When we had our own business, the responsibility of the banking used to go to me. Visiting the bank hasn’t been fun since I was eight and got a green plastic dragon for a money box and I dreaded it and would stand in the queue and pray that I wouldn’t get one lady in particular. She used to delight in being pedantic, denying anyone their wishes and just being very smug and unpleasant. She was fierce looking with mad eyes and I overheard one customer in the queue call her “muesli face” to another as she had pock marked skin. To me she really looked more like the clown from IT.
Then I reached the counter. “Oh hellooooo” she said, a smirk curling unpleasantly in the corner of her mouth. And then she proceeded to keep me there for 45 minutes while she checked every single thing with her manager who admittedly looked like he was going to throttle her. Every time she came back I would think that we would be finished but that was just a chance for her to be condescending and generally unpleasant between consultations with her manager.
I finally learned to offer the next customer my spot at the front of the queue whenever I was next in line and it was her turn. One day I was at the bank when a customer stood in front of her trying to do the very same transactions that I had. “Good luck” I mumbled under my breath. But the customer had other ideas. “What’s that on your face?” she said loudly to the teller. “Your make up looks strange” she said to the teller. The teller hurried her along and the customer was back through the doors in about 2 minutes flat. Who knew that you just had to be rude to get good service from her? 
I don’t see her any more but I do think of how glad I am that I don’t have to see her any more. And unfortunately, I think of her when I eat muesli – which is probably why I don’t eat it enough. I went through a phase of buying granola clusters until I realised how easy they were to make. The secret ingredient is egg whites which bind the oats together and make them crispy when baked. These are wonderfully addictive and I eat them dry as a mid morning or late night snack while working. They take about 5 minutes to prepare and the recipe makes a large batch of nutty, crunchy, oaty clusters. I like these with some cranberries to give them a bit of tartness and of course the best thing about this is that you can substitute the nuts and fruit with whatever you have on hand.
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your least favourite chore either at work or at home?
Cranberry Almond Oat Granola Clusters
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 20-25 minutes
- 2 cups oats
- 3/4 cup nuts (almonds, pistachios, whatever you fancy)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 2 egg whites
- 2/3 cup icing or confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two large baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, add the oats, nuts, cinnamon and salt and mix together. In a bowl add the egg whites and icing or confectioners sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add this to the oat mix and stir mixed together. Spread out on the two trays, leaving some lumps or clusters of mix.
2. Bake for 10-15 minutes and then using tongs, turn them over and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp. Add the cranberries and store in an airtight jar.
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57 Comments | Add your own
Beautiful! A delightful snack/breakfast item.
Cheers,
Rosa
Well, you have a point there – there are some things I could live without, like having to iron clothes myself, but the absolute worst thing is having to deal with people I don’t really like, for one reason or another. There’s this lady in a café nearby who keeps asking me if I’m pregnant (not the best compliment if you do it over and over and over again), so whenever the postman brings something and I’m not home and he calls saying he has left it with her, I just go “oarghhhhhh” in my mind.
I adore granola clusters – in fact, I could easily eat a whole box of them!
What a horrible horrible woman!! I am shocked :0 Thankfully I have never had an experience like that. I love the look of the granola, I never eat it as I assumed the crunchiness came from fat and breaky is one meal I try to be healthy. Now I know the truth I will be all over this recipe! Thanks for sharing… oh, and I love the plates, where di you find them??
Cleaning my desk…I am awful at keeping it tidy.
This looks like a great snack
Cleaning the toilet. Makes me feel sick.
So, that lady sounds like a terror, but as someone with far from perfect skin, that muesli comment makes me feel a little like crying.
I shall now eat my feelings via this bar of Recchiuti’s Sesame Nougatine. (Great for my skin….)
LOL, Lorraine. I read your story to Peter, as he has dealt with two ‘dragons’ at the said bank. He is way too gentle a man to be rude and simply takes the nastiness from these ‘women’ at the bank. I like how the other customer used reverse psychology. Good recipe!
i love cereal!! i could eat it for dinner!! & DIY is better/u know what goes in it
Whata yummo recipe, especially love cranberries and have found a place that sells them in bulk so use them in anything and everything!! Salads, Icecream, Yoghurt, cakes, biscuits and just to snack on. Least favorite task – ironing, but other half has taken over that responsibility whilst I spend time cooking and gardening! Why waste time on things you don’t like I say…
Ooooh, I love granola. I have just come up with a chocolate version for Friday’s blog recipe (we seem to be on the same track again:)). I absolutely agree that it’s so easy to make and you can use whatever you have. LOVE the idea of egg whites to keep it crispy and held together. As for chores I could do without – most of everything around the house + the girls’ taxi service, Oh and oddly enough cooking dinner every single night! Love to cook but love to cook when I don’t have to…..
Egg whites!! I had no idea! These look lovely and very addictive
What a nice, healthy looking snack!
How simple to prepare! And economical as well, compared to buying something similar.
Bathing the dogs might be low on my list…
If drying your hair can be a chore, than that is my least favourite. My hair is not too long and it takes ages to dry with the hair dryer
Maybe I just have a bad hair dryer!
Thanks Lorraine,this looks easy and delicious I am going to make some today. My least favourite chore is cleaning the bathroom, hubby and I share housework so I have left this one to him!
Good on that customer for putting snooty face in her place! Horrible how she has deflected you from the wonders of muesli! I’m glad you are starting to fight it though with this delish recipe
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Love the analogy re these cleansing Cranberry Almond Oat Granola Clusters, TRUE!
I remember we had to bring our rectangular paper money boxes to the bank and was haunted by memories too!
