I've been waiting for rhubarb season so that I could try out this recipe. It's the last oatmeal recipe in the Breakfast Bible that I hadn't tried yet. I love strawberry-rhubarb pie and crumble. So the idea of bringing those flavours to oatmeal for breakfast was very appealing!

I kept pretty much to the recipe. But I did add a small amount of vanilla to the topping and swapped out the granulated sugar for brown sugar. I also used significantly less milk/cream than called for. But that was all it really needed.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Slump Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from the Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 stalks rhubarb
• 1 c. strawberries
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 4 c. water, divided
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. milk or cream

Directions

1. Wash the rhubarb well and chop it into 1cm pieces.
2. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and 1/4 c. of the water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (~15 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, bring the remaining water to a boil in a second pot.
5. Add the salt and oats and reduce heat to medium.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and creamy (5-8 minutes).
7. Once the rhubarb is soft, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
8. Spoon some oatmeal into a bowl and top with some of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture.
9. Pour a little milk or cream over top and serve.

Even more waffles!

These waffles didn't rank very highly with the Kidlet, but I quite liked them. They had an almost lacey, delicately crip exterior with a creamy interior somewhat similar to the Belgian waffles.

Photo goes here.

Toasted Oatmeal Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1 c. quick oats
• 1 3/4 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 140g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.
2. Add the oats and cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add water and salt and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cook for 3-5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add remaining 5 Tbsp. butter and sugar, stirring until melted and fully combined.
6. Stir in buttermilk and set aside.
7. Preheat waffle iron.
8. In a large bowl, combine flour and cinnamon.
9. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and whisk to combine.
10. Beat eggs into oatmeal mixture.
11. Add oatmeal to dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
12. Pour one portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
13. Serve with maple syrup, nut butter, fresh fruit, and/or jam.

We've got lots of eggs again, but I wasn't vibing with any of the egg-y breakfast ideas I looked at. I think the cooler weather has put me in the mood for more starch-y, bread-y things. So I decided to take a look at one of the breakfast cookbooks PDFs we have kicking around to see if any of that looked appealing.

The first chapter focuses on granola and oatmeal. I don't really feel like granola is a meal in and of itself, so I just ignored those recipes for now. But oatmeal works as a hot breakfast on a cool morning. I don't find it really fills me up and sticks to my ribs the way everyone seems to claim it does, but it's still nice to have every once in a while. It's quick, easy, reasonably healthy (as long as you don't add too much sugar and junk to it), and I like trying out new flavour combinations.

I ended up opting for the coconut-date-cashew variant for this morning and it was quite good. I decided to top mine with a little plain Greek yogurt rather than milk or cream in the hopes that this swap would make it a little more filling without increasing the calorie count too much. I also used a little "no sugar added" syrup in place of the honey, but I do think honey would have been nicer.

I've included the recipe for the plain oatmeal here with the various flavours and variations below it.

Basic Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. milk, cream, or yogurt

Directions

1. Add the salt to the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add oatmeal, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until thickened (5-6 minutes for old-fashioned oats, 2-3 minutes for quick oats).
3. Serve. Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or milk or yogurt).
4. Enjoy as-is or with additional toppings.

---

Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. oat, nut, or soy milk

Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Bananas, and Fresh Figs

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt
• ~1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2-3 bananas, sliced
• 8-12 fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
• ~1/4 c. maple syrup¹ (optional)

Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or milk or yogurt), 1-3 tsp. of brown sugar, ~1/2 a banana, 2 figs, and 1-3 tsp. of maple syrup (if using).

Oatmeal with Coconut, Dates, Cashews, and Honey

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt
• ~1/3 c. cashews, toasted and chopped
• 8-12 dates, sliced
• ~1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• ~1/4 c. honey

Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or similar), ~1 Tbsp. cashews, 2 dates, 2-3 tsp. of coconut, and 2-3 tsp. of honey.

Strawberry-Rhubarb "Slump"

Ingredients

• 2 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1-cm pieces
• 1 c. strawberries
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. rolled oats ("old-fashioned" or quick)
• ~1/3 c. (non-dairy) milk, cream, or yogurt

Directions

1. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is soft (~10 minutes). Set aside.
3. Cook oatmeal as directed above.
4. Top each portion with ~1 Tbsp. of cream (or similar) and a spoonful of the strawberry-rhubarb compote.

