Homemade cereal puts a special spin on breakfast
I don't love breakfast. Never have. But as moms all over the world recite: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
I know I need to eat breakfast to jump-start my metabolism and fight waistline bulge, and my default is a bowl of oatmeal. When I got bored with my oatmeal the other day, I decided to make Alicia's recipe for Nutty Muesli. It's similar to oatmeal but decidedly different, with whole grains, nuts and fresh fruit as essential components.
A Swiss doctor named Maximilian Bircher-Benner invented muesli around 1900 for his hospital patients as an essential part of therapy. The original recipe called for lots of fruit, while supermarket brands usually contain mostly grains. Alicia's homemade version is versatile. The cereal is wonderful served cold, topped with milk, or soaked overnight in yogurt or milk, as Europeans usually do. Alicia likes to heat the moist, soaked muesli for a minute or so in the microwave to make a hot cereal, then top with fresh fruit.
Alicia served her Nutty Muesli when I visited her home in Raleigh, N.C., recently, and as we basked in the warm glow of food and friendship, I realized anew how wonderful breakfast could be.
Suggested menu: Nutty Muesli with plain or fruit yogurt and fresh berries.
• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross have been writing "Desperation Dinners!" for more than a decade. Write them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. More at the Desperation Dinners Web site, kitchenscoop.com.
<div class="infoBox">
<h1>More Coverage</h1>
<div class="infoBoxContent">
<div class="infoArea">
<h2>Recipe</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=371787">Nutty Muesli</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>