second time's the charm oatmeal

the first time i tried this oatmeal it was meh. in all fairness, i did not do the recipe justice.

for one thing, i didn't realize we were out of real maple syrup. we only had sugar-free maple-ish syrup that the geek accidentally bought a while back.

it also didn't help that the only berries we had on hand were fresh strawberries. when baked, they kind of just dissolved into flavorless mush. (sorry strawberries, i really didn't set you up for success here).

the meh-ness was my bad. i should have planned better, so with a big bag of rolled oats still in the pantry, i vowed to give the recipe another shot.

the second time i made this oatmeal, i planned ahead. real maple syrup? check! berries that bake well? check!

and you know what? it was delicious!

the bigger surprise? the geek loved it.

he loved it so much that it is now on the short list of foods that he actually requests.

he loved it so much that he's looking forward to eating it tomorrow...even though the forecast says it will be in the 80s and we're sitting here with all the windows open and the fans blowing. (north carolina, i miss you and the air conditioning we had in our home there).

once the weather begins to cool, i bet he'll fall even deeper in love with this oatmeal.


adapted from an version posted on orangette (original recipe from super natural everyday).

serves 6.

special equipment: 6-cup baking dish (8x8 or 9x9 square)

ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ½ cups blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

2 cups whole milk or half and half

⅓ cup maple syrup

1 large egg

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

directions:

1. place the rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. melt and slightly cool 1 tablespoon of butter.
3. in a 6-cup baking dish, combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. evenly scatter the berries over the oat mixture.
4. in separate bowl, whisk together the milk, maple syrup, egg, slightly cooled butter, and vanilla. drizzle the milk mixture slowly over the oats. make sure the milk mixture has evenly distributed through the oats by gently tapping the baking dish on the countertop.
5. bake for 35 to 45 minutes. the oatmeal is ready when the top is a golden brown and the mixture has plumped and set. after removing the dish from the oven, allow it to cool slightly.
6. enjoy! for a little something extra, add a pat of butter, a sprinkle of brown sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup.