BOB's BLOG KITCHEN NOTEBOOK Vol. 3 Saturday 13 September 2025

Rob Kelly
Sep 27
4 min read

From Test to Table: Our Autumn House Toasted Muesli

There's something deeply satisfying about the ritual of making toasted muesli. The gentle stirring, the watchful waiting as oats slowly golden in the oven, the intoxicating aroma that fills every corner of the house. It's a labour of love that transforms simple ingredients into something magical – a breakfast that doesn't just nourish the body but feeds the soul.

A Legacy Lives On

Our toasted muesli recipe has quite the pedigree. It's based on the legendary original from Auckland's Atomic Cafe in Ponsonby – a place that understood long before it was trendy that breakfast could be both wholesome and utterly delicious. When I first discovered this recipe years ago, it was like finding buried treasure in my own kitchen.

The beauty of the Atomic Cafe's approach wasn't just in the ingredients (though they were perfectly chosen), but in the philosophy: that taking time to properly toast and blend your muesli creates something far superior to anything you can buy off a shelf. It's the difference between fast food and slow food, between convenience and craft.

The Home Batch Process: A Kitchen Adventure

Making this muesli at home has become one of my favourite weekend projects. I love preparing big batches – partly because the recipe scales beautifully, but mostly because it disappears so quickly once family and friends discover there's a fresh batch in the pantry.

The process itself is wonderfully meditative. You start with three cups of rolled oats and two cups of whole hulled oats, creating that perfect textural foundation. The bran adds earthiness, while sunflower seeds and pumpkin kernels bring a satisfying crunch that, I must warn you, provides quite the workout for your jaw muscles! It's breakfast and exercise rolled into one.

The magic happens when everything meets the heat. As the mixture slowly toasts in a 250°C oven, the kitchen fills with the most incredible aroma – nutty, warm, and promising. The almonds and sesame seeds release their oils, the coconut begins to caramelize ever so slightly, and the honey creates those golden, clustered moments we all fight over in the bowl.

But here's where patience becomes your best friend. This isn't a recipe you can rush. The stirring, the checking, the careful monitoring as everything transforms from raw ingredients into golden, fragrant clusters – it all takes time. And honestly, that's part of the joy.

The Morning Ritual

There's something particularly wonderful about autumn mornings with this muesli. As the weather turns cooler and the light becomes softer, sitting down with a bowl of homemade toasted muesli and a proper cup of coffee feels like the perfect way to start the day. The combination of textures – the tender oats, the crunchy nuts and seeds, the chewy fruit – creates a symphony in your mouth that no commercial muesli can match.

And yes, it is quite the jaw workout! But that's part of its charm. In our world of increasingly processed, soft foods, there's something deeply satisfying about breakfast that requires a bit of effort. It slows you down, makes you present, turns eating into a mindful act rather than mindless consumption.

Sharing the Love: The Recipe

Because good things are meant to be shared, here's the recipe for you to try at home:

Atomic Toasted Muesli

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole hulled oats
1½ cups bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
¾ cup pumpkin kernels
1 cup raw peanuts
½ cup almonds
¼ cup sesame seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
¾ cup cashew nuts
½ cup sunflower or vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup raisins
½ cup prunes, diced
½ cup dried apricots, sliced
½ cup dates or figs, sliced

Method: Heat oven to 250°C. In a large baking dish, combine the rolled and whole oats, bran, sunflower seeds, pumpkin kernels, peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds, coconut, and cashew nuts. Stir and mix with your hands to combine well.

Drizzle over the oil, honey, and vanilla essence, then mix thoroughly until everything is well coated. Spread evenly in the baking dish and bake, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant (approximately 30-45 minutes).

Remove from oven and stir in the dried fruit while still warm. Allow to cool completely before storing in airtight containers.

The Next Chapter: Granola Evolution

While this homemade version will always hold a special place in my heart (and pantry), we've been working on something equally special for our cafes. Our new improved recipe – available now at Barnaby & Boo's and Tried & True – takes all the lessons learned from years of making this Atomic muesli and elevates them further.

This isn't just about convenience (though being able to enjoy it fresh at the cafe or take it home is pretty wonderful). It's about refinement, about taking that original inspiration and crafting something that honours the tradition while embracing innovation. The result maintains all the satisfying crunch and complex flavours of the original, but with subtle improvements that come from years of experimentation and feedback from our community of breakfast lovers.

Whether you're settling in for a leisurely morning at one of our cafes or grabbing a container to enjoy at home, this granola represents the best of both worlds – the craft and care of homemade, with the consistency and convenience of professional preparation.

The Lasting Appeal

What I love most about this recipe is how it connects us to the simple pleasure of good food made with care. In a world of instant everything, taking time to toast oats, to wait for honey to caramelize, to let flavours develop, feels like a small act of rebellion.

So whether you're inspired to fire up your oven and make a batch from scratch this weekend, or you'd prefer to leave the hard work to us and simply enjoy the results with your morning coffee, know that you're participating in something special. You're choosing craft over convenience, quality over quick, story over generic.

And trust me, your jaw muscles will thank you for the workout.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Rob & the Tried & True Team