CHOCOLATE BANANA BAKED OATMEAL

Way back in 2013, when I discovered my beloved funky monkey baked oatmeal, I commented on the wrong-feelingness of eating chocolate in the morning (and, indeed, 75% of the time I’ve made that recipe since, I’ve omitted the chocolate and coconut so it’s just banana-peanut butter), and speculated about using cocoa powder so that the base of the oatmeal itself was chocolaty, instead of being studded with chocolate chips. I never bothered to follow up on this idea, or I would have seen that my trusted baked oatmeal recipe source, Budget Bytes, already had a chocolate banana version in its archives. I only spotted it recently, while posting about banana coconut baked oatmeal, and I immediately knew it was the next logical step in my breakfast journey.

It’s hardly shocking to reveal that this oatmeal is objectively delicious, but I was still surprised that I enjoyed it so much. I’ve never been one to crave chocolate cake for breakfast, even in my carefree youth, so it took a few bites to overcome the twin disconnects of (a) eating something that looked and smelled like a brownie at 8 a.m., and (b) eating something that looked and smelled like a brownie but was barely sweet. Once I recalibrated my senses, however, I loved how the deep flavor of the cocoa shone through (use a good-quality cocoa powder, because it’s going to be the main flavor here), and how I felt fully as satisfied and energized until lunchtime as I do from any other oatmeal. If you do actually hunger for dessert first thing in the morning, this may be a good way to trick yourself into thinking you’re indulging. For me, it’s another fun riff to add to my baked oatmeal rotation.

The original recipe suggested a number of possible add-ins, including coconut and peanut butter, but to make sure I got plenty of protein to carry me through the morning, I went with sliced almonds. I toasted them for added flavor, but they still got largely overshadowed by the blast of cocoa. I appreciated their crunch, however, so they’ll be making a return appearance.

3 large or 4 medium ripe bananas
2 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups milk
2½ cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mash enough bananas to make 1½ cups.
3. To the bowl of mashed bananas, add the eggs, cocoa powder (I like to sift this in to eliminate lumps), brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk again. Make sure there are no clumps of cocoa powder. Stir the oats and almonds into the bowl.
4. Coat the inside of an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour the oat mixture into the pan.
5. Place the oats in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, or until firm. Cut into six pieces and serve warm, with milk.

Serves: 6
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great. Oatmeal will keep for a week in a covered container; reheat individual pieces in the microwave each morning.

BANANA COCONUT BAKED OATMEAL

I’ve tried many, many kinds of baked oatmeal, but only a few have been worth repeating. Texture is my main criteria: I’ve found that I don’t really enjoy anything that involves chunks of non-pureed fruit, which rules out a lot of options, and in my opinion the recipes from Budget Bytes are the best (a bit fluffier and more custardy). My favorites by far are pumpkin and peanut butter banana (funky monkey without the coconut and chocolate), each of which I make at least monthly, with occasional forays into plain, banana walnut, or funky monkey for variety. It hasn’t happened yet, but it would be a sad day if I were ever to get sick of my old standbys, so I was thrilled when this new variation popped up a few weeks ago and was interested to see that it used coconut milk for added flavor. Of course I had to try it out.

I swapped in cardamom for the nutmeg (because I think cardamom should be in just about everything) and doubled the vanilla, figuring I might capture the quality of the coconut cardamom rice and tapioca puddings I love. It tasted delicious, although the texture was different than my regular baked oatmeals, denser and more solid. This one has a few more oats and less liquid—13.5 ounces is only about 1.7 cups, whereas all my other recipes use 2 cups milk—and I might try supplementing with an extra splash of dairy milk next time, but I came to appreciate the chewiness, and just added a bit more milk when serving. All of the others in my repertoire also contain nuts, and I was slightly worried the reduced protein in this one wouldn’t fill me up sufficiently (there was also only one egg instead of two, which I’m guessing might be an attempt to offset the coconut milk’s richness), but it wasn’t a problem. I’m pretty sure this is going to be making regular appearances in my breakfast rotation.

1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 large)
1 large egg
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
13.5 ounces canned coconut milk
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil the inside of a 2-to-3-quart casserole dish. (I like to use coconut oil spray.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and shredded coconut until evenly combined. Add the coconut milk and whisk again until smooth. Add the rolled oats and stir until combined.
3. Pour the oat mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Serves: 6
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week; reheat individual portions in the microwave.

PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA

This recipe is ideal for the time of year I always complain about, when the rest of the nation wraps up in wooly sweaters and sips hot cider while Southern California swelters into November. This year has been particularly brutal, leading me to spend long hours staring into my closet, wondering why I even bother owning long-sleeved clothing. Craving pumpkin-spice flavor while breaking a sweat at the thought of anything served above room temperature doesn’t leave much room for fall treats. One day, dreaming wistfully of steaming pumpkin baked oatmeal while it was plainly still granola weather, I thought, “Is there such a thing as pumpkin granola?”

I shouldn’t have even questioned it; I think the second rule of the Internet must be that there is a pumpkin variation of every possible foodstuff. (The first rule is something to do with cat videos.) I found a number of candidates but couldn’t settle on one; some looked too sweet, others didn’t contain much actual pumpkin. Then, the very day I was drawing up my grocery list, Budget Bytes published exactly what I was looking for. Well, almost exactly—I did swap in coconut oil for vegetable oil, maple syrup for honey, my own spice blend for pumpkin pie spice, and pecans for sunflower seeds. I left out the cranberries because I wasn’t in the mood for dried fruit, but might have added some pepitas if I had them, for a double hit of pumpkin power. However you choose to approach it, the result is an orange-hued, clustery granola with real pumpkin spice flavor that makes for a delicious autumnal breakfast treat. This was the first time I’d deviated from my go-to granola recipe in 10 years, but I’m glad I made room in my life for a seasonal alternative.

