… it’s off to work I go.

For, oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a brand new, shiny job - starting today. A new job with new people. Hope they’re going to be nice to the new girl in her new suit

Of course, as every blogger knows, there’s nothing so irritating as real life* – it gets in the way of the truly important stuff like writing up insightful, witty posts, surfing the net for hours on end and leaving pithy comments on other blogs. A job is going to take out, oooooooh, at least seven or eight hours of perfectly good internet time every day. There could be withdrawal symptoms – although I suspect they’re going to keep me too busy to notice.

However, I’m determined to keep up the cooking and the blogging – it’s far too much fun to give up now. But if there’s a big gap between one post and the next, it’s because I’m fast asleep on a mountain of laundry, a piece of toast in one hand and a spreadsheet in the other, trying to juggle that mythical state of being known as ’the life/work balance’. Though everyone else seems to manage it, so it shouldn’t be too bad (famous last words). Right?

On the plus side, I have a whole new set of people to inflict my baking on…

Naturally, I need something to lure me out of the bed in the morning (it’s been a loooooooong eight months of unemployment), so here’s what I’ll be eating for breakfast over the next week to break myself in gently to the new routine:

Cranberry and pistachio toasted muesli from the Donna Hay magazine, issue 34

Serves 4

You’ll need:

60g unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
250g rolled oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/gas mark 3.

2. Place the butter and honey in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until the butter is melted.

3. Place the oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl, pour over the butter mixture and toss well to combine.

4. Spread evenly over the base of a baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Stir and bake for a further five to 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden.

5. Allow to cool and stir through the cranberries, pumpkin seeds and pistachios.

6. Serve with milk and yogurt. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.

Cook’s notes

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of coconut, so I reduced it a little bit and upped the cranberries/pistachios instead.

*The other thing we all know is not to blog about work or it will get us slung out the door. Let’s just say I think it’s going to be hard work but fun