Tiramisu Oatcakes for One

You know my oatcakes always feature some sort of fruit or veggie, whether it's mashed banana, pureed peaches, apple butter, or pureed beets.

Can you guess the produce packed into this one?

It's zucchini! Now, I have experimented with using zucchini in the past, but it has often failed to serve the purpose I needed it for. I usually want it to be a "tasteless filler" in an otherwise "nutrition-less" recipe (see: any cookie recipe). However, it never worked as nicely as I would have liked. Just recently, I used it to make a brilliant recipe (you will just have to wait until I "nail it" to see what it is!), but I could taste the zucchini. As low in flavor as it is, it does leave some sort of flavor, particularly when paired with cinnamon, as it was in that recipe.

Spiced Brownie Baked Oatmeal

It may look like a calm, traditional brownie (or at least the baked oatmeal version of one), but this brownie is feisty. He's maybe even a little vicious.

Of course, you have control over his viciousness. You could just give him a little bit of bite. OR you could be like me and drop three generous pinches of cayenne pepper into the batter. It's up to you.

Carrot Cake (and Carrot Banana) Steel-Cut Oatmeal

TWO recipes today! You're welcome.

Carrot Cake Steel-Cut Oatmeal isn't that exciting; it's basically an adaptation of my regular Carrot Cake Oatmeal. The only difference is it takes longer to cook (and it serves four instead of one, but that's just an issue of multiplication and division).

Thus, I'm including a variation. A banana variation, because potassium. (Everything about that last sentence is making the grammarian in me cringe, but whatever.)

I can't say much about the Carrot Cake version--it's exactly what you would expect. Instead, let me tell you about the banana version.

Strawberry Pretzel Overnight Oatmeal

:D

Yes! Pretzels!

Strawberry pretzel bars are a bake sale, potluck, and picnic favorite. They are a lovely blend of sweet and salty. They begin with a bottom "crust" of crushed pretzels. Above that is a thick layer of cream cheese. Finally, the top layer is jello-fied strawberries.

10 Oatmeal Recipes that are Basically Desserts in Disguise

Running this blog for about two and a half years, I've noticed a trend.

You people love chocolate.

My chocolate recipes consistently receive more traffic than my non-chocolate ones. The nut butter ones perform well, too, but nothing compares to those chocolate ones.

It's not like I'm surprised by this: eating dessert for breakfast is da bomb! (People are still using that phrase, right?)

To celebrate, here are ten recipes that are basically just desserts in disguise.

P.S. I will not be posting any new recipes this week as I will be taking a "mental health week." I will see you again next Saturday! In the mean time, don't forget to check out your local farmers' market and upload your oatmeal creations with the hashtag #FarmFreshOatmeal! Shout out to @lenoresmiles and @healthymonkey_ for already uploading theirs!

10 Dessert "Oatmeal" Recipes ;)

Brownie Batter Oatmeal

This recipe is surprisingly healthy. It's sweetened by bananas and nothing
else (unless you add chocolate chips). Surprisingly, it tastes like decadent
brownie batter!

Frosted Brownie Baked Oatmeal

You know what's fun? Eating dessert for breakfast.

I mean, I could never literally eat dessert for breakfast--at least not what most people consider dessert. Thanks to my IBS, I have the world's most sensitive stomach. Living in New York City, I enjoy a variety of vegan desserts frequently (shout-out to Wild Ginger and the PERFECTION that is their Peanut Butter Bomb Cake), but it never takes long for the pain to settle in! Thus, when I order desserts while eating out, it's often a conscious choice with a careful consideration of the consequences.

Strawberry Rhubarb Breakfast Cobbler

FINALLY I got my hands on some rhubarb. I thought the entire summer was going to slip away without me finding some. Would you believe my sister had some the entire time?

Considering how much I enjoyed my Blueberry Breakfast Cobbler, I decided to try something similar with my rhubarb. As you can see, the result was gorgeous.

Lava Baked Oatmeal [Guest Post]

Hi guys it's me, @laura__kiss, again  :) You may remember me as I was the Oatmeal Enthusiast in March.

I was so happy and excited that so many people liked my guest post!