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans (pepitas would also be good here)
½ cup dried cranberries, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, spices, and salt. Stir and cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until mixture is heated through and the sugar has dissolved.
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry oats, pecans, and pumpkin mixture. Stir very well (mixing with your hands works best) until the oats are evenly coated with pumpkin and there are no dry oats left in the bottom of the bowl.
4. Spread the oat mixture over two baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake the oats in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until they are mostly dry, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. Once the oats are finished cooking, sprinkle in the chopped cranberries if desired, stir, then let cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Serves: About 8
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Leftover potential: Good.

BAKED EGGS WITH SPINACH AND MUSHROOMS

This feels a little anticlimactic after the big Potato Salad Revelation. I thought the recipe (from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen) sounded a little boring, but useful: one of those easy, cozy egg dishes that can be whipped up with little energy and on short notice—the first day back from vacation, say, when the fridge is nearly bare and you just want to grab a few things at the store and throw something together. Spinach, mushrooms, and eggs…what’s not to like? Er, unless you don’t like one of those three things. But I like all of them and know they go well together, in a non-earthshattering kind of way.

Except I was pleasantly surprised by how much flavor is packed into this dish and how much we enjoyed it. Not to mention it’s relaxingly flexible—I used more spinach and mushrooms because those were the package sizes I’d bought and I wanted to use them up, and it was just fine—and can be scaled up to serve six or more, making it just as nice for brunchtime entertaining as for a lazy weekday dinner. The only flaw is that my eggs have turned out too hard both times so far, but that’s easily fixed with a bit more attentiveness; I’ll try them after 5 minutes next time instead of the original 7 to 10. And even oversolid, they still tasted great, so no big deal. Apparently it even makes good leftovers, although I’ve yet to try that. All in all, this recipe is a good reminder that sometimes basic food can be best.

10-12 ounces baby spinach leaves
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5-8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/3 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Bring ½ inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over medium-high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.
3. Wipe skillet dry, then melt butter over medium-low heat and cook onion and garlic, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer.
4. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 5 to 10 minutes. (Check them after 5 minutes.) Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.

Serves: 2 (can be doubled or tripled as needed)
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: Untried by me, but word on the street says it’s decent.

OPEN-FACED EGG, TOMATO, AND CHEESE SANDWICHES

Breakfast sandwiches...I never really saw the appeal, but then I haven’t been wild about eggs until recently. Now an egg on toast sounds cozy and lovely to me—for dinner. An egg on toast with mustard, melted cheddar, and tomato sounds even better. You probably don’t even need a recipe for that, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me without this post from Everybody Likes Sandwiches via Poppytalk. I had some fat sourdough English muffins from a neighborhood restaurant, La Grande Orange, each half just the right size to hold a slice of tomato and an egg comfortably (suddenly this breakfast sandwich thing is making sense). A quick egg-frying and broiler-toasting later, and you’ve got a crispy-gooey delight for any time of day. The cheese that oozes off the bread and browns on the baking sheet is my favorite part. I also love the way the egg yolks get just a little more solid in the oven—still soft, but more gelatinous and less runny. Throw some salad or roasted asparagus on the side and peel an orange to round out your lazy dinner.

1 large tomato, thickly sliced
2 large, thick slices of rustic bread or 2 sturdy split English muffins
2-4 thick slices sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer, as long as it melts well—Edam and Harvati are also good options)
Dijon mustard to taste
Butter
2-4 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the broiler.

2. Run the bread under the broiler for a few minutes until lightly toasted (sometimes I find it easier to just use a toaster for this).

3. Place the bread on a baking sheet. Spread mustard over the bread, then add the tomatoes and cheese (enough to cover the whole surface of the bread). Place under the broiler for a couple of minutes, just until cheese is melted.

4. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add enough butter (1 tablespoon or less) to just coat the bottom of the pan when it melts. When the butter starts to bubble, crack in the eggs and cook until whites are set on the bottom.

5. Slide the eggs on top of the toast (one per English muffin, or one to two per slice of bread depending on the size) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to the broiler for 30 seconds or so, just until the top of the white is fully set and the yolk appears cloudy (or go for a full minute if you want your yolks solid).

Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes

Leftover potential: No. Eat immediately and make more later.

SOUTHWEST SCRAMBLE

This is another of those look-how-far-I’ve-come posts, because I used to detest the idea of eggs with salsa. Like, it actually turned my stomach. Perhaps because I grew up in the Midwest in the 1980s, where the salsa was Pace and the eggs were most likely dry and overcooked. (As I’ve previously mentioned, I hated corn tortillas, too.) I don’t know whether to credit my maturing palate or expanding horizons, but after all these years I finally Get It where huevos rancheros and breakfast tacos/quesadillas/burritos are concerned. First I discovered good tortillas and salsa, and then I became downright egg-obsessed, and then finally I started craving them all together.

I’d been wanting to try my hand at migas or chilaquiles for a while, since I always seem to have leftover corn tortillas lurking in the fridge, and then one day I saw this variation on the concept at Budget Bytes, which throws in enough black beans and salsa and cilantro to totally qualify as dinner in my book (in fact, you’ll notice I’ve dropped the “breakfast” part of the title). The recipe calls for corn chips, but I decided to take things up a notch and bake my own from those troublesome spare tortillas. I’m sure it’s good enough with storebought corn chips, and it does feel kind of silly to spend 20 minutes hardening up some tortillas only to turn around and soften them up again with salsa and eggs and cheese the next moment, but I love the flavor and chewy (rather than soggy) texture the homemade chips impart.

