Fall

Heavenly Vanilla SpicedĀ Oatmeal

by:
October 31, 2012
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4, or fewer with leftovers
Author Notes

This is my "aromatherapy" breakfast for the household on chilly days. I made it when my daughter brought some friends from college home for the weekend. One young guy told me that he had eaten a lot of oatmeal in his life, but had never had any as delicious. "It's like dessert" was the consensus. Sometimes I leave out the banana, and change up the kind of dried fruit, depending on what I have in the pantry. —zora

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup steel-cut oats
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1 small ripe banana, diced (or 2/3 large banana)
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 slices of ginger root, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins, dried apricots, white figs, chopped
  • 1"x3" slice of orange peel, without pith
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. In a heavy bottom saucepan, heat the water and milks.
  2. Add the banana. Scrape out seeds from vanilla bean before adding the bean to the pot, and add the other spices, orange peel and salt.
  3. When the liquid is at the boiling point, drizzle in the oatmeal, stirring constantly.
  4. Add the dried fruit.
  5. Simmer on a very low flame, on a flame tamer if possible, stirring frequently for a minimum of 30-40 minutes. Add more water, if it is getting too thick.
  6. Remove vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, ginger slices, orange peel before serving.
  7. Serve with almond milk, butter, and choice of brown sugar, maple or agave syrup.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

2 Reviews

zora February 23, 2016
I often make a big batch and stick some of the leftovers into the freezer.
faitchis March 31, 2014
For the record, leftovers are 100% as scrumptious reheated the next day.