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.

Sweet Corn, Blueberry, and Basil Oatmeal

The best part about Manhattan can be summed up in one word: access. In this city, you can basically track down anything..with relatively little effort (as long as you've mastered the public transportation piece). Certainly, I could access most things from Brooklyn, but it was always such a drag. I used to make excuses about how inconvenient or tedious it would be, and I would just stay home. In my new location, it's so easy!

Farmer's market. No excuses.

What is it about farmer's markets that is so incredible?! Maybe it's because there are so many unique items (love the habanero jam I bought from Beth's Family Kitchen). Maybe it's because there are free samples. Maybe it's because everything is so stinkin' fresh. :

Carrot Ginger Oatmeal

Did you know I used to hate ginger? It's true. If you look at my early recipes when I used ginger, it would always be a teensy tiny pinch. I can't remember when my feelings changed, but I have a much higher tolerance for it now.

I much prefer fresh ginger, but now that I've acquired a taste for it, I'm fine with ground ginger. I thought half a teaspoon would be too much for this recipe, so I started with just a quarter teaspoon. After a few tastes, I continued adding more bit by bit, until I finally had added half a teaspoon total. Perfect.

Oatmeal Recipes for St. Patrick's Day!

As I said earlier this week, I'm slightly offended by the American celebration of St. Patrick's Day. It's like a giant caricature of Irish culture.

That being said, there is a legitimate history behind the color green for St. Patrick's Day. I turned to Wikipedia, holder of all truth and authenticity, to explain:

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's Day grew.[13] Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century.[14] Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the ubiquitous wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs has become a feature of the day.[15][16] In the 1798 rebellion, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention.[13] The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

(Isn't Wikipedia great?)

In honor of my favorite country everrrrrr, here are five oatmeal recipes to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Some are green; some are not. ;)

Carrot Cranberry Oatmeal

Where, oh where, have all my carrot recipes been? Despite my deep love for carrots (and zucchini!) in oatmeal, my blog has been lacking in those recipes lately. Why? No grater. :(

Well, problem solved: I finally own a grater. Expect carrot and zucchini recipes in the future. :)

I recently realized I have some cranberry goodies left from the holiday season. My roommate had a bag of fresh cranberries (which she said I was welcome to), and I had half a jar of Trader Joe's cranberry sauce. Perfect!

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.

Coconut Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Taking a tip from my Coconut Kiwi Oatmeal, I decided to go for another round of coconut butter. This time, I paired it with sweet potato.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a major fan of sweet potato in oatmeal. I might even like it more than pumpkin. The only reason I don't use it more often is because...well...I'm lazy. Sweet potatoes need to be cooked, and that's annoying. It's always worth it, though.

Carrot Pineapple Oatmeal

In case you haven't noticed, I love using earthy ingredients like pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrots in porridge. These ingredients create such heartwarming bowls of oatmeal that it can make even the coldest of mornings tolerable.

The downfall of those veggies (although pumpkin is a fruit, apparently) is that they typically require an added sweetener. As you can tell from many of my recipes, I do not fear a small dose of maple syrup or honey. However, when I can sweeten something naturally, I much prefer that.

Enter: pineapple!

When I first saw this flavor combination, I was delighted. I've learned recently that pineapple pairs well with just about everything. I love pineapple on pizza, in salsa, and virtually every southwestern-type dish (I recently made a spicy quinoa casserole with corn, tomatoes, black beans, and...yep...pineapple!). There are few dishes I won't try with pineapple. :)

10 Oatmeal Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

I know I haven't posted a new recipe since Tuesday, but I decided it was vital for me to spend this week relaxing and exploring the city with my sister, who is visiting from Minnesota. Instead of posting a new porridge today, I created a round-up of all the recipes you could make using some of your potential leftovers from Thanksgiving (which, by the way, is my FAVORITE holiday...even as a herbivore!).

I have so much to be thankful for...seemingly more so than previous years! I'm thankful to have "made it" in this city. I'm thankful to finally be a teacher. I'm thankful for plant-based options popping up more and more at restaurants around the city. I'm thankful for peanut butter on a genuine NY bagel. I'm thankful for this blog and the joy it brings me every week, as well as the love and support given to me by Country Choice Organic. I'm thankful for sauteed kale (because JEE-ZUSS it's so good). I'm thankful for warm fleece jackets, hot tea, electric blankets, and space heaters. I'm thankful for my family, friends, and everyone who reads my blog (YOU)!

Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

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).

Orange and Sweet Potato Oatmeal

I hope nobody is getting impatient at my lack of baked and overnight recipes. My preference has always been for stove-top oats, so I will continue that trend most of the time. It also doesn't help that I do not have a microwave (for realz), so when I heat up my oatmeal in the morning, I just throw it on the stove to warm while I do my hair and make up. That definitely wouldn't work with a baked oatmeal!

However, I feel like I've pumped out some pretty fantastic recipes lately, so I will not apologize. This one uses just five ingredients and a pinch of salt--hurray for simplicity! As it turns, one orange is all it take to add a special brightness to a simple sweet potato porridge.

Apple and Sweet Potato Oatmeal

I must admit that I’ve been pining to incorporate sweet potatoes into my porridge again all summer. I somehow managed to resist until the end of August (when I made my Sweet Potato & Soyrizo Oatmeal), and here I am again, writing up another sweet potato post.

What I find especially charming about sweet potatoes is its versatility. It functions beautifully in both savory and sweet recipes. Last week, I showed how to make it savory (with the soyrizo). Now, I paired it with apple and earthy apple pie spices to bring out its dessert-like qualities.

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!).

Chocolate Zucchini Baked Oatmeal

It's been quite a long time since I've shared a recipe for baked oatmeal. I devoted most of July to stove-top recipes and had little ambition for heating up the oven.

I made an exception for this recipe. I came in possession of a zucchini from the farmers' market in my hometown before I left for New York, and I knew I had to attempt this recipe. I don't buy zucchinis often, so it was now or never.

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.

Morning Glory Oatmeal

You guys, the worst thing ever happened. I came up with this amazing idea for a baked oatmeal, only to discover that somebody else beat me to it by a matter of days. Days!! Bummer. I literally said to my mother, "I have this idea for oatmeal using zucchini, carrots, and apple," and two hours later, I stumbled on Oatgasm's post on Foodgawker. I was distraught!

On the other hand, I was able to use Oatgasm's recipe to help create my own version, especially when it came to the spices. I've never personally experienced a Morning Glory Muffin, so I appreciated the assistance. However, I did do some tweaking to meet my preferences (like how I never have applesauce on hand). And, since Oatgasm mastered the baked version, I decided to bring you the stove-top version. Want it baked? Go to her. Want it on the stove? I gotcha covered.

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!