"One day a few years back, back in the gourmet section, actually the gourmet oatmeal section, if you can believe it, was some 5-grain oatmeal! Hey, I said to myself, that’s on the right road to muesli!
(no sample, I ate it all!)
Muesli Recipe #4:Start with a base layer of Cheerios in your breakfast bowl.
Then add a layer of Old Wessex 5 Grain Cereal.
If you have some, put on a thin layer of Oat Bran.
Then add another layer of with Cheerios.
Top off with raisins and wheat germ.
Add milk, let is soak up for a couple of minutes, and stir lightly. Then eat!
Old Wessex 5 Grain is really a fancy oatmeal, so it’s supposed to be cooked like oatmeal. But we’re talkin’ muesli here, so skip the cookin’! Sorry about the missing sample in the picture above (I used all the 5 Grain but saved the box just so you could see it here), but basically it looks like oatmeal, heavy on the oats, with a few other flakes and grains mixed in.
Fortunately, you GrandMom discovered a good Oat Bran! More about that in a minute!
But first, here’s the wheat germ:
And I’m sure you recognize the raisins:
Some people call raisins “empty calories” … a bit light on nutritional values. Fine. So remember to use fresh fruit whenever you can. But raisins may not be all that bad; after all, some great claims have been made for grape skins, so perhaps their day will come.
Now back to oat bran. If you can’t get good oat bran, the mix can get a bit weird tasting. Yeah, even for me! Unfortunately, a weird box of oat bran seems to last forever.
Fortunately, as I said earlier, a couple of years ago, your GrandMom put me on to a good source for Oat Bran cereal. I think it’s really supposed to be served hot, cooked like oatmeal. Whatever. Anyway, it’s a long way from Pablim and gummy oat bran. We’re talkin’ adult oat bran here! Clears out them old arteries really good. And this Hodgson Mill Oat Bran is mighty fine tastin’ and crunchy too! If we can get out here in the sticks, you can get it too, no problem. Try some!
Muesli Recipe #5:
This is definitely a step up. Layer Cheerios, Hodgson Mills Oat Bran, Old Wessex 5 Grain, and more Cheerios. Kick it up a notch with some raisins and a couple of teaspoons of wheat germ.
Now we’re getting’ a hint of muesli!
So that’s been my home-made cheap-o imitation muesli for the past few years. Much improved from the gummy ol’ oat bran, but, oh, still what a long way from the real Familia!
Oh, yeah! That bring me back to what I discovered in the grocery store just recently … right next to the Hodgson Mill’s Oat Bran!
You got it! Made-In-American Muesli! No more shipping grain to Switzerland and back! Low carbon footprint! Heck, it’s just pain patriotic, even if it ain’t quite miserly! Easy to prepare! Mighty tasty too!
Muesli Recipe #6:
Get that Hodgson Mills Muesli! Of course, I dress mine up with Cheerios (layered below and above), Hodgson Mills Oat Bran, wheat germ, and raisins.
Feel free to experiment! Be sure to check out some fresh fruits! Remember to try yogurt instead of milk, too!
And that bring us to another variant. Hodgson Mills has another goody:
A base layer of Cheerios
Or Multi Grain
Then a layer of Hodgson Mills Muesli
Now you’re ready to add milk, go fetch the morning paper or pour a glass of milk and (another glass of) orange juice, slice up some fresh fruit, and then: ENJOY!
• • • •
Now, that was an awful lot of work to get down to Muesli Recipe #6! And you may think that that is the Muesli Recipe for Talia!
But, NO, that would be too easy! How is that supposed to compete with farm-fresh eggs from the back-yard chickens?? And sausages, bacon, and pancakes, not to mention all the other great breakfast goodies on Talia’s Table??
No, this long, long personal family oral history of muesli, that really should have remained hidden from the light of day, is just a starting point. Hopefully there’s something that can be learned from all my muesli mistakes! If mere muesli can be such a challenge for so many years, just think of the possibilities for all the other foods – the foods we know and love and all the foods we haven’t tried and all the foods around the world that we haven’t even heard of yet! Now there’s food for thought!
O ahead! Try out Muesli Recipe #6! But keep on going! Experiment with it! Add something new! Substitute this for that and that for this! Try some new combinations! Think what might be good to try! Was there something really good in another recipe that might be worth trying here? Or the other way around?
For some folks, a trip is not just getting to the destination, but the journey itself. So have fun traveling all around the World of Food. Have fun exploring the by-ways, the less traveled roads, and the trekking trails! Keep looking for great foods, new foods, healthy foods, yummy foods!
Keep some notes on your experiments and food travels! And be sure to keep us posted on your favorite dishes! I bet they’ll be a lot better than any muesli I ever mixed up!
Happy Spring! Happy Cooking! And Good Eats!
Uncle John"
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