The Kitchen Door

Mike hates oatmeal. He feels unloved whenever I serve it. He calls it gruel. I’m thinking that the influence of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” must have had something to do with it. The only difference between he and a poor ol’ kicked around orphan from Victorian England at Oatmeal time is that he will never ever utter the words “Please Sir, may I have some more” ::insert cockney accent::.

I on the other hand LOVE oatmeal and I know that the gruel in Oliver’s dish was in fact not oatmeal but some sort of gelatinous mush… not at all akin to a good bowl of perfectly cooked and sweetened oatmeal.

In the 27 years that I have been married to Mike I have had to get pretty durned creative about his oatmeal time. I’ve tried everything and finally hit upon the one technique that doesn’t make him feel unloved. Oh brother.

My friend Ruby asked for the recipe and so here it is. Try it and rescue the oatmeal hating “orphan” that is seated at your breakfast table.

Blueberry Coffee-cake Oatmeal

Delight the fussy oatmeal eater in your family with this delicious breakfast.

The Ingredients

Berry Maple Oatmeal

• 3/4 cup whole oats
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1-2 tsp brown sugar
• Berry Syrup to taste (see recipe below)
• Streusel Topping to taste

Berry Maple Syrup:

• 1 2/3 cup blueberries, blackberries or raspberries, fresh or thawed
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 Tbs water

Streusel Topping: This makes a lot, but I usually make it and keep in a ziplock in the freezer to use on oatmeal or to top coffee cake batter or muffin batter. It’s a pretty handy thing to have in the freezer.

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup cold butter

 

The Instructions

For oatmeal:

1. Combine the milk and oats in a saucepan and cook at medium heat. Bring the oatmeal to a gentle boil, stirring it occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
2. Cook the oatmeal for 5-10 minutes, or until the oats are tender. (For smooth, creamy oatmeal, be careful not to over-cook it. Remove it from the heat just when the oats are tender and the oatmeal is still somewhat milky because it will continue to solidify as it cools.)
3. Remove the oatmeal from the heat and pour it into serving bowls. Stir in a spoonful or so of the streusel and some of the berry maple syrup to taste.

For the syrup:

1. Dissolve the flour in the water in a small saucepan. Stir in the maple syrup. Then add the berries.
2. Bring the mixture to a gentle bubbling simmer and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to let it boil vigorously (at this point, with the back of a wooden spoon, I gently mashed a few of the berries just to release more juice and have varying textures… you can do this or omit the step if you like, it’s a matter of personal preference). Remove it from the heat and serve it warm.

For the streusel:

1. Mix the sugar, flour and pecans together.
2. Cut in the cold butter until crumbly.

By: The Kitchen Door

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