A few weeks ago, I went to the sugarshack at Hanging Mountain Farm, and one of the many, many food items on my plate was baked oatmeal. It was delicious, so I tried to recreate it, and I succeeded, more or less. It’s really simple, so this isn’t exactly a recipe so much as a “didja know?”.
You may be thinking, “why would a person want to bake oatmeal?” Well, I’ll tell you. While oatmeal can be a delicious and filling breakfast, it does have a certain… mucousy quality, for lack of a better word. The baking removes that and improves the texture, and makes oatmeal palatable to people who normally can’t stand it.
So, you start by making oatmeal the regular way. You know, you use regular, plain rolled oats (not the instant kind! There’s no improving on those. Blech.) and cook with a water-to-oat ratio of 2:1 over low heat until the water is absorbed. I added a handful of raisins and chopped-up dried apples, although I imagine any other kind of dried fruit would be equally delicious. When the oatmeal is cooked, dump it into an oven-safe bowl, add a pat of butter, a glug of maple syrup (or a spoonful of brown sugar), a dash of cinnamon, and a sprinkle of salt. I think chopped walnuts would be good too, although I haven’t tried. Or almonds?
Stir it all up, pop it in a 350 degree oven, and bake for 20 minutes or until the texture looks good to you, stirring regularly.