But then, I love everything about this recipe. Let’s face it, it’s basically the lovechild of scrambled eggs and nachos. It’s warm and homey and soft and cheesy, but not heavy, and chock-full enough of protein to make a satisfying meal. It’s incredibly quick and easy, it’s simple but flavorful, I usually have the ingredients on hand already, and it makes surprisingly good leftovers. Because the eggs are scrambled slowly and carefully, they don’t dry out or toughen up, even when reheated the next day. It’s become my comfort-food default, and I’ve probably cooked it half a dozen times in the few months since I first tried it. I’ve made it as lazy single-lady fare while A was out of town, eating the leftovers all week long. I’ve made it just after returning from vacation, when the fridge was empty and I only had the time and energy to pick up a few things at the store. I’ve made it when I’m too stressed out for anything else, when I have salsa or tortillas to use up (and once, with leftover tomatillo salsa verde, an excellent variation), or just when I’m hungry for it, which seems to be often. (I’m actually making it for dinner tonight, in about an hour.) I don’t want to jinx anything, but I’m not sure I could ever get tired of it. Who knew that eggs plus salsa could someday become one of my favorite foods?

6 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 cups tortilla chips (I recommend baking your own)
1 cup salsa, plus extra for serving if desired
1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
1 generous handful chopped fresh cilantro
2 or 3 scallions, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and lightly whisk them.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in the eggs and let them cook slowly. As the bottom layer begins to set, use a spatula to drag the outside edges in toward the center, allowing the uncooked egg to run back into the empty space. Continue to gently move the eggs around in the skillet in this manner until they are about 75 percent set; they should still be moist, but in large pieces. (They will continue to cook as you add other ingredients, so make sure not to overcook them now.) Season the eggs with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add the drained beans and tortilla chips to the skillet. Gently fold them into the eggs, breaking the tortilla strips into smaller pieces as you go. Spoon one cup of salsa over top of the egg mixture and then sprinkle the shredded cheese over top.

4. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium. Allow the skillet to heat for 5 minutes, or until mostly heated through. Remove the lid and gently fold the ingredients in the skillet, so that the cheese gets a little mixed in and melts slightly. Sprinkle the cilantro and scallions over the top, and serve with additional salsa if desired.

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: Good.

FUNKY MONKEY BAKED OATMEAL

I feel like I preface every banana-related post with a disclaimer that I don’t really like bananas, but…I do have 10 (now 11) banana recipes on this site, so perhaps I protest too much. I certainly don’t like them enough to be a particular fan of Chunky Monkey ice cream or the peanut-butter-and-banana combo and its various “fat Elvis” iterations. (I am, however, a fan of both actual monkeys and actual Elvis, so that’s something.) What I do like is peanut butter, and I had been wondering for a while, in the midst of my baked oatmeal mania, if a peanut butter version could work. And I know banana adds a nice tenderness to baked goods, and I love coconut, and I certainly won’t turn down chocolate—even if I don’t normally eat it for breakfast—so when I saw this recipe at Budget Bytes (my go-to source for oatmeal inspiration), I knew I had to at least give it a shot.

I usually avoid overly sweet foods in the morning—no donuts or coffee cake or cinnamon rolls for me—and this was definitely richer and more indulgent-seeming than my usual fare. But it’s not as sweet as I expected, in fact not actually that sweet at all, except that it’s a logical disconnect for me to be enjoying chocolate at 8 a.m. (The occasional chocolate chip studded into each bite doesn’t seem too weird, but when I got to the bottom of the bowl and essentially had chocolate milk, it did feel like I was getting away with something.) It is, of course, delicious, and there’s a reason these are all classic flavor pairings. As an occasional “special treat” breakfast, it will definitely have a place in my regular oatmeal rotation. (I find it’s an especially welcome balm for the soul during my extra-hormonal week of the month.) And unlike a pastry or sugary cereal, it keeps me full and energized until lunchtime.
The first time I made this I was slightly dismayed because I couldn’t really pick up much peanut butter flavor, so the second time I increased the quantity to ⅓ cup and that seemed perfect. Natural PB is best, but if you only have the sweetened stuff, just leave out the brown sugar. Same thing with the coconut—I only had the big unsweetened flakes on hand and didn’t feel like making a special trip to the Whole Foods bulk section for the unsweetened shredded, but Trader Joe’s has a shredded coconut that is way less sweet than the tooth-aching Baker’s kind, and that worked just fine; but if you do find yourself with the Baker’s, just cut out the brown sugar and all should be well.
I keep thinking it would be cool to use cocoa instead of chocolate chips to make the whole thing feel even less desserty, so that the oatmeal itself was chocolate-flavored instead of having pieces of chocolate in it, but I don’t know if I want to mess around with that when this is already so good.

P.S. November 2013: Does this just sound too decadent for your everyday breakfast? I recently tried this as just a PB-banana version and it was excellent. Follow the recipe below, but use a generous 1/3 cup peanut butter and omit the chocolate chips and coconut.
P.P.S. February 2015: If you want a subtler chocolate presence, I have discovered that mini-chips are the perfect solution, scattering the chocolate more evenly throughout the oatmeal instead of in big chunks. 