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¹ The original recipe claims to make 4 servings and calls for 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. of maple syrup per serving. Personally, I feel like the protion size is way too large if you only divide this batch of oatmeal into four. Six seems like a more reasonable division. But even if you then scale down the toppings proportionately, that would mean ~2 tsp. each of sugar and maple syrup per serving. And that seems like way too much sugar to me when you've already got the bananas and the figs in there since they're relatively sweet on their own. Personally, I think I'd probably just roll with the bananas, figs, and a touch of brown sugar and leave out the maple syrup. ^Back

I've been working my way through some healthy breakfast ideas found online. Sadly most of them still work out to way more Points than I feel I can afford for a breakfast, but I've been tweaking some of the ingredients and portion sizes to try to bring the Points cost down to a reasonable level.

This oatmeal, for example, was originally meant to serve 4 and was cooked in milk and sweetened with honey. It got topped with more honey, dark chocolate, chopped walnuts, and sliced bananas. I made a half batch, but split it into 3 servings instead of 2. I also replaced half the milk with water (and then ended up adding quite a bit more water because I don't like my oatmeal so thick). I replaced the honey with chopped date and a bit of extra banana and used only the nuts and sliced bananas for topping. (No chocolate for me. :( )
All these changes did significantly reduce the Points cost. And I might be able to shave another Point off by replacing the walnuts with almonds. But I'm not sure I enjoyed this breakfast enough to keep tinkering with it. It was alright. And it had the virtue of being pretty quick and easy to throw together. But... for 5 Points, there are other things that I like better. (Like egg salad, okonomiyaki, or cottage cheese pancakes for example.) But, at least now I've tried it and I can check it off my list! And, despite the somewhat high Points cost, I do think this makes a reasonably healthy breakfast. And, if you're not cutting calories, being able to top it with chocolate as indicated in the original recipe would probably go a long way to making it richer and more delicious.

Chocolate Oatmeal

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 Medjool date, pitted and chopped
• 2 bananas, one chopped, one sliced
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. milk (or oat milk)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1 c. rolled or quick oats
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa (I used Dutched)
• 3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds
• 1 Tbsp. chopped dark chocolate (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the date, chopped banana, water, milk, vanilla, and almond extract and bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Add the oats and cocoa and cook until desired consistency.
3. Divide into three equal portions and top with sliced bananas, nuts, and chocolate (if using).

Weight Watchers billed this recipe as a "cake". Looking at it -- and tasting the results -- I would say it's more of a baked oatmeal. Although I will grant them that adding the raspberries does take it up a notch and make it feel a bit more sweet and indulgent. (I mean, it still tastes fairly lean and "wholesome", but it was enough to scratch that dessert itch for me tonight.)

I think I'd be inclined to add a little vanilla (and maybe a touch more maple syrup) next time, but it was decent overall. Especially considering that it managed to squeak through at only 2 "Points" per serving. (Obviously the Points per serving would increase if you started doing things like bumping up the maple syrup quantities, but at least this gives you a low-cost starting point.)

The recipe calls for plain Greek yogurt, but I only had regular yogurt, so my "batter" came out pretty runny. It still cooked up fine though. I think it might've been nice to add another tablespoon or two of oats to the mix, but maybe I wouldn't have wanted that if I'd been using the thicker, lower moisture Greek yogurt called for.

Microwave Baked Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 c. plain (Greek) yogurt, preferably fat-free
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. uncooked quick oats
• 2/3 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

directions

1. Mash banana and combine it with the yogurt, cinnamon, and vanilla.
2. Mix in the eggs.
3. Stir in the oats.
4. Divide mixture evenly between two mugs.
5. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
6. Stir, then microwave on high for another 1 1/2-2 minutes.
7. Top each portion with half of the raspberries and serve.

TF's family is from New England and a lot of her family still lives in Pennsylvania. Thanks to this, I discovered scrapple. Scrapple is a mix of ground pork and often some organ meats cooked with cornmeal and spices. It's then formed into a loaf, sliced, and fried for breakfast. It's apparently a "Pennsylvania Dutch" thing and you can't get it outside of Pennsylvania and a few of the surrounding states.

When I stumbled across a recipe for goetta, I was getting similar vibes. It's a mix of ground meats (usually pork and beef) cooked with oats and spices, formed into loaves, sliced, and fried for breakfast. Sounds similar, right?! And it is also a German-American dish. It just stems from a different region. As far as I can tell, this particular grain sausage loaf originates in Ohio rather than Pennsylvania, but the idea is very similar.

There are many different goetta recipes. Most seem to lean toward a 50-50 mix of ground pork and ground beef, but some use more of one or the other. I even ran across a few recipes that use sausage (already seasoned) and then add additional salt and seasonings to the mix. I felt like this might make it too salty and fatty, so I stuck to using unseasoned ground meat.

The seasonings also varied widely. Bay leaves, marjoram, black pepper, and white pepper seemed to be common to most of the recipes, but things diverged widely from there. Some included things like cloves, ginger, nutmeg, or mace. Others had coriander, allspice, sage, or thyme. And most recipes seemed to have at least a few people saying the seasonings were spot on while others said that the sausage was delicious but not at all authentic-tasting. I'm assuming this is just a case of regional variations and different people being used to different flavour profiles.

I read through a few different recipes, took note of the different seasonings and instructions, and then came up with my own based on what I thought sounded good. This seems like a fairly flexible recipe though. I'm sure you could play around with the exact ratios and seasonings to suit you own tastes or what you have on hand.

Goetta

Adapted from Daring Gourmet (and a few other sources)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c. steel-cut oats
• 4-6 c. beef stock¹
• 2-4 c. water
• up to 2 tsp. coarse sea salt²
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried marjoram
• 450g lean ground beef
• 500-700g ground pork³
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. coriander, ground
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. allspice berries, ground

Directions

1. Combine the oats, stock, water, bay leaves, and marjoram and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add beef, pork, onion, garlic, black pepper, white pepper, coriander, sage, and allspice, bring to a boil, cover, and cook for another 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
5. Line two 9"x5" loaf pans with foil.
6. Divide the goetta mixture between the two prepared pans and chill for at least 4 hours and as long as overnight.
7. The next day, unmold the goetta and cut it into 1-1.5cm thick slices.
8. At this point it can either be fried (preferably in bacon grease) or frozen for future enjoyment.
9. Don't overcrowd the pan or move the goetta around too much while frying it or it may fall apart.
10. Serve with eggs, toast, and whatever other breakfast foods you desire.

---

¹ I used homemade chicken stock instead of beef stock. The original recipe called for 4 c. broth + 4 c. water, but I ended up with about 6 c. of stock, so I used all of it and then added water to bring it up to a total of 8 c. of liquid. I was quite happy with how this worked out. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp. of salt. I thought this sounded like way too much. I put in 2 tsp. because I was using homemade stock that had very little salt in it. If using commercial stock/broth, I would likely omit the salt entirely. Once the mixture is cooked, you can taste it before putting it in the molds and add more salt if needed. ^Back
3 All the recipes I found called for 900g of meat for 2 1/2 c. of oats. However, I had a 450g package of beef and a 700g package of pork. I didn't want to try to save and find a use for 250g of pork, so I just put all of it in. I doubt the little bit of extra pork made much of a difference and it saved me dealing with leftover raw meat. ^Back

I've recently rediscovered Budget Bytes. I'd perused a few vegetarian recipes on the blog before, but I hadn't really given it a thorough examination. After going through it in some detail, I now have dozens of recipes bookmarked! I'm pretty excited to try them.

If I'm being completely honest, this recipe didn't excite me all that much. But I had coconut milk that needed to be used up and I had a bunch of bananas in the fridge, so it was something that I knew I could throw together quickly and easily. The resulting oatmeal is tasty. The coconut comes through well and the banana gives it a mellow sweetness without being cloying. The main problem TF and I both had with it is that it's not actually very filling. I'd be tempted to add an extra egg and a scoop of protein powder next time to see if bumping up the protein helps a bit. Serving it topped with yogurt, skyr, Nutella, and/or nut butter would probably also help.

