Porridge, oatmeal, call it what you will, it is one of my favourite foods. Rich and creamy, it is endlessly variable and simple yet satisfying. We've recently started having baked oats for breakfast instead of our regular oatmeal. Wrangling a toddler, it is easier to have something we can prep the night before and simply pop in the oven in the morning without having to stand at the stove and stir. A lot of recipes I've seen seem to use blended oats, essentially oat flour, but I have continued using our regular oats (usually the coarsest available) and enjoy the texture. I've also been using this as an excuse to use up more of the whey I am getting in ample quantities from my cheese making fun. I find that overnight or baked oats using milk are sometimes too rich and sweet for me. Whey I find strikes the right balance, and if need be, if it is particularly sour, adding a tsp of honey usually solves the issue without them becoming overly sweet. Similarly if I am craving a little more richness at breakfast, a little butter or cream solves that without the whole dish being too rich. I've also found that I need to use less oats cooking them this way for all of our breakfasts than I do for regular oatmeal for some reason. Beyond that, I've been playing with different ingredients and flavours in our oats including coconut, vanilla, nuts, mint, spices and more. Here are some of our favourites:
Ingredients:
For the basic oats:
1 c oats
2 c whey / milk
1/2 c raisins (or more. you can never have too many raisins)
For spiced oats, add:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp orange peel
(walnuts, optional)
For almond oats, add:
2 tbsp ground almonds
1/2 tsp almond extract
(optional: 1-2 tsp orange peel
1 tsp cinnamon and /or Aloha Spiced Cacao)
For chocolate hazelnut oats, add:
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp Aloha Chilli Spiced Cacao
1 tbsp hazelnut butter (preferably unsweetened. We accidentally get sweetened...oops)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
(optional extras of walnuts, orange, espresso chips, orange peel)
For our simple oats:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp orange peel
For mint chocolate oats add:
1 - 2 tbsp crushed dried mint leaves (I'd like to try it with fresh but my balcony garden was still snowy at this point)
2 tsp Aloha Mint Spiced Cacao, or cacao powder of your choice.
For ginger oats add:
1/4 c dried ginger, chopped (I use unsweetened ginger pieces)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
(optionally, add either diced pear or 1 tsp fenugreek powder)
For banana baked oats add:
1 banana, mashed
1 tbsp ground almond
1 tsp vanilla extract
For baked tapioca:
1/2 c tapioca
2 c whey/milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao
1) Mix all ingredients in an oven proof dish for use immediately, or allow to sit over night.
2) Place in the oven at 180°C for 20- 30 minutes until firm but not dry - think pudding.
Having baked oats (almost) every morning has made mornings a bit easier for us with Little Bit to watch, but exploring the variety of them has also been a lot of fun. The texture isn't far off that of our regular porridge, but allowing everything to soak overnight makes the fruit or raisins puff up, gives everything a natural sweetness and makes the oats a little more tender. Sometimes baking the oats there is a slight crust on top. My favourite is when this happens and we still have a moist, gooey mess underneath. We've trialled a few other grains too. The baked tapioca was delicious. Baked polenta tasted good, but the texture was oddly lumpy and it requires a little more work. Baked bulgur wheat worked, sort of, but it was like eating cinnamon couscous for breakfast. It didn't come together at all and perhaps also needs a bit more playing around with.