3-4 medium bananas
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼-⅓ cup natural peanut butter (unsweetened; salted OK)
2 cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
2½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips
⅓ cup shredded coconut (unsweetened or lightly sweetened)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mash the bananas with a fork until they make a smooth puree (or you can leave it a bit chunky if you prefer that). Start with just three bananas and add another if needed to make 1½ cups. (If you’re short a little banana, make up the difference by using the corresponding amount of extra milk.)
3. Add the mashed bananas to a large bowl. If your peanut butter is firm, warm it slightly in the microwave so that it is more fluid and can mix in more easily. Add the peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Whisk these ingredients together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk again.
4. Add the dry oats, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut to the bowl. Stir everything together until evenly combined. Lightly coat the inside of an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray (I like to use coconut oil spray for this). Pour the oat mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until browned and firm.

Serves: 6-8
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great. Keep in a covered dish, scoop out a serving each morning, and reheat it in the microwave. Break it up a little with a spoon and pour cold milk over the top.

BANANA BAKED OATMEAL

More baked oatmeal! I love it so. It’s incredibly comforting to have a warm, delicious breakfast ready to go on a chilly morning. My standard version is just dandy, but it turns out that fruit (or vegetable, in the case of pumpkin) puree adds tons of moisture and nutrients, as well as flavor. This version, amped up with walnuts, a bit of brown sugar, and cinnamon—which of course  I augmented with a little cardamom—in addition to the mashed banana, truly is reminiscent of banana bread. The recipe is from Budget Bytes, which has proven to be a veritable cornucopia of intriguing-sounding baked oatmeal options. The first time I set out to make it I ended up veering into this separate (but very similar) version, because I had some leftover blueberries in the fridge that were getting past their prime. It smelled wonderful while baking, but I didn’t particularly love the result. Granted, for most of my life I’ve been mildly grossed out by bananas and haven’t cared for blueberries in baked goods, but I thought those days were behind me. I still don’t eat whole bananas on their own, but I like them in other formats, including cake, cookies, pancakes, and pudding. And blueberry buttermilk cake is one of my very favorite summer desserts! Yet I didn’t enjoy the flavor or texture of the blueberry banana oatmeal; it was quite damp and overpoweringly banana-y, and the blueberries didn’t break down at all, and I’m sure it was my error or hangup and no fault of the recipe, but bleah.

Yet banana oatmeal still sounded potentially tasty to me, so I decided to give the non-blueberry recipe a try and just ease off on the banana slightly. The original recipe called for four medium bananas or 1½ cups mashed, so I bought three small ones, got about 1¼ cups of puree, and made up the liquid deficit by adding ¼ cup extra milk. I don’t know if using a tiny bit less banana really made such a difference, but something must have done the trick, because I enjoyed this oatmeal. It’s fluffy, not too sweet, properly banana-bread-esque without overwhelming the flavor of the oats, and keeps me full all morning. I love that I now have three different baked oatmeal variations I can rotate among, especially since I started my new job last month and definitely need to have convenient, nourishing breakfast treats on hand so I can fuel up for another intense day of learning what the heck I’m supposed to be doing! I bake up a big dish of oatmeal on the weekends and it keeps me happily fed all week long.

1 to 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 to 4 medium)
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 to 2½ cups milk (depending on how much banana you use; milk and banana together should total 3½ cups)
2½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cardamom
½ cup chopped walnuts
Canola or coconut oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas together with the brown sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk in the milk, then stir in the oats. Roughly chop the walnuts and stir them in as well.
3. Oil the inside of an 8-by-8 glass baking dish. Pour in the oat mixture. Cover with foil (optional) and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil (if using) and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the center is solid and the edges are slightly golden brown.
4. Serve warm or cold, topped with milk, yogurt, fruit, or whatever else you like.

Serves: 6 to 8
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great; will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a week; reheat individual portions in the microwave. Note that the oatmeal may turn slightly gray as the banana oxidizes, but it will still be safe to eat.

PUMPKIN BAKED OATMEAL

When I was first getting to know A, one anecdote he told made a particularly vivid impression on me: When he was a little boy and going through an especially picky phase, he got to have pumpkin pie for breakfast. His pediatrician told his mother to give him whatever he would actually eat, and that at least pumpkin is high in vitamin A, protein, fiber, and other nutrients. To this day, when we visit his mom for Thanksgiving, there is often an extra pumpkin pie just for him to eat in the mornings.

In contrast, I’m an orthodox breakfast eater from a family of orthodox breakfast eaters. I’ve never had any kind of pie for breakfast, and as I’ve mentioned before, I eschewed pumpkin completely for the first 34 years of my life. Pumpkin pie still isn’t my favorite, but pumpkin ice cream, cookies, pancakes, pudding, and even gnocchi have won me over, so when I saw this recipe for pumpkin baked oatmeal at Budget Bytes, I was intrigued. Ever since I discovered baked oatmeal three years ago, it’s been my go-to warm breakfast food, but I’ve always stuck with the same recipe, with the only variation being that I occasionally use dried cranberries instead of raisins. Clearly, it was time to branch out.