Banana-Coconut Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from Budget Byte$

Ingredients

• 3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/3 c. unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 c. protein powder (chocolate, vanilla, or unflavoured)
• 1 (400mL) can lite coconut milk
• 3 c. rolled oats

Directions

1. Whisk eggs into bananas.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, baking powder, and sea salt and mix well.
3. Whisk in coconut, protein powder, and coconut milk.
4. Stir in oats with a spatula.
5. Pour mixture into a greased 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've posted recipes for both baked and stove-top steel-cut oatmeal before. It's been a while though and I've tweaked some of the recipes. I figured it'd probably be good to write an updated post and try to collect all the various flavours and variations in one place.

Peaches and Cream Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar + a few empty vanilla pods
• 1 c. diced peaches

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add the oats and cinnamon and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add water and milk and bring to a boil.
4. Stir in sugar, vanilla pods, and peaches.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)
6. Serve topped with peach jam and heavy cream.

Cherry-Almond Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered

Directions

1. Toast almonds and cinnamon stick over medium heat until almonds are just starting to get a bit of colour.
2. Add butter.
3. Once butter is melted, add oats and increase heat to medium-high. Toast oats for a few minutes until they begin to smell nutty.
4. Add water.
5. Stir in honey, cinnamon sugar, and cherries.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)

Cherry-Coconut Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Directions

1. As above, but wait until oatmeal is off heat to stir in extracts.
2. Serve as is or topped with a few squares of dark chocolate.

Apple-Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 apples, diced
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. raisins

Directions

1. As above, adding the apples and cinnamon sticks along with the oatmeal.
2. Serve sprinkled topped with heavy cream and a little cinnamon sugar or a touch of extra brown sugar.

Peanut Butter and Jam Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. peanut flour
• 1 c. sliced strawberries
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in the vanilla after the oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with a little peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Tropical Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/3 c. sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/16 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in vanilla extract once oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with cinnamon sugar and pineapple and/or extra mango.

Mulled Apple Cider Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 apple, diced
• 3 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 blade of mace
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. apple cider
• 2 Tbsp. chopped prunes
• 1 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 3 Tbsp. jaggery

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure of toasting the oats in the butter, adding the spices along with the oats.
2. Add the water, fruit, and jaggery and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Serve topped with apple pie filling or, if you have some cider left over, make a reduction, stirring in a bit of butter and sugar at the end of cooking and top your oatmeal with that!

Banana Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. spiced rum
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add oats and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add banana and brown sugar and cook for a minute or two.
4. Add water and rum and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7. Serve topped with crushed banana chips and caramel sauce or dulce de leche.

Cranberry-Orange Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 1/3 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure.
2. Serve topped with cranberry sauce and/or marmalade.

After my semi-failed attempt to make rye bread last week, I wanted something wheat-based and relatively simple this time. I debated going for a basic whole wheat or French bread since I've had really good results with them in the past. But I like variety and wanted to try something different. This oatmeal bread looked approachable and tasty, so I figured I might as well give it a whirl.

It made a nice bread overall. Good colour and crumb with a bit of spring in the oven. I didn't get quite as much gluten development as I would've liked and the dough wasn't quite as stretchy and elastic and I'd hoped. But maybe that's just a consequence of adding other grains into the mix. Whatever the case, it does seem to have baked up nicely and the Kidlet approves, so I'll take it!

Oatmeal Bread

Slightly adapted from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

• 105g oats¹
• 2 c. water
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 750g whole wheat bread flour
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• extra water, for kneading
• extra rolled oats, for coating (optional)

