Broccoli Cheddar Oatmeal

Any Happy Herbivore fans out there? It's the only cookbook I've spent money on (why buy cookbooks when any recipe you could dream of is online already?), so I guess you could say I'm an avid supporter.

I had already tried a few recipes and was a proud Herbie, but then I tried the mac and cheese, and that sealed the deal. To be truthful, this isn't a dead-ringer for cow's milk cheddar, but I'm so obsessed with it and confidently claim that it's better. If you're a nutritional yeast fan, you'll likely love this cheesy sauce.

Considering I already loved the cheese sauce, I knew this oatmeal would be fantastic. And yeah, it was. Creamy, cheesy, and overflowing with giant, emerald florets.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Baked Oatmeal

You know I've never been much into holiday-themed recipes, but I've been alllllll about these Thanksgiving recipes lately: Pumpkin Pie, Apple & Chestnut, and all of those sweet potato recipes. I have more coming up next week, too! It's probably because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Food, food, food...but no commercialism!

This obsession has grown recently due to the fact that I won't be able to enjoy much Thanksgiving food this year. As a vegetarian, I could still enjoy all my favorites: corn, squash, potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. Now, however, I have to accept that fact that all of these items are generally loaded in butter. Le sigh. As a result, I've turned to oatmeal to satisfy any Thanksgiving cravings (although I may actually make some herbie-friendly Thanksgiving foods on my own).

Sweet Potato and Soyrizo Oatmeal

Let’s all take a moment to acknowledge just how fantastic soyrizo is.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it’s the vegetarian version of chorizo, a Spanish sausage. My first experience with it happened at my favorite restaurant in Newark, Elbow Room. It’s a specialty mac and cheese joint, and it’s the cutest little thing. They have this ridiculous vegan queso mac, made with a housemade vegan cheese sauce (meant to replicate queso fondido), soyrizo, avocado, cilantro, and fried tortilla strips. I was allllllll about that place last year.

Savory Mexican Corn Oatmeal

Hi. I made oatmeal. :)

If my month off has done anything for me, it's provided me a chance to concentrate on this dear blog. I've adored having endless hours to invest in tweaking the layout, adjusting the recipe format, testing more unique and elaborate recipes, and above all, practicing my photography skillz.

Oatmeal Risotto [Guest Post]

If you remember from Thursday's post, Haley and I had a chance encounter a few weeks ago, and we wanted to swap blogs and share our stories. Read Haley's side of the story below, and make sure to visit her blog and become a fan on Facebook! 

Hi! I'm Haley (from Cheap RecipeBlog) and I want to tell you a funny story about how I "met" Lauren.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting my parents in southwest Minnesota. One day, I trekked over to Brookings, South Dakota, to meet an old college friend for coffee. We were meeting at Cottonwood Coffee on main street. Here's a timeline of events:

9:15 a.m.: Feeling hungry for breakfast, I ordered a bowl of baked oatmeal.

9:20 a.m.: Once I started eating, I realized that this was no ordinary baked oatmeal. It was deliciously warm, hearty, very slightly sweet — and topped with steamed milk. It was absolutely delicious. One of the best and most unique bowls of oatmeal I’d ever eaten.

1:25 p.m.: Once I got home, I immediately Googled "baked oatmeal with steamed milk" to see what I could find.

1:27 p.m.: I clicked on Google's second result, after noticing a recipe for “flooded oatmeal” on a cleverly-named website called "The Oatmeal Artist"

1:30 p.m.: Once I got to the page, I immediately recognized the bowl in the top photo. It was the same oatmeal I had eaten this morning! I left the following comment:

4:30 p.m.: I checked back on The Oatmeal Artist to see if she had responded. This is what I found:

She had been there! The Oatmeal Artist! And she had seen me eating oatmeal. After a bit of correspondence, I realized that I had seen her as well. She was the girl across the room wearing a fabulous turquoise dress.