This recipe is pretty similar to my usual except for the pumpkin, the spices, and the addition of baking powder, which makes the oatmeal just a bit fluffier. It called for 1½ cups milk, but then mentioned that you could use up to 2 cups, subbing in plain yogurt for some of that. I liked the idea of adding a bit more protein from Greek yogurt, so I used ½ cup of that plus 1½ cups milk. I think this may have been a bit too much liquid for me, in addition to all the pumpkin; the end result had a creamier consistency than I’m used to, although it’s also possible I didn’t cook it long enough (I did cook it for longer than the recipe says, because after the given baking time it was still runny and jiggly in the middle, but I probably still erred on the side of underdone). This wasn’t a huge problem, especially since baked oatmeal becomes just a bit drier with each day it spends in the fridge, but I’m wondering if next time I should reduce the liquid slightly. I’m also wondering if covering the baking dish is really necessary; this isn’t called for with my other recipe, and I think it increased the needed baking time for me. As long as the top doesn’t get overly browned, I might skip it. To provide some textural variation, I sprinkled chopped pecans atop the oatmeal right before I ate it each morning, and it was such a tasty addition that I’ll just throw them right in before baking next time.

Small consistency issues aside, this oatmeal is incredibly delicious. It really does taste reminiscent of pumpkin pie, but better, in my opinion, because it’s not so sweet and smooshy; the nutty, chewy oats help balance it out. It’s a cheerful shade of orange, and I love knowing it’s packed with even more good-for-you punch than my usual version. If you’re a devoted cereal eater like me, it’s not often you can claim to have had nearly a full serving of vegetables by 9:00 a.m. Whether the idea of pumpkin pie for breakfast sounds like a great idea to you or a crazy one, this happy medium is a tasty, wholesome breakfast treat. It’s going into my regular rotation; in fact, I might make another batch today!

Update, September 2013: Still a favorite, but I've made a few changes. I now include ½ cup of pecans before baking, and I bake it uncovered the whole time with no ill effects—but if you find the top browns before the interior is solidified, by all means cover it. I also leave out the yogurt and just use 2 cups milk; as much as I like the idea of extra protein, I think it was adding a tart undertone I didn’t care for. In addition, instead of premixing my pumpkin pie spice, I'll often get lazy and just dump spices directly into the pumpkin mixure--a heaping 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each cardamom and ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg. Can't really tell the difference!

15 ounces pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
½ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½–2 cups milk
½–1 cup plain yogurt (optional; use as replacement for part of the milk, with no more than 2 cups liquid total; e.g., 1 cup milk + 1 cup yogurt, or 1½ cups milk + ½ cup yogurt)
2½ cups rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick)
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Nonstick cooking spray or canola oil

*I made my own pumpkin pie spice by combining ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon each of ground cloves, cardamom, and nutmeg in a small bowl. It yields a bit more than 1 teaspoon, but you can use the excess for something else.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Whisk in the milk (and yogurt if using).

2. Mix the dry oats into the pumpkin mixture, and add the pecans, if using. Coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or a small amount of oil. Pour in the pumpkin oat mixture, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes or until center is set, removing the foil after the first 30 minutes.

3. Divide into portions and serve topped with milk or yogurt, nuts, maple syrup, or whatever else you like (on a special occasion, I'm sure whipped cream would be fantastic).

Serves: 6–8 (original recipe says 8, but I like a hearty breakfast and split it into 6 instead)
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great; will last in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least a week. I bake it, let it cool, divide it into portions, put them in separate covered bowls in the fridge, and heat one up in the microwave each morning, pouring milk over the top before eating; you could also just cover the original baking dish and scoop out a serving each morning. 

REFRIGERATOR OATMEAL

I’ve been holding out on you: I’ve been eating this awesome oatmeal three or four times a week for the past month and I’m only now getting around to mentioning it. And when you try this and it changes your life (or at least, the tiny breakfast-adjacent portion of it), you might be a little peeved that I didn’t mention it sooner.

Remember last summer, when a broken oven left me granola-less and baked-oatmeal-bereft, and I got on a museli kick? Little did I know then that I was just one small step away from oatmeal nirvana. I even mentioned it in my post: soaking the oats overnight. But I never tried it, until somehow I was reintroduced to the concept by the random idea generator that is the Internet. Overnight oats are pretty trendy on the food blogs, and really, the concept is laughably simple—soaking the oats in milk breaks them down in a similar way that cooking does. Except that it’s way easier, far less gloppy and gluey, extremely portable, not oppressively hot on a sweltering summer morning, and, if you use the further genius idea of adding Greek yogurt to the soaking liquid, packed with protein.

I used this basic recipe, but of course there are very few rules that have to be followed. This is a good ratio of oats to liquid, but I’ll admit I use ½ cup of each instead of the original ⅓ cup—I’m a hungry girl in the morning, and ½ cup is, after all, the recommended oatmeal serving size, so it’s not like I’m gorging. So far I’ve stuck pretty close to the blueberries-and-almonds formula, adding only some occasional strawberries or raspberries (and, once, a diced peach) and ground flaxseed. But you could go crazy with your toppings; some example variations shown here use nut butters, jam, and granola and other cereals, and I imagine frozen or dried fruit would be fine when fresh isn’t available.

I still adore my granola and, in colder weather, my baked oatmeal, but when I don’t have time to make those, this will be my go-to. I love the tender-chewy texture, the cool and refreshing temperature, and the way it keeps me full until lunchtime: I’ve been a cereal eater all my life, but with all these cheaper and healthier homemade options, I find myself bringing home the storebought stuff less and less. Who knew oats could be so versatile?