Directions

1. Combine oats and water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until thickened.
2. Stir in salt and honey and set aside to cool.
3. Sprinkle yeast into warm water and set aside for ~10 minutes.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add cooled oatmeal and yeast mixture.
5. Working from the centre outward, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquids.
6. Turn dough out onto work surface and begin kneading. It will be very stiff at first. Don't add more water yet.
7. After 10-15 minutes of kneading, smear 2 Tbsp. of butter in the work surface and knead it in.
8. Once first measure of butter has been fully incorporated, add the remaining 2 Tbsp. in the same way.
9. One all of the butter has been worked into the dough, evaluate to see if it needs more water.
10. Work in additional water by wetting hands every few strokes as needed.
11. Knead dough for 20-40 minutes total. (Timing will depend on how efficient your kneading is.)
12. Shape into a ball and set in a covered bowl to rise for 60-90 minutes. Rise is done when 1cm (~0.5") deep fingerprint doesn't fill in at all.
13. Knock back, shape into a ball again, and return to covered bowl to rise again. This rise should take 45-60 minutes.
14. Knock back again, divide into two equal portions, and shape each portion into a ball, stretching the gluten taut across the top of each ball. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
15. Shape into loaves by pressing each ball flat, folding into thirds, and rolling up like a jelly roll.
16. If desired, roll each loaf in rolled oats to coat the outside.
17. Place shaped loaves into greased loaf pans, cover, and set aside to rise for 30-45 minutes.
18. If they rise very well, slash the tops.
19. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes.

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¹ The authors recommend either old-fashioned rolled oats or steel-cut oats for this recipe. I had ~120g of quick oats left in the cupboard, so I just tossed them in. Rolled oats will make for a lighter bread with a milder flavour. Steel-cut oats will make for a slightly denser, heartier bread with a stronger flavour. ^Back

Peaches and Cream Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Oatmeal is really flexible. You can take your base of oat porridge and add just about any flavours you want to it. I like to use the Steel-Cut Oatmeal recipe from Cook's Country. (Although sometimes I'll swap out my steel-cut oats for rolled oats if I want something super quick.) They posted this peaches and "cream" variant with the original recipe and, now that I've had a chance to try it, I figured I'd do a write-up.

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2016

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. thawed frozen peaches
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. light (5%) cream (optional)

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add oats and toast, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add water and milk and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~20 minutes.
5. Stir in salt, peaches, honey, and vanilla.
6. Serve immediately, with ~1 Tbsp. of cream added to each bowl, if desired.

Vanilla Chai Baked Oatmeal (Steel Cut)

I've been in a real breakfast rut lately. Most days I've been leaving TF and the Kidlet to their own devices for breakfast and just skipping my morning meal altogether. And most days that's been fine. But I'm starting to crave breakfast again. Just not feeling super enthused about getting up early to make it nor am I very enamored of a lot of the go-to quick breakfasts: cereal, toast, bagels, etc.

I made up a batch of cog last week and that was good. I don't really want cog for breakfast every day though. Fry-ups are tasty, but they tend to be neither healthy nor quick when I make them. Overnight oats are easy, but I'm not really feeling them lately. And I tried smoothies for breakfast for a while and found that they just didn't seem to agree with me. (Turns out I prefer my smoothies and shakes in the evening.)

So, after flailing around a bit and being generally indecisive, I figured that maybe it was time to give baked oatmeal another shot. I do have a couple good baked oatmeal recipes already, but I wanted something new. Originally I was going to try this cinnamon bun baked oatmeal, but I wasn't sure about substituting steel cut oats for the rolled. And, in looking for answers to my substitution question, I stumbled across a recipe for vanilla chai baked oatmeal. Now that sounds up my alley! And it already uses steel cut oats, so no worries about substitutions.

It came out pretty nice all-in-all. I did make a few tweaks, and I think I'd probably make a few more minor adjustments the next time I make it, but it's perfectly edible as is. I think I'd just use slightly less cardamom next time and maybe add a little coriander and star anise. And maybe scale the nuts back to 1/3 c. Other than that, it was pretty much perfect though.

Now that I think about it, maybe I'd try changing the cooking procedure around a little bit too. Adding melted butter to cold milk results in frozen chunks of butter. Heating the milk would keep the butter fluid and would allow for the opportunity to steep the spices and raisins a bit before they get added to everything else. And adding the cinnamon sugar topping before it goes into the oven does result in a nice dark top, but it sinks in and gets soft rather than crispy. I think baking it for a little while and then adding the cinnamon sugar would result in a crisp, rather than soft top.

