Maple-Bacon Oatmeal with Figs

Where does one find figs in April? Since trying them back in August, I haven't been able to get them off my mind.

Answer: Whole Foods.

As the title implies, this oatmeal could be created using a variety of fruits. Maple and "bacon" are the key ingredients of this recipe, but I chose to make mine "with figs." You could make yours "with apple" or "with plum." Go for it. Be you. ;)

Maple Sweet Potato Oatmeal

I think I've overcome my dislike of maple syrup. I've recently realized that it was never maple syrup itself that I loathed, but instead the general experience of eating the classic American pancake breakfast (aka Bisquik). I hate the taste of premixed white flour pancakes, and combined with sweet syrup, I was destined for a post-breakfast bellyache. It's no wonder I associate pancakes and syrup with misery.

On the other hand, maple syrup and oatmeal has become one of my most beloved ways to start my mornings. Not only does it sweeten an earthy porridge, but it adds an unmatchable flavor that I've truly come to appreciate...maybe a little too much. :)

Apple and Veggie Sausage Oatmeal

I definitely try to limit my exposure to fake meats, but it's always fun to experiment with them. My friends know that soyrizo is my absolute favorite, and good ol' tempeh is a close second. I tend to have those around in my kitchen pretty regularly.

However, occasionally I get super crazy and buy random items...like these sausage links.

Gingerbread Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've made Gingerbread Oatmeal before. You might remember it. It was one of my trials. One of my struggles. One of my white flags.

I gave up and just borrowed a recipe from Vegan Yack Attack.

This recipe is mine. Well, I can't take all the credit, of course. VYA's recipe did influence me a lot. However, I made sure to include some bananas in my version because I'm stubborn like that. I'm grateful I did because this was one spicy [insert colorful language here]. The banana helped mellow out all those cloves.

Salted Maple, Apple, and Pecan Oatmeal

I hope everyone had an excellent 4th of July. It's definitely not my favorite holiday, but I had a pleasant camping trip with my parents. Yes, I'm back in the Midwest for a few weeks before starting another school year in Manhattan!

I know many of my readers are from outside the U.S. (hello!), but I hope your July 4th was nice, too. ^_^ If not, I have the perfect recipe to make your week better:

Apples. Pecans. Maple syrup.

And it's SALTED!

I originally came up with the idea for salted maple and pecan oatmeal, but at the last minute I decided to include apples, and I'm glad that I did. It added an extra sweetness and boost of nutrition.

Apple Spice Oatcakes for One

One of my favorite parts of New York City is its glorious abundance of farmers markets. Access to local and fresh produce ranges from tiny little stands on the street to mega-markets like the Union Square Greenmarket. That's where I found myself last weekend, just before the vendors started packing up and going home for the day.

Obviously I was smitten by the organic leafy greens and the fresh baked bread, but this market had so much more. There was hard cider. And wine. And vegan pies.

And my favorite: jams, jellies, and other jarred goods. I always seek these out at big farmers markets. I consider myself a collector of artisan fruit spreads. It fits nicely with my PB&J sandwich obsession (not to mention my oatmeal addiction...). Beth's Farm Kitchen uses local ingredients to make some phenomenal jams, fruit butters, marmalades, chutneys, and pickled veggies. My purchase? No-sugar-added apple butter. And no, that does not mean they used Splenda, and no, that does not mean they sweetened it with "white grape juice concentrate." It means they took a fruit. Added spices. Cooked it down to a butter. No sweeteners necessary.

...So I made pancakes! Now, of course, any apple butter will do. In fact, if you do not have apple butter, you can use applesauce instead, and then spice the pancakes yourself. However, the apple butter creates a convenient recipe because the spices are already included in the product!

As you can see, I made tiny little silver dollar pancakes. How precious are they? I will stick to the silver dollar size from now on. It was much more fun to eat a tower of mini pancakes than a short stack of fat ones. :)

Pineapple Cashew Oatmeal

You know what I love? Thai food. I actually didn't eat much international cuisines in my youth (I was a meat-and-potatoes-only kind of girl), so my experiments have all been recent. I didn't have Thai for the first time until last May. Oddly enough, the first exposure was in the Denver airport! :) I had some sort of rice dish, and I chose the Thai peanut sauce. That moment, I knew I was meant to love Thai, and I went to my first real Thai restaurant shortly after that.

What did I choose for my first real Thai dish? Pineapple fried rice. Oddly enough, I detected a maple-ish taste. I was pretty sure there was no maple syrup involved, but I still decided at that moment that I could replicate the flavors of pineapple fried rice using pineapple, maple syrup, cashews, and raisins in oatmeal.

Apricot Granola Oatmeal

Prepare yourself for a whole lot of dried fruit craziness coming your way. Remember the box of goodies my mom sent me before my birthday? Well, she apparently decided that wasn't enough, and she shipped an even BIGGER box of treats last week. I guess the first box was my "pre-birthday gift," and the second one was the "belated birthday gift." Either way, THANK YOU, MOM!!!

The second box contains oodles of awesome stuff, from papaya to crystallized ginger. I can't tell you how excited I am to use them all in oatmeal!

For my first recipe, I was feeling a little uncreative, so no papaya spears made it into the saucepan. I did, however, use the maple-almond granola my mom sent as a topping! Granola makes a wonderful topping; I also used it on the Loaded PB&J Oatmeal! Some days, you just can't decide between cold granola and hot porridge, so you have both! :)

Orange, Maple, and Pecan Oatmeal

I promised you a recipe with oranges, right? Well, here we go!

Now, I've told you about the list - the lengthy checklist on my iPod of all the oatmeal ideas that I've yet to make and post about. The weird thing is, only about half of my recipes actually originate from that list. The rest are born on mornings when I walk in the kitchen, analyze my limited ingredients, and throw something together (exhibit A). This is one of those recipes.

Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

I had to do something very, very painful to create this recipe: go on the McDonald's website. Of course, this was much less painful than actually going to their store and purchasing something, but the thought of giving more traffic to this company's website pained me slightly.

I understand there are people who are okay with McDonald's (and fast food in general) in moderation. I am not opposed to all fast food by any means, but I loathe crappy chain fast food joints (McDonald's, BK, Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc.) and refuse to support them. I gave up McDonald's first, and I haven't been inside one since the summer of 2010.

As a result, I've never experienced their Fruit and Maple Oatmeal, and I have no intentions of ever doing so. However, it seemed like a good combination of flavors, and I figured there may be some people out there who would like a copycat recipe. It's a little annoying because it requires both green and red apples, but you could ignore that and just use one kind of apple. Your secret is safe with me. :)