A new breakfast, hold on to your hats for this one...

So, stop press.  This is recipe is called 'a new breakfast', is found on pages 6 and 7 of the book and, wait for it, drum roll please...it is meant to be cooked on January 6 and it is January 6!! No rule breaking, bending, stretching or anything (although see below!).

Now, we have that cleared up, I am not sure I actually want to cook this.  First, I have a horrible cough and cold and am still in pyjamas sipping lemsip and second, it is bacon in Granola, I know, right?! Part of me can hear Peter Kay's voice in my head, 'cheese, in cake, not in my lifetime...'  I never thought I would see they day but then, hang on a minute...saltiness with sweetness.  My juices start to flow, think salted caramel (yum), crisps and chocolate (weird but yum), lots of asian inspired food and bacon with waffles, fruit and maple syrup, perhaps he is on to something here.

So, this is what I am aiming for:

An ingredient challenge on this one as I could not get hemp seeds.  Maybe I could have found them in a health food shop but I am not going near one of those places in January.  It will be full of new year resolution makers who will be sat on their sofas eating chocolate by the end of the week and wondering if gin would count as breaking dry January.  Instead I am using a mix of sunflower, pumpkin sesame and linseed (other brands available), the added health benefits of which are clearly going to undo the last month's worth of indulgence and cure this cold.

So, thankfully this is super easy to cook, basically shoving in a pan at various stages.  The smells are amazing and during cooking it almost reminds me of the base for a stuffing mix:

So, on to the finished article.  For this I did actually serve with half fat creme fraiche, fancying something lighter for my breakfast cereal.  Also I am not a huge fan of creme fraiche on its own and not cooked into something.  So here's mine up against Nigel's:

Nigel clearly has nicer earthenware than I do but I think my spoons are prettier.  Kitchenware envy aside, onto the granola, well it was delicious!  Salty, sweet, earthy, softly crunchy nuts and seeds, soft cranberries and I think what I most liked about it was the fact it was warm.  Granola is usually a cold crunchy, super sweet affair that leaves you feeling like you are about to lose a filling, either through sheer force or your teeth rotting from the sugar.  This is none of those things.

I am a convert and I have saved a batch for my husband's breakfast tomorrow (will hopefully remember to let you know how it keeps!).  Right, now back to bed for me...

JanieCooksNigel

6/1/16