also done raw granola using soaked grains, dates, nuts and seeds and a dehydrator (another time).

SOOO… my meusli is also toasted because I like it a little crunchy and I focus on seeds but feel free to add nuts. Meusli or granola is something it would be hard to fail at. I’m putting a recipe here but honestly when I make it, I just look at it, stir it around a little with my hand and see if it “looks” proportional. You can also cut the recipe in half and play with the sweetness before you commit to a big batch too.

Here’s what I start with. I use all bio (organic) for this. Wendy’s Meusli… crunchy – print recipe here

Grains, seeds, dried fruits… a vision of health… gets the old bowels talking just looking at this!

warm honey
lightly cooked/toasted on a sheet of parchment paper at 275-300°

toast, let cool then add the dried fruit and cornflakes

appreciate the nutrition, freshness, beauty of contrasting textures…. and the money you’ve saved 🙂

And a few more shots of early spring…

Last but not least… did anybody else think today’s date was fantastic – 2.22.12. I think I’m going to like all the even months of this year. My birthday will be 4.8.12. cool.