⅓–½ cup rolled oats
⅓–½ cup milk (equal to the quantity of oats)
⅓–½ cup plain Greek yogurt (equal to the quantity of oats and milk)
Fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries, or other fruit to taste, about ¼–⅓ cup
1 generous dash of cinnamon
Brown sugar or honey to taste, about 1 teaspoon (optional)
Sliced almonds or other nuts to taste, about 2–3 tablespoons
Ground flaxseed to taste, about 1 tablespoon (optional)

1. Stir oats, milk, yogurt, fruit, cinnamon, and sugar or honey (if desired) together in a jar or bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

2. In the morning, remove from refrigerator and top with nuts and flaxseed (if desired).

Serves: 1
Time: 5 minutes, plus about 8 hours in the fridge
Leftover potential: n/a

PUMPKIN SPICE PANCAKES

The joke is most definitely on me. I only made this recipe to use up leftover canned pumpkin from the pumpkin snickerdoodles, but I fell so hard in love with these pancakes that I’ve already purchased a reserve can of pumpkin in order make them again whenever the craving hits. The recipe is from Joy the Baker and it is perfect—the pancakes cook up moist and fluffy, with just the right amount of pumpkin and spice flavor, a barely perceptible enrichment of wheat flour (I used white whole wheat), and not too much sweetness. I loved the taste of them so much I could have eaten them with no accompaniment besides a little smear of butter, but I did find that they were even better when adorned with a thin layer of the orange vanilla jelly I made earlier this year (but apparently, now that I look, never posted about, an oversight that will shortly be remedied). If you’re more of a traditional pancake eater, I imagine maple syrup would be just fine on these, or whipped cream if you want to get really fancy. The only change I made was my habitual addition of cardamom; I used it instead of the ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, although I still threw in a pinch of nutmeg anyway, plus a pinch of allspice, to approximate my usual pumpkin pie spice mix.


I thought the banana oat bran pancake recipe was the only pancake recipe for me, but I was wrong—I’ll be alternating it with this one, at least in the fall and winter, from now one. I also thought I wasn’t a pumpkin person, but apparently, I was wrong about that too. At this rate, maybe someday I’ll figure out why everyone gets so excited about cranberries!


¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch allspice
1 cup milk
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
A little butter for greasing the skillet

1. Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin, and vegetable oil or melted butter.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the skillet.

4. Over medium heat, melt a little butter on the skillet. Once the skillet is hot, spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake into the skillet. When pancakes start to bubble slightly, carefully flip them over. Cook until browned and cooked through, remove to a plate, and repeat as needed with the remaining batter.

Serves: About 4 (I got 16 small pancakes)
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: Good; if you have leftover pancakes, layer them between pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container and store them in the freezer. To reheat, take out the number of the pancakes you want, place them on a plate and heat them briefly in the microwave (I start with 30 seconds) to thaw the centers, then finish heating them in a dry skillet over medium heat just until they are thoroughly warmed and the exteriors are slightly crisp.

SWEET CORN HASH

Shortly after making chilled avocado soup with a corn-bacon-jalapeno-onion-cilantro topping so delicious I could have just as happily eaten it sans soup, I stumbled across a recipe that’s pretty much exactly that. This iteration—from The Way the Cookie Crumbles, based on a version by Joy the Baker, who is the source of the avocado soup recipe, so we have truly come full circle here—is rounded out into a hearty breakfast (or, in my case, a cozy Saturday night supper) with the addition of potatoes and eggs. I punched up the color and vitamins by serving the whole thing over a bed of greens (spinach because I had an orphaned half-bag in the fridge, although I would have used arugula otherwise), which added a nice freshness and texture—the greens achieve a pleasant state of semi-wiltiness, with the egg yolk coating them like a dressing. The original recipe didn’t call for jalapeno, but Bridget mentioned adding roasted green chile, and since jalapeno had been so tasty in the soup topping, I figured it would be good here, too (spoiler: it was). And, in a further effort to replicate the magic of the soup topping, I subbed cilantro for parsley again and was well pleased.

My one misstep was to distrust the idea of cooking potatoes in the microwave (I know it’s perfectly possible, but I’ve never done it and our microwave is rather temperamental, so I wimped out). The original Joy the Baker recipe calls for them to be roasted, but my oven’s still defunct (GRRR), so I boiled them instead. This of course (a) took more time than microwaving and (b) made them quite soft and damp, which in turn made them take forever to get browned and crispy in the skillet, and they broke down quite a bit in the process. I don’t know why I didn’t just start frying the potatoes from a raw state, which is what hash recipes usually direct you to do, except that sometimes it’s hard to get the potatoes tender that way before they’re too well browned on the outside, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s a crunchy potato. (This is, in my view, the downfall of 70 percent of restaurant breakfast potato preparations.) In retrospect, I should have just tried the microwave method. Next time! For there will certainly be a next time; this is my favorite version of hash I’ve ever made. I loved the way the sweetness of the corn balanced out the smoky fried flavors, with a hint of spice from the pepper and brightness from the cilantro. Also, I’m late to the party with this—it took me a long time to learn to tolerate runny yolks—but I’m becoming obsessed with topping things with eggs. Note to self: Eat more eggs; you like them. Also: learn to poach.

4 slices bacon, chopped
4 medium red potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 ears corn, kernels removed
¼ cup cilantro, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 eggs
4 large handfuls spinach or arugula (optional)

1. In a large nonstick skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat, cook the bacon until almost crisp.

2. While the bacon cooks, put the potatoes in a medium microwave-safe bowl; spoon a couple teaspoons of rendered bacon fat from the skillet into the bowl; stir. Cover the potatoes loosely and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring twice.

3. Add the onions, jalapeno, and potatoes to the skillet with the bacon; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the corn and most of the cilantro.

4. Lower the heat to medium-low. Using the back of a spoon, create 4 wells in the hash. Break one egg into each well; season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook, without stirring, until the white is set, about 8 minutes. Garnish with the remaining cilantro; serve immediately, over spinach or arugula if desired.

