Grilled Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

You know you have a fantastic oatmeal planned when you wake up at 6 am and spend twenty minutes wondering if it's too early to get up and start making breakfast. That's actually one of the billion reasons I love oatmeal. Did you know I used to hate mornings? Now I wake up at absurd hours because I'm so gosh darn excited to slurp down some oats.

Yeah, so... Remember on Monday, when I was all "sophisticated" with that Strawberry Basil Oatmeal? Here we go again. Grilled peaches, anyone?
I thought it was going to be difficult. In fact, I originally asked my mom to do it for me. However, I'm kind of an independent person (I spent hour after hour for an entire month trying to register my own domain because WHO NEEDS HELP? Not me. Yeah, check out the domain name on your address bar:  no more "blogspot.com!"). This morning, I decided I would just "figure it out" myself because that's how I roll.

It was freakishly easy, actually, and not all that time consuming (although I'd still recommend saving it for weekends!). Another great option would be to grill the peaches ahead of time. Then, in the morning, you could just cook the oatmeal and have the peaches ready to throw in.

What's the purpose of grilling the peaches? Okay, think about a veggie burger or a chicken breast or asparagus or something. Imagine how it tastes if you just microwave it or bake it (wah wahhhh). Now think about how it tastes if you grill it. Caramelized, smoky, deep.

If you think grills make a vegetable taste caramelized, imagine what it does to a piece of fruit, which is already sweet and dessert-worthy. Grilling peaches strengthens their (already fantastic) flavor, as well as deepens it with smokiness. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it makes them look pretty!

I could not decide whether or not to use one or two peaches to make this recipe. I consistently find that one peach is never enough, but I knew that two would be a lot. However, I didn't want to write "1.5 peaches" on the ingredients list either, even though I think that would have made the perfect amount. :)

Ultimately, I went with two peaches. If you want to use just one, cut it into halves and grill them. After taking them off the grill, cut each in half again (so you have four quarters). Then, follow the instructions using the "four quarters" in place of "four halves." In other words, you'll save one "quarter" for the topping and dice the other three "quarters" into the oatmeal.

Grilled Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/4 cup steel-cut oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 or 2 yellow peaches (see notes above)
• coconut or olive oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg (optional, for flavor)
• 1 tsp maple syrup (optional, for flavor)
• splash of lemon juice (optional, for flavor)
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Start the grill and set it over medium heat. You want to give the grill a head start so the actual grill part will be hot enough to make char marks on the peach.
2. On the stove, add milk and/or water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium low. (If you'd like to add flax or chia seeds, do so now.) Make sure to stir and check on your oats frequently. The directions often say it takes half an hour to cook; this is often too long, depending on serving size and your stove, so you'll want to keep an eye on it while you prepare your peaches.
3. Cut both peaches in half (twist to separate the two halves). Use a spoon to remove the pits.
4. Brush the four cut sides of the peaches lightly with oil. Grill the peaches cut side down for 4 minutes. Rotate the peaches 90 degrees halfway through if you want the grill marks to crisscross! Grill for another 3-4 minutes (should total 6-10 minutes; do not forget to keep an eye on your oatmeal during this time!). I lack in the patience department, so my peaches did not get as clear of char marks as I would have liked.
5. After removing the peaches, set aside one of the halves. This will be your topping (so I chose the one with the best char marks!). I removed the skin at this time, but that's optional. Dice the three halves into the oatmeal. Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. If you want, add the nutmeg, maple syrup, and/or lemon juice. Stir.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Cut remaining peach into fairly large chunks to top it (if you care about aesthetics, make sure the grill marks are visible!). Add another splash of milk and any other additional toppings (maple syrup, nuts, blueberries, dried fruit, etc.).

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*To make this with old-fashioned oats, use 1/2 cup oats and do not begin cooking the oats until your peaches are finished grilling!

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!