If this chance encounter doesn't seem crazily weird to you, hear me out: I live in St. Paul, Minnesota. I never (ever) eat breakfast on a weekday morning in Brookings, South Dakota. Lauren lives in New York City. Sure, we both have roots in rural Minnesota/South Dakota, but it's still mighty weird that our paths would cross in such a way.

Naturally, we couldn't just let this story go untold. Which is why we're teaming up and swapping guest blog posts!

About the Recipe

Coming up with a new oatmeal recipe to feature on Lauren's blog was - well - not an easy task. I mean, what hasn't this girl already covered? This is the most comprehensive oatmeal recipe site I’ve ever seen.

So I've done what any self-respecting oatmeal-lover-but-not-The-Oatmeal-Artist would do: Post someone else's recipe!

I recently bought a fabulous new cookbook: Try This At Home by Richard Blais of Top Chef fame. This cookbook is chock-full of seriously creative recipes like Vidalia onion rings with beer mustard, Greek yogurt with tandoori honey and freeze-dried fruit, and the recipe that I’m featuring today: Oatmeal risotto.

This is a very creamy, banana-sweetened oatmeal recipe that combines interesting if unusual flavors. Personally, I think I’ll leave off the Parmesan cheese the next time I make it, but do give it a try if you’re looking for something out-of-the-box.

Oatmeal Risotto

by Haley Nelson, adapted from Richard Blais (Try This at Home)

Prep Time: Overnight (soaking)

Cook Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• parmesan cheese shavings, as a topping

Instructions

1. Place oats and water in a medium bowl. Cover and allow to stand overnight at room temperature.
2. While the oatmeal is cooking, place raisins and vinegar in a small bowl to soak.
3. Pour oats and water into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and salt. Mix well. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add mashed banana and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes or so. Remove from heat.

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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!

Savory Pizza Porridge

Remember when I said I didn't enjoy savory oatmeal? I have changed my mind. This recipe was a game changer. And I want it tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.

I didn't even need cheese to make this porridge happen, but I'm sure that would only make it more "realistic" if you wish. For me, a dusting of nutritional yeast was perfectly adequate! There were so many other flavors in this oatmeal that the omission of cheese was no problem at all.

Savory Greek Oatmeal

I've said it once (or twice) and I'll say it again: I'll take my oats sweet, thank you. Still, I'm eager to keep experimenting with savory oatmeal, and I'm especially eager to bring you new, exciting recipes!

As much as I would love to say Greek food is my favorite, I have to admit that my definition of Greek food is embarassingly shallow. I love Greek salad, and basically any menu item that claims to be "Greek" due to the inclusion of black olives and feta. I even used to think falafel was Greek, but I've since learned better (ahem, it's Middle Eastern. whatever...).

I had plans to make a different (sweet) oatmeal yesterday, but I had some hummus I needed to use up, as well as a jar of black olives that I was eager to open. I was missing some of the "classic Greek ingredients," but I felt like I had enough to make it work. I listed optional ingredients so that you can choose which to include!

Savory Butternut Squash Oatmeal

It's been a while. I haven't posted a savory oats recipe for months. I've been meaning to do it for a long time, too. Every time I update my recipe index and see that one wimpy savory oats recipe, I feel a surge of motivation to give it a companion, but alas, it would never surmount to anything.

Until now!

Have you ever had butternut squash risotto? That's what this reminded me of. It was pleasantly creamy, yet savory. The oatmeal was an excellent vehicle for the butternut squash, which is truly the star of the recipe.

Cajun-Spiced Oatmeal with Red Pepper, Black Beans, and Spinach

My mouth is on fire from this one!

To tell the truth, I don't know much about Cajun cuisine. It's not exactly a cuisine that Midwesterners ever experience, sadly (we fear cayenne pepper), and it's not the most vegetarian-friendly cuisine, either. However, I recently discovered Cajun seasoning, and I love it. I made these awesome crunchy Cajun tofu sticks once, and they were so great...