So, I guess, when all's said and done, I'd probably change the recipe quite a bit. The flavours are lovely, I'd just like to tweak them a tiny bit. And the procedure as written in the original does produce a nice breakfast, I'd just like to see if I could work out a few kinks.

Vanilla Chai Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from Tastes of Lizzy T

Ingredients

• 2 c. milk
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods), ground
• 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 c. steel cut oats
• 1/3 c. chopped pecans
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. (unsalted) butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar

Directions

1. Combine milk, raisins, and spices in a pot and heat gently until milk is just steaming. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Stir pecans, salt eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, and melted butter into oats and mix well.
3. Pour milk mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 9" deep dish pie plate (or similar baking dish).
5. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the surface.
7. Return to oven and continue baking for another 30 minutes.
8. Serve warm and drizzled with cream.

While I haven't actually sat down and worked out the nutritional information, based on the ingredient list, this pancakes look much healthier and more virtuous than your traditional buttermilk pancake. They have whole grain and fruit built right in and no added sugar or fat. That's gotta count for something, right?

Although you can give these the standard pancake treatment and douse them in maple syrup, I've found that my favourite way to have them is actually slathered with a generous quantity of plain Greek yogurt and drizzled with a bit of honey. (Spread with Nutella comes in at a close second.) I haven't gotten around to trying them with dulce de leche yet, but I suspect that would be quite excellent as well.

Banana-Oat Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 large, ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 c. quick oats
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg¹
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour²
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. sliced strawberries (optional)

Directions

1. Stir oats and salt into mashed bananas.
2. Add cinnamon and egg, followed by baking powder.
3. Stir in the flour, then thin out the batter with milk.
4. If using strawberries (or other inclusions), they can be stirred in now.
5. Lightly oil a pan and pre-heat it over medium-low³ heat.
6. Dump several 1/4-c. blobs of batter into the hot pan, flattening slightly if they look like they need it.
7. Cook until you start seeing small bubbles in the batter, then flip and cook the other side until edges look dry.

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¹ I ended up using two eggs the second time around because my eggs were quite small. The batter came out a little thinner than the first time around and tasted a bit less biscuit-y⁴, but was otherwise the same. <sup>Back

2</sup> I used all-purpose whole wheat flour because that's what I had easily to hand, but I think plain/pastry/soft whole wheat flour would work just as well here, if not better! <sup>Back

3</sup> I usually cook pancakes on medium heat (or even medium-high on occasion). I made the mistake of attempting to cook these ones on medium and ended up with several burnt pancakes. Deb was right: medium-low is definitely the way to go! <sup>Back

4</sup> I use "biscuit" here in the American sense of the word. ^Back

Cranberry-Almond Granola Bars

The kidlet has been going through granola bars at a prodigious rate. I've imposed a limit of two per day, but that still means we're generally going through 1-2 boxes of granola bars a week. Both for reasons of nutrition and waste/packaging (and because I thought it'd be fun), I decided that maybe it'd be worthwhile trying to make my own granola bars at home.

I picked a recipe more-or-less at random and started there. I may try one or two others over the coming weeks and then see which one is the favourite. Once I know which recipe I prefer as a base I can start messing with it. So many glorious flavour opportunities!

But, for now, here's the recipe I tried out. (Mostly) unmodified and in its original form.

Cranberry-Almond Granola Bars (with Chocolate Chips!)
Slightly adapted from Inspired Taste
2 1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 whole almonds, rough chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla (I totally misread this and ended up putting 2 tsp. of vanilla in!)
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/2 c. dried cranberries, chopped
generous 1/4 c. chocolate chips + 2-4 Tbsp. more for on top

1. Combine the oats and almonds on a baking tray.
2. Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through.
3. Combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt over medium-low heat until sugar has dissolved and mixture appears homogeneous.
4. In a bowl, combine oat mixture with honey mixture. Stir until oats are well-coated.
5. Allow to cool for a few minutes. (I waited ~4 minutes.)
6. While mixture is cooling, line an 8x8 baking dish with tin foil and lightly grease the foil.
7. Stir chocolate chips and cranberries into warm oat mixture.
8. Dump oat mixture into foil-lined baking dish and press it down firmly. Really pack it in there!
9. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top and press them in.
10. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. (I actually put a weight on top of mine because I was paranoid that maybe I didn't press the mixture firmly enough and my granola bars would fall apart when cut.)
11. Unmold your granola brick and cut it in half. Cut each half into 6 or 7 bars. (Recipe says 6, but they came out a little wide. I think I'd prefer 7 next time.)