No laughing (hopefully) re my least fave chore to do,
Peeling potatoes! Preparing Spinach in Bulk! Goes back to my catering days too!
”Muesli face”!That’s hilarious. But sounds like she deserved such a dastardly nickname. Imaging scaring the bejeezus out of a little girl carrying her dragon bank. Wicked, indeed!
that looks amazing
how healthy it is, especially to have cranberries which are good for ladies..
Love your styling in this recipe
That’s a very pretty plate, Lorraine. So you had a ‘St George the Dragon’ money box! My Alfie has an ANZ elephant that’s very empty. It never ceases to amaze me how some people manage to hang on to their jobs. These clusters would be a great snack and so good for you – better than potato chips for sure! xx
I am going to make a batch tomorrow. I need to snack on something healthy and low fat and this looks like it!
P.S. where did you get those bowls from? Are they vintage?
Oooh, this looks wonderful, Lorraine. I think I’ll be giving these a go as I have heaps of oats at home to use (and as much as I love eating them for breakfast, it’s about time I try something different with them).
Do you think these clusters would still taste okay if I omitted (or decrease the amount of) sugar?
Hi Anna-No they’re not vintage (I wish!
), they’re from Victoria’s Basement! I hope that you liked it?
Baking Baking…..I used almonds and hazelnuts with sultanas.
I hate changing the sheets. These look delicious and would be so much cheaper than the granola clusters by sanitarium I sometimes buy.
Hi Libby-Yes we were getting sick of porridge so I decided to make these
HHmm good question! I think you might a bit of crunchiness from the sugar but I’d be really interested to see what they’re like without it at all. If you make them without it, could you let us know? 
I make my own granola but did not think of granola clusters – they look great. My least favourite chore has to be cleaning. Wish I could find a way to avoid it altogether!
Oh yum what a delicious snack!
My least favourite is changing the sheets. I know, such a simple thing but I really hate doing it.
Cleaning window tracks and we seem to have so many – yuk. But I actually love muesli and have it every morning I don’t have a cooked breakfast. This recipe looks lovely, I like to make my own sometimes.
Hi Lorraine,
What kind of oats did you use? Rolled/ready to cook/quick cook?
Hi Milvoon-I used rolled oats for this
What a lovely idea Lorraine. I have been trying to think of a good snack for myself that was good for me but tasty and filling–– this is perfect –– although I might always think of that clerk when I eat it. We say ‘pizza face here’ –– equally unpleasant –– so grateful I inherited good skin genes!
Now this is definitely a healthy breakfast worth looking forward to!
I’ll just devour this clusters with milk. Simplicity is the key to enjoy every mouthful
What an awful woman; chances are she had real self esteem problems but still no excuse for her rudeness.
Granola is something I have yearned to make but have resisted because I know I would love it. Your clusters look amazing! A perfect snack.
Hi Jo! I think you could keep it in an airtight container for a few weeks although to be honest, we just devour it within a few days whenever I make it!
Since I had all of the ingredients on hand for this I decided to give it a go. Super easy and tasty too.. I put chopped dates and almonds in mine, threw a few snack packs of crasins in for good measure. My least favorite thing about my job is dealing with office politics!
Hi Daisy! Awesome! I’m so glad that you liked it. I like the changes that you made to the recipe too!
Ugh, yep office politics is the worst isn’t it? 
first of all, your dishes are lovely! secondly, this sounds like a tasty snack! i dread cleaning the bathroom, each and every time.
Oh oh oh I didn’t know it was so easy to make these clusters ~ Cuz i’m addicted to these ones I found at Costco and even though they are quite cheap lol I think it’ll be even cheaper and healtheir if I made them at home
I hate cleaning to the floor, sweeping, mopping and vacumming i hate it! But I actually quite like washing dishes hehe ~
I remember having one of those green dragon money boxes! My grandmother would put 50 cents in every time she came over! 50 cents was a lot back then…
I’ve just discovered homemade granola goodness. I wonder what took me so long.
These clusters look really enticing! They do have a lovely golden brown colour! I didn’t know that clusters were formed from using egg whites. Shall try this recipe after I’ve finished my current granola mix.
How long can you keep this for?
Love granola clusters and always looking for a way to use up my egg whites after making ice cream without going down the macarons/meringue road
ahh so the egg whites help it go clumpy, yes?! Delicious. Love it.
Heidi xo
it has everything I love and i think it would be just perfect for breakfast
Love the idea of egg whites to cling the clumps together. I too don’t get muesli nearly as much as I should, not because it reminds me of anyone but more I just enjoy hot breakfasts more. This looks delicious though, will attempt to eat it a bit more.
I hate cleaning the toilet for sure…especially when boys have been using it. :/
woah – that is an impressive excuse for not eating muesli – your clusters look delicious
So simple yet sounds so delicious! (I remember my green dragon money boxes too … particularly the ones pre-removable rubber base that you had to cut the head off!)
Great holiday food project for my littlej. She is looking for things to do, and things that taste yummy are always appreciated
When I was 14 and had my first part time job, one of my duties was to do the banking as my boss told me I was the least likely to be targeted by robbers with my handbag full of the weeks cash. I was always petrified and expected to be held up every second, to this day I’m still nervous walking into a bank!
Oh yum! My kids will fall for these instantly! Bookmarking…
Oh boy, I have got to try this!
I make toasted muesli for my hubby all the time, I haven’t tried granola as I thought it contained oil, might have to give this egg white recipe idea a try.
I’ve only recently made my own granola and I wonder why I didn’t before. They are easy to make and tastes great.
Ooo! I’d love to make my own, atleast then I’d know what goes into them
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