Saturday, October 19, 2013

Chai Stewed Apples Oatmeal

I've given up coffee. It was tough for me. Really tough. I've spent the last year sampling soy lattes at every coffee shop in New York City, but the past few months have been trying. Within hours of licking the last bits of froth off my mug, I would always find myself feeling woozy and having cold sweats. Every. Single. Time.

Instead, I've had to reinvest in my love for tea.


I really wish I could order chai more often at all my favorite coffee shops. Sadly, most places make theirs from a concentrate or powdered mix that already includes dairy. Bumsville.

Luckily there's still a way for me to enjoy the chai flavors at home. I recently splurged on a jar of cardamom. I had been scouring the shelves of every gourmet grocer in Manhattan for weeks, but every time I found some, they were priced at no less than $12 a jar. No thanks. Finally, I went to a different Whole Foods location than I normally do, and they had it for about $6. DEAL.

Now I can just chai up everything! Starting with this oatmeal:


Initially, I was planning on making "Chai Applesauce Oatmeal." However, during the applesauce-making process (which smelled heavenly), I changed my mind and chose to keep the apples whole. If you like the idea of having applesauce stirred into your oatmeal (I bet it'd be wonderful), just mush up the apples after stewing them.

Out of curiosity, do you consider yourself a coffee or a tea person? I definitely go through phases!

Chai Stewed Apples Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Keywords: stove top
Ingredients (serves 2)
    Chai Stewed Apples
    • 2 apples
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp ginger
    • 1/4 tsp cardamom
    • 1/8 tsp cloves
    • pinch of salt
    Oatmeal
    • 1 and 1/2 cup milk of choice
    • 1/2 cup quick cook steel-cut oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • dash of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom (optional)
    • 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
    • 1/8 tsp salt
    Instructions
    Chai Stewed Apples
    1. Dice apples. I cut mine into pretty small chunks.
    2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine diced apples, water, spices, and salt. Cover and cook for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.
    3. Remove from heat and set aside.

    Oatmeal
    1. Bring milk (I use 1 c almond milk and 1/2 c water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
    2. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, optional spices, optional maple syrup, and salt. Stir.
    3. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, stir in the stewed apples, reserving some for the topping.
    4. Transfer to a bowl. Add a splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (raisins, shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).
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    **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!

    3 comments:

    1. Looks good! One question: why are you giving up coffee? Looking forward to trying this, apple+cinnamon is my favorite oatmeal by far. I live in Egypt right now, so I can come by these spices pretty easily (already have some cardamom I don't know what to do with)! I am a big fan of yours, by the way :)

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    2. I really love chai tea, so this recipe sounds great!
      If you have any little Asian or Indian markets around, you should check them out next time you need exotic spices. My husband is part Indian so we make a lot of Indian food. We get spices, like cardamom, for cheap at a little Indian store.
      Stores that have a bulk section are a good place to look, too.

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    3. Hi - A bit confused - where is the tea in this recipe? Chai in hindi (and many other asian languages) means tea, so I was looking for some kind of tea in the stewed apples? If you are referring to just the spices it would be 'masala'....Regardless, I'm salivating :)

      ReplyDelete

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