Apple-Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

Yet another online find that I neglected to record the URL for. Sorry 'bout that.

Baked Oatmeal
1 c. steel-cut oats
1/4 c. butter
4 c. hot water
1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
3-4 apples, peeled and chopped
8-10 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
1-2 c. cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 c. pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. applesauce (unsweetened)
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine steel-cut oats, 2 Tbsp. butter, and hot water. Set aside.
2. Mix the ginger and cinnamon together.
3. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a pan over medium heat.
4. Add apples, 2-4 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. spice blend, and 3/4 tsp. salt to the pan. (Original recipes calls for 2 Tbsp. of sugar here, but I used more cranberries so I bumped the sugar up a bit as well.) Cook the mixture until the apples begin to caramelize.
5. Off heat, stir in cranberries. (Original recipe calls for 1 c. but I had some extras so I just threw them in. I think there were close to 2 c. of cranberries in the end.) Set the fruit mixture aside.
6. Add rolled oats, remaining spice blend, nutmeg, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 c. pecans into steel-cut oat mixture.
7. In a separate bowl, combine milk, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.
8. Fold milk mixture into oat mixture.
9. Grease a casserole dish (or Dutch oven).
10. Spread half the fruit mixture in the bottom of the greased dish.
11. Pour oat mixture over fruit.
12. Top with remaining fruit and 1/2 c. pecans.
13. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.

Overnight Oatmeal

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about chia "pudding", but I know it's definitely not a new thing. Honestly, it never really appealed to me. Sure, it's easy and maybe I should've given it a chance, but it just didn't sound that good to me. I just felt like the texture would be off-putting. So I never tried it. And it never really occurred to me to use chia for anything else.

Then I came across a few "overnight oatmeal" recipes. I assumed it was some sort of slow cooked crockpot concoction like I'd seen once or twice before. But no! Uncooked oatmeal thickened with chia. Interesting... That I might actually be able to get behind.

I've tried a few similar versions so far. I'm still tweaking it, but I like the results so far!

Mixed Berry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. mixed berries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. vanilla almond milk

Brownie Batter Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1 Tbsp. Nutella
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
2 cherries, chopped (next time I'd use 4)
1 Tbsp. chopped hazelnuts
1/2 Tbsp. chocolate chips
2/3 c. vanilla almond milk

Apple Blueberry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
~3/8 c. apple pie filling (preferably homemade)
~3/8 c. blueberries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. wheat bran
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. vanilla almond milk

These all follow pretty much the same procedure. Just mix everything together in a mason jar or somesuch, stir it up, and pop it in the fridge overnight. The brownie batter one called for using the nuts, berries, and chocolate chips as a topping, but I think I'd just mix everything together next time.

The mixed berry one called for a whole cup of milk and was quite tasty, but a bit watery. The brownie batter one called for quite a bit less milk, but came out just a bit too thick. The latest attempt is just chilling in the fridge now, but I'm thinking that 3/4 c. is going to be just about right.

Morning Glory Porridge

I've been playing around with this recipe and tweaking it over the past couple of weeks. I tried it with steel-cut oats yesterday and I'm really pleased with the results.

Morning Glory Porridge
1/4 c. dried coconut
1/4 c. nuts (I used slivered almonds and raw cashews, but chopped walnuts would also work well)
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. steel-cut oats
2 c. water
1 carrot, grated
1/4 c. raisins
2 Tbsp. wheat bran
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce



1. Toast coconut, nuts, cinnamon stick, and oats with butter.
2. Add water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Strawberry-Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Just a variation on the same steel-cut oatmeal porridge I wrote up a few weeks ago.