Serves: 4
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: OK, except the eggs will not keep or reheat well. If you’re planning to save some as leftovers, fry the eggs separately for the servings you’re going to eat right away (as shown in the photo above), then fry additional eggs as needed when it’s time to eat the leftovers. Alternately, you can break the eggs into the cooking pan but break the yolks of the ones you want to save for leftovers, so that they cook thoroughly and harden (they will be slightly tough in the leftovers, but edible—more of a scrambled consistency).

MUESLI

For several summers when I was in my early teens, I attended a two-week German-language immersion camp. The counselors spoke German to us all the time from the instant we arrived, and in addition to the language, we learned German songs, dances, games, and so forth. The food was German, too, and I remember it actually being pretty good, which is a glowing testimonial considering what a picky eater I was at the time. I liked the noodles and schnitzel and potatoes, and different varieties of bread were baked fresh on site daily, so if there was nothing else I liked I could always have plenty of tasty brot und butter. (It also helped that there was great chocolate—we could buy Ritter Sport and Toblerone, which at the time were hard to find in the U.S., at the little commissary every day.) I remember enjoying the breakfasts especially; there were these wonderful big, fluffy white rolls with butter and jam, and sometimes there was muesli.

I probably would have forgotten about muesli completely if it hadn’t been for the fact that my oven has been out of order for months, depriving me of my two favorite breakfast foods, granola and baked oatmeal. I tried making oatmeal in the microwave or on the stovetop for a while, but I just couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm for it, especially as the summer temperatures soared and the prospect of eating a piping hot breakfast held less and less appeal. In my desperation, I wondered, what if I just threw most of my usual granola ingredients—oats, coconut, nuts, fruit—in a bowl and poured milk over them? Well, duh: That’s muesli! I gave it a shot, and as soon as I tasted it, I was transported right back to those happy days at camp. More importantly, it was delicious: I love the taste of raw oats (I pop a handful in my mouth whenever I’m cooking or baking with them), and I’ve always been a little disappointed by the way that taste gets muted in cooked oatmeal. In muesli, the oats absorb enough milk to become tender, but they still retain their flavor and a pleasing chewiness (although unless you want to soak them in milk overnight, I recommend sticking to the smaller quick oats). I add oat bran and flaxseed for more fiber, nuts for protein, a hint of sweetness and spice, and fruit for moisture, vitamins, and color. Plus coconut, because I love coconut.

I’ve really been enjoying this as a summer breakfast—it’s hearty but not heavy, easier to eat than granola (sometimes all that crunching can be tiring first thing in the morning!), infinitely customizable, and very cool and refreshing, plus a great way to use up some of that juicy summer fruit (I always seem to buy a bit too much, and then it ripens all at once). You can put whatever you want in it, in whatever quantities you prefer, but the following is my rough template. I usually just mix it up in the morning before I eat it (on weekends or days I’m working at home), without worrying about precise measurements, and sometimes I throw together two or three servings at once while I’m at it, but I haven’t tried making a big batch yet. It would be really easy, though, if you don’t mind doing the math.

½ cup quick oats
1 tablespoon oat bran
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon unsweetened flaked coconut
2–3 tablespoons nuts (I usually use sliced almonds or chopped pecans)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon brown sugar
A few pinches of cinnamon and/or cardamom
½ cup fresh fruit (I usually use fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, or chopped peaches or nectarines, but banana or apple might be good too, and I imagine you could use dried fruit such as raisins or apricots)
Milk to taste (or yogurt, if you prefer)

1. In a cereal bowl, combine all ingredients except fruit and milk. Stir well, then top with fruit.

2. Add enough milk to moisten the oats to your liking (they absorb some of the liquid, so be generous), stir, and eat.

Serves: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Leftover potential: If you double, triple, or otherwise multiply this recipe and want to save some for later, stop before adding the fruit and milk; place muesli in an airtight container and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Add the fruit and milk when ready to serve.

BANANA OAT BRAN PANCAKES

I have found The One—or perhaps I should say the Four or Five, because that is how many of these spectacular pancakes I can put away in one sitting, and let me tell you, there have been several sittings. But what I mean is the One True Pancake Recipe, which, not being a very big pancake fan, I had not even really suspected existed for me. Although I’d dutifully dabbled in a couple of earlier candidates, it was more because I like the cozy, homespun idea of making pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning than because I like the pancakes themselves. And not being a very big banana fan either, I’m surprised to find myself raving about a second banana-based recipe in the space of a month, but here we are.

I stumbled across this recipe at In Praise of Leftovers while searching for ways to use up the enormous bag of oat bran left over from making multigrain rolls. Normally I balk slightly at buying buttermilk, but I’m slowly being won over by the fact that everything I make with it turns out extra-delicious, and besides, I already had some in the fridge left over from the aforementioned banana cake. All the other ingredients were pantry staples, and the process was simplicity itself (no egg separating, mixer, or blender required). The resulting pancakes are ultra-moist and fluffy, only delicately banana-flavored, and not too sweet. The oat bran imparts a savory, nutty quality and a barely-detectable crunch. I like that the texture is much more like a “normal” (tender, pillowy) pancake than some of the whole-grain varieties I’ve tried, but you’re still getting some fiber from the bran plus some fruity goodness from the banana. You can go ahead and put syrup on them if that’s your thing, but I must protest that these are even more fan-effing-tastic with strawberry or blueberry jam instead (jamcakes!). I also happened to have some blueberries on hand, so I dropped them into a few of the pancakes I was making for A and that addition was quite well received. I imagine that chocolate chips (inside) or Nutella (outside) would not be amiss either, if you’re the type who can stomach dessert-like treats for breakfast. But me, I could just eat them plain. I’ve made them twice in two weeks already and, with ripe bananas in the freezer and buttermilk and plenty of jam in the fridge, I know it won’t be long before I do it again. Consider all other pancake recipes officially retired.

