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.

Spicy Mango Oatmeal

Mango chutney--that's the inspiration for this recipe.

Believe it or not, the first time I had chutney was in Ireland. I remember asking the waitress what "chutney" was because it came on the sandwich I wanted. She tried to explain it, but it sounded like nothing I had ever heard of, so I requested it on the side.

It was life-changing.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

To all of you who turn your noses up every time I stir bananas into my recipes where they don't belong, you are in luck! With great self-control, I resisted the mashed banana. I did it for YOU.

Obviously, regular hot chocolate is brilliant. I never realized how much I loved hot chocolate until I moved to the East Coast and experienced the brilliance of L.A. Burdick's and City Bakery. These places serve up rich, thick, chocolate goodness that just coats your throat with luxury. What makes Mexican hot chocolate unique is the addition of cinnamon (and occasionally other spices). I included an optional pinch of cayenne, for I never turn down an opportunity for a little fire!

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.

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.

Pineapple Jalapeno Oatmeal

I have discovered an imperfection in Trader Joe's. It has taken me a year, but I finally found it. Trader Joe's does not sell individual jalapeno peppers. If you wish to purchase one, you must buy a container of them that holds SEVEN PEPPERS.

Because who doesn't need seven jalapeno peppers at one time?!

Feeling clever, I purchased one of their "guacamole kits" instead. It contains ONE jalapeno, two avocados, some garlic, a lime, and two tomatoes. I can use the avocados without a sweat, and I can easily find an excuse to use a lime. The garlic will remain usable for weeks and will definitely serve its purpose eventually. The tomatoes, however, will be a struggle. I might try and make tomato sauce or something (I have garlic, after all!).

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.

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...