And I think Lauren liked it to ;) She asked me to send her and all her readers the recipe for the lava baked oatmeal, so here you go :)

Blueberry Breakfast Cobbler

This. This recipe is summer vacation to me.

Not summer, but summer vacation. As in, "I'm not working 80 hours a week, so I can experiment with recipes that I imagined a year ago but never had the energy to actually create."

This is actually just a super simple baked oatmeal atop a sea of blueberries. Don't be freaked out by the cast iron skillet; you could make this in any ramekin.

Five Recipes for National Gingerbread Day!

Happy National Gingerbread Day!

You know what's odd? Celebrating gingerbread in June. I don't know about you, but I associate it with winter and Christmas. This seems like some sort of bizarre conspiracy.

Nevertheless, I was delighted to see that I actually do have several gingerbread recipes to share on this occasion, so without further ado, here are five gingerbread recipes to celebrate this (strangely scheduled) holiday!

Have you tried any of these yet? Which is your favorite?

Carrot Halwa Steel Cut Oatmeal

I sometimes receive requests from readers for a particular recipe. Many times, they are ideas that I have already considered but just haven't figured out how to make yet. Sometimes, they are recipes that I immediately set off to create and appear on the blog within days. And then there are ideas like this one, for which I only have one response: "I don't know what that is and have no idea how I would make it."

Considering I've only eaten Indian food four times in my life, my knowledge of Indian cuisine is minimal. I have never eaten "Indian dessert" and have absolutely zero concept of what it's like or what it should taste like. Thus, when a reader begged me to create a halwa recipe, I had to reject her, claiming that I had no idea what it was or what it should taste like.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

Where are my banana lovers? Let's celebrate.

Let's celebrate this fantastic fruit that makes our oatmeal creamy and our bodies regular. ;)

Let's make this humble fruit feel special and all dressed up. Let's caramelize it and make it a little boozy. (Well...this is breakfast time, so maybe we'll just use rum extract instead.)

True Bananas Foster is flambéed. I suppose you could still do that, but who has time for that in the morning? Simply caramelizing it in the pan is delicious enough.

This recipe uses rum extract. I've always thought that rum extract doesn't have much flavor, which is why the recipe calls for an entire two teaspoons. If you don't have rum extract, you could omit it. I think it would still be delishhhhhhh.

Okay, let me hear your thoughts. Why do YOU love bananas?!

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 10 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

For the Bananas Foster

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp milk of choice
• 2 tsp rum extract (can omit)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp molasses
• 1 banana

For the Oatmeal

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Combine first five ingredients in a small skillet with a whisk.
2. Cut banana in half lengthwise, and then across so you have four pieces. Place the banana pieces cut-side down in the skillet. Turn the heat on medium low.
3. Meanwhile, bring milk (I use 1/2 c almond milk and 1/2 c water) to a boil in a saucepan, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
4. By this point, your bananas should be caramelizing on the bottom and the mixture should be thickening and bubbling. Flip them over and let them cook on the other side until both sides are nice and covered in caramel mixture.
5. Back to the oatmeal: once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Stir.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Add a splash of your milk of choice and the Bananas Foster. Optional: top with banana soft serve!

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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!

Black Forest Oatcakes...and my blog's 2nd birthday!

Two years. TWO YEARS! Considering I've been running this blog during the two most challenging years of my life (student teaching/senior year, my year of service in Newark, and my first year of teaching in NYC), it's a pretty big deal that I've managed to maintain this blog through it all. To celebrate, I made oatcakes:

But first, let me indulge in my nostalgia. Three fantastic things have happened since the Oatmeal Artist's first birthday.

1. I began my partnership with Country Choice Organic, which has completely changed my life. 
2. I began the Oatmeal Enthusiast series, which showed me that there are SO MANY PEOPLE that eat oatmeal every single morning, just like me.
3. The #oatmealartist hashtag began on Instagram, which always gives me a nice ego boost whenever I'm feeling down. As of right now, there's over 2,000 pictures on Instagram with the #oatmealartist tag. So cool!

