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.

Stewed Fig and Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Happy Tuesday! Happy last week of school for me! Happy birthday to my older brother, Christopher!

There are so many reasons to be happy this week. One of the reasons includes starting every morning with this oatmeal. The inspiration actually came from my dislike of the appearance of fresh figs. Why are they so unattractive? Thus, I thought to myself: maybe if I stew them or make a compote, I can enjoy the flavor of figs without the ugly appearance.

Well, it turns out that stewed figs are, in fact, uglier than a regular ol' fresh fig. Bummer.

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.

Cinnamon Fig Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Do not fear cinnamon! I often add just enough in my recipes to give it a warm, cozy taste, but whenever I add more, I never regret it. For this particular recipe, I took a deep breath and added a full 1/2 teaspoon. It looked like too much for a moment: it even turned the oatmeal! However, after one bite, I knew I had made the correct choice.

I highly recommend going with the full 1/2 teaspoon. You'll never know unless you try. If you must, you could always start with a 1/4 teaspoon and slowly add more until you think you have enough...but that would make you a wimp. :)

Lemon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Every time I think all my lemon ideas have dried up, another springs to my mind. As of this moment, I can't say I have any more lemon recipes to give you. However, I'm sure within a couple of months, I'll miraculously think of another. It's simply inevitable.

Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal

My grandma makes a killer apple pie. The apple filling reaches the perfect point between firm slices and mush. I don’t want to have to chew my apples when I’m eating pie, but I don’t want to slurp them like applesauce, either. She nails this balance every time.

The extra special twist is that her apples come from her backyard. An apple tree was planted in her yard each time a new grandkid was born. This means my brother, sister, cousins, and I each have our own apple tree. We take great pride in the apples that grow from them. Each time my grandma makes a pie, someone asks, “Whose apples are these?” There was a stretch of time when my tree was the champion, pumping out dozens of apples throughout the harvesting season. My apple tree is a boss.

I have a soft spot in my heart for apple pie. Well, to be honest, I just really love pie (pie > cake).

I feel like all my pie-themed recipes go through similar transformations where they emerge in every form, from stove-top, to baked, to overnight, to steel-cut. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you see Pumpkin Pie Oatcakes or Apple Pie Muesli (how would that even work?!).

Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 25 min

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 cups milk of choice
• 2 cups water (or more milk)
• 1 cup steel cut oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 2 or 3 apples
• 1 tbsp flax meal or seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp apple pie spice (or 2 tsp cinnamon with two pinches each of nutmeg, allspice, and ginger)
• 1/2 tsp molasses (I use Blackstrap)
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Add milk and water to a large pot over medium heat.
2. While you wait, prepare your apples. Dice them into as small of pieces as possible (the smaller the chunks, the more evenly distributed the flavor will be!).
3. Once the liquid comes to a boil, add oats, diced apple, and flax. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Stir occasionally. After about ten or fifteen minutes, add vanilla extract, apple pie spice, molasses, and salt. Stir.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to four or five serving bowls. Add a splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (pecans and maple syrup are wonderful).

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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!

Pumpkin Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal

For over a year, I had to stomach the fact that my Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal was my #1 most viewed recipe. I mean, that recipe was fine and dandy, but number one?? C'mon. Not even close. I could name thirty recipes that I'd pick over that one.

Luckily for me, the most wonderful thing happened about a month ago. As always, August and September ushered in the yearly pumpkin craze, and my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal received a great deal of love on Pinterest. Out of nowhere, this recipe vaulted into the #1 spot and surpassed the Salted Brownie by thousands of views. COOL. I feel like my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is a much better representative of my blog than the Salted Brownie.

I love my pumpkin pie recipes. Certainly, they're not my MOST favorite, but they're in my Top Ten. You might think that I'd be satisfied with a stove-top, baked, and overnight version, but no, I'm not finished. Now that I've fallen in love with steel-cut oats, it just made sense to add another variation to my pumpkin pie family.

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.

Spiced Apple and Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Peach season has technically closed. Let's be honest—it closed a while ago. However, I'm miserable at goodbyes, so I'm still throwing them in my porridge mid-September. Bite me.

If, like me, you're still stuck in summer, this porridge will help you transition to autumn. It combines summer's peach with autumn's apple, and I spiced it with an earthy blend of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

Peanut Butter Banana Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Earlier this week, I finally received a functional stove. The gas for our kitchen appliances had not been turned on before we moved in, so everyone in the entire building has been eating cold salads, wraps, and sandwiches...or just getting food delivered...for the past two weeks.

Luckily, I have a slow-cooker.

This recipe can be made on the stove or in a slow-cooker. In fact, any steel-cut oat recipe should, in theory, work fine in a slow-cooker. However, I must state my preferences: I despise oatmeal made in slow-cookers. I find the results to be unpleasantly chewy and contain an unwanted aftertaste. I much prefer to make it on the stove. Still, I included both options in the instructions because I know someone people enjoy that method.

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!

Grilled Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

You know you have a fantastic oatmeal planned when you wake up at 6 am and spend twenty minutes wondering if it's too early to get up and start making breakfast. That's actually one of the billion reasons I love oatmeal. Did you know I used to hate mornings? Now I wake up at absurd hours because I'm so gosh darn excited to slurp down some oats.

Yeah, so... Remember on Monday, when I was all "sophisticated" with that Strawberry Basil Oatmeal? Here we go again. Grilled peaches, anyone?

Brownie Batter Oatmeal

Cocoa powder is just the best. It's really one of the few ingredients that can turn anything into a decadent treat without harming its nutritional profile. I think I've put cocoa powder in all my breakfasts for the last week and a half. I used to save that only for weekends (so it felt special), but now I'm just throwing it in everything with reckless abandon.

This is a porridge that's been ruling my mornings (and a couple dinners...) lately. It actually began when I was making my favorite Fudgy Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal, but I used Country Choice Organic quick-cooking steel-cut oats instead. I noticed the consistency and flavor was highly reminiscent of brownie batter. Thus, the idea was born.

Banana Bread Steel-Cut Oatmeal

In the span of one week, I've come to really love the texture of steel-cut oats. I can't quite explain it, but there is something almost luxurious in the mouthfeel of these pillowy, nutty, hearty oats. I'm definitely a fan.

Last Saturday, I prepared steel-cut oats for the first time. I threw in a single serving on the stove with some coconut milk and then jumped in the shower. The directions said it took 30 minutes, and my showers are never even a third of that time. It seemed safe to me.