Strawberry-Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Adapted from Cook's Country
1 1/2 tsp. butter
1/2 c. steel-cut oats
2 c. water
generous 1/2 c. chopped strawberries
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. sliced almonds

1. Toast oats in butter over medium heat until nutty and delicious.
2. Add water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally until desired consistency.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Stove-Top Steel-Cut Oatmeal

My mom used to make porridge with apples and raisins in the mornings before school when I was little. I still make it every once in a while, but I'm usually in too much of a hurry to bother with the stove. It works pretty well with quick oats and water from the kettle, but stove-top is always better.

I've always used either quick oats or (old-fashioned) rolled oats for my baking and porridge needs. I've heard good things about steel-cut, but I've always been a bit intimidated by them. Besides, with the grains being more intact, I wasn't sure if steel-cut oats would make a nice creamy porridge like I like. I was worried it'd be hard little oat nuggets suspended in a watery "broth". So, when I saw this Cook's Country recipe that specifically called for steel-cut oats (and promised creamy, delicious results) I had to give it a try!

Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Cook's Country December/January 2015/2016
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 c. steel-cut oats
4 c. water
1/2 c. raisins
1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add oats and toast, stirring constantly for ~2 minutes.
3. Stir in water and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the raisins while the oats simmer to allow them to plump up in the hot water.
5. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

This makes way more porridge than I need to feed just me and the toddlebot in the morning, so I think next time I'll halve the recipe. I'd also add some chopped apple and a bit more cinnamon for added fruity goodness (and also a bit of nostalgia).

Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. steel-cut oats
1 apple, peeled and chopped
2 c. water
1/4 c. raisins
1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

As above, but toast the apple pieces with the oats before adding the water.

Steel-cut oatmeal is definitely a different experience from rolled oatmeal. The grains do stay more distinct and a little firmer. But the porridge still gets nice and creamy, not the watery broth that I'd feared. It's sort of like a sweet, oat-based risotto. Different, but still quite tasty. I'm excited to try more variations in the future.

Baked Oatmeal

I am a big lover of oatmeal. I love oatmeal porridge cooked on the stovetop. I love freshly-baked oatmeal-raisin cookies. I even love instant oatmeal. Especially in the winter. There's nothing quite like a belly full of warm oatmeal to start your day on a cold winter morning!

Instant oatmeal is never as good as stovetop porridge though. Even when I make my own mixes, it still falls short. The problem with stovetop porridge though is that I'm the only one in the house who eats it. And it doesn't exactly reheat well. And I don't really feel like getting up and making it first thing in the morning most days. Enter baked oatmeal!

I'd never even heard of baked oatmeal until a friend linked me to a microwave cooking page a while back. I've tried the "baked oatmeal in a mug" recipe. It's tasty! (Although I generally put a touch more honey in than it calls for and sometimes top it with maple syrup as well.) So this planted the seed. If microwave baked oatmeal is delicious, then maybe I should look into making actual baked oatmeal. Maybe that would be a delicious way to have my oatmeal all waiting and ready for me on cold winter mornings.

Never having made baked oatmeal before, I didn't really have a convenient starting point beyond my microwave recipe so I just went to Google for answers. This was the first recipe that came up. So I went with it... almost.

I generally like to at least skim the reviews on recipe pages like this. The predominant views seemed to be that this recipe was either delicious as written or that it didn't need nearly as much sugar as called for. Now, I do enjoy sweetened oatmeal. I need some sugar in it. That said, I've been trying to scale it back a bit since I know it's probably not good to be dumping huge mounds of brown sugar into my bowl every morning.

In the end, I did make a few changes to the recipe as written, but still found this to be an excellent baked oatmeal "base". You could add all sorts off different inclusions and delicious treats to the same basic recipe for many variations on a delicious theme!

This is what I came out with in the end:
Baked Oatmeal
3 c. quick oats
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/2 c. sweetened applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 mashed banana

Next time I'd probably also add half a cup of frozen raspberries and a quarter cup of ground flax. And maybe drizzle some maple syrup over the top as well.

I will definitely be making this again! It came out deliciously cinnamon-y and just the right sweetness. It reheats beautifully in the microwave. And, best of all, I can make a batch on the weekend and have breakfasts for the whole week!