Tiramisu Overnight Oatmeal

The Thursday before my birthday, my friend and I were out and about in Manhattan enjoying some good eats. After some delightful vegan soul food at Red Bamboo, we moved on to Peacefood Cafe on 11th St. The dinner food is great there, but I particularly love their desserts. VEGAN. TIRAMISU. I didn't see it coming, but their vegan tiramisu was infinitely better than any tiramisu (vegan or not) I've ever had. The cream portion was unbelievable and I have no idea what it was made of.

Blackberry Lime Cheesecake Oatmeal

There are two aspects of this recipe that I'm proud of:

1) It includes blackberries. The last time I had blackberries, I thought I didn't actually like them that much.
2) It includes nondairy cream cheese. The last time I had nondairy cream cheese, I thought I didn't actually like it that much. ;)

As it turns out, blackberries are delicious. Before, I found them annoyingly seedy. I didn't have that problem at all this time! There were only a couple seeds, and they were smaller and less obtrusive. As for the nondairy cream cheese, I thought it tasted almost exactly like dairy cream cheese--which simply tells you how long it's been since I've had dairy haha.

Strawberry White Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

Valentine's Day is coming up. I was contacted recently by the Brilliant Earth Create a Little Love Campaign to join them in...well...creating a little love. :) Brilliant Earth specializes in "honest, ethical" jewelry. It's a perfect option for those of you who are looking into an upcoming engagement (while I simultaneously binge on peanut butter and Buzzfeed quizzes, of course). When I first thought about making a V-Day themed recipe, I had a moment of anxiety. How would I write a post about Valentine's Day? Oh, the horror!

Those who know me personally know that Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday. I don't feel like getting into the reasons now, but I've always loathed it. In high school, people criticized me for being a cynic and a "hater of love," and--to prove that they were wrong--I began celebrating my own holiday: Hug's Day. When people wished me a "Happy Valentine's Day!", I would respond, "Happy Hug's Day!" I gave out "Happy Hug's Day!" cards and celebrated "Happy Hug's Day!" with my boyfriend at the time. Sadly, it didn't catch on.

Baklava Oatmeal

I've had baklava once. Just once.

I was eating lunch with a beloved professor of mine on a visit back to my college town. She had ordered a slice of baklava, and she offered me a bite. I remembered detecting such incredible flavors: the honey, cinnamon, and pistachio. I never had it again, and after going vegan, I didn't think I ever would.

This is far from a flaky phyllo slice of heaven, but the flavors are there. Don't skimp on the cinnamon; trust me, you need the whole teaspoon! As for the banana? It's completely optional. The honey sweetens it enough on its own; the banana just adds nutrition and texture.

Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal: Revisited

Despite its popularity, I've never been particularly proud of the original Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal. At the time, I was a bit precarious with my recipes. I knew it wasn't perfect (it tasted like bananas, for Pete's sake!), but I enjoyed it, and it sounded fancy, so I posted it before I should have. Much to my anxiety, this recipe became a hit. I wasn't surprised that people were excited about the recipe itself, but I was stunned when people actually tried it and liked it. Really? But it tastes like bananas!!

Gingerbread White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

My sister and her husband hooked me up for Christmas. In addition to the fantastic vanilla bean paste they gave me, I also received four bags of nondairy white chocolate chips. Hooray! Time to make those white chocolate recipes I've been dreaming up.

The white chocolate chips add an unexpected sweetness that mellows out the intense gingerbread spices. To keep this porridge healthy, go easy on the chocolate chips. The banana makes the oatmeal sweet and healthy, and a small handful of white chocolate chips will just add a hint of pizzazz.

Peanut Butter Blossom Baked Oatmeal

Once upon a time, I liked cookies. Doesn't every child? I loved my mother's chocolate chip cookies (why was the rest of the world incapable of making decent chocolate chip cookies??), the white chocolate chip macadamia cookies from Subway, big puffy snickerdoodles, fork-pressed peanut butter cookies, frosted sugar cookies, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the incredible peanut butter blossom.

Now, I must rant that I've never understood why people are so incessant about this being a "holiday cookie." What the heck does a peanut butter cookie with a chocolate Kiss have to do with the holidays? Nothing.