POSTSCRIPT, JANUARY 2012: I just realized I've completely forgotten to document one important improvement I habitually make to this recipe: adding vanilla extract to the batter. Because everything is better with vanilla! I've edited the recipe below to reflect this change.

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup oat bran
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
½ to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 very ripe banana, mashed

1. Heat up a griddle over medium heat.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add buttermilk mixture and mashed banana to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended.

4. Drop ¼ cupfuls of batter onto hot griddle (I like to add a little bit of butter to the cooking surface and let it melt first). Flip the pancakes after bubbles have formed, and cook until browned.

Serves: 3–4
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: Pancakes can be frozen between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and reheated on a warm griddle (I microwave them just enough to defrost the interior, then cook on a griddle until the outside is warm and crisps up slightly).

OATMEAL PANCAKES

How convenient: Just a few weeks ago I was saying I wanted to try oatmeal pancakes, and then the September issue of Cooking Light arrived in my mailbox with an oatmeal pancake recipe that is both as healthy and as simple as I could have dreamed (in contrast, other recipes I’d been contemplating either called for a whole stick of butter or required ground or pre-cooked or pre-soaked oatmeal). These were easy to make and quite delicious. With their crispy outsides and chewy insides, they were a bit less like the traditional soft, fluffy pancake than the whole wheat ones I made before, but as an oatmeal lover I preferred these (and as a lazy cook, I found them much easier—no blender, no separating eggs!). They’re officially my new go-to pancake recipe, at least until a new contender takes the field.

1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (¼ cup)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
Butter or cooking spray for greasing griddle

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

2. Combine buttermilk, butter, and egg in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

3. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat pan with butter or cooking spray. Spoon about 2½ tablespoons batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles; cook until bottoms are lightly browned.

Serves: 2–3 (Cooking Light says you’ll get 3 servings of 4 pancakes each; I got 2 servings of 3.5 pancakes each, so I’m guessing I made mine too big?)
Time: 45 minutes
Leftover potential: Unknown

WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES

I don’t know which is more surprising: the fact that I’m actually posting this in the same week I cooked it (I’ve been lagging behind for what feels like all month), or the fact that it’s a pancake recipe. I don’t have anything against pancakes (heck, I named one of my cats Jimmy Pancake), but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve made them in the past five years. They just don’t really have a niche in my life. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a diehard breakfast-cereal eater (mainly granola, baked oatmeal, or storebought shredded wheat), and that’s all I really ever want before about 11 a.m. Then for lunch there are usually leftovers of some kind hanging around, and although I’ve extolled the glories of breakfast for dinner, when it comes down to it I feel that dinner should include some vegetables, and pancakes with a side salad just seems too weird. So whither the pancake in my eating schedule? Afternoon snack? Not to mention that pancakes always take longer to make than I expect (sure, the batter is easy to mix up, but that cooking-one-or-two-at-a-time thing always seems to keep me standing over the stove more than I’d like) and most recipes make way more than two people can hope to eat in one sitting. And, with all that white flour and butter and sugar and buttermilk and whatnot, they don’t feel like such a healthy meal, either. So I go merrily along without them.

Except that there is nothing so cozy-looking as a stack of pancakes. Every now and then I see a delicious-looking photo on a food blog and I get a craving. Usually it passes unheeded; occasionally I ponder making pancakes but don’t find the time (I’m too busy six mornings out of the week and too lazy on the other). But this time it stuck. I spotted this recipe from Country Gourmet restaurant in the L.A. Times Food section (print media, how quaint), thought that it sounded both tasty and wholesome, and bought the buttermilk so there could be no turning back. And on Sunday afternoon, for lunch, I made us some pancakes. They were easy and they were delicious. I liked how nonsweet they were, almost savory, with a slight crunch from the cornmeal and a nuttiness from the wheat, but not heavy or dense. (Mine didn’t fluff up as high as those in the Times photo, but I may have overstirred the batter.) I slathered them with blueberry-lime jam, and as I expected, it was the best way to eat jam I’ve found so far. And, taking a tip from the food blogs, I froze the leftovers (this had never occurred to me before), so we can have them again next weekend.

Even if I were to become a habitual pancake maker, which is doubtful (at least once the blueberry jam is gone), I don’t see this being my go-to recipe, but only because it uses so many egg whites (I hate wasting the yolks) and buttermilk (which, although it does delicious things to baked goods, I just don’t have in my fridge on a regular basis). However, it is definitely a good one, and might have been my gateway drug. Next up, maybe oatmeal pancakes!?

1 cup (4.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (4.5 ounces) whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
¾ teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup egg whites (about 4 egg whites)
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, cornmeal, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. In a blender, purée the egg whites, honey, vanilla, buttermilk, and melted butter until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.

3. Gently whisk the dry and liquid ingredients together to form a batter.

4. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. Grease the surface (I used butter), then ladle half-cups of the batter to form each pancake. Cook until puffed and golden brown, about 1½ to 2 minutes on each side. You should have 8–10 pancakes.

Serves: 4–5 (2 pancakes each)
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: TBD

WHOLE WHEAT APPLE MUFFINS

I’ve mentioned it before: I’m just not a muffin person. (This despite the fact that my first cat was named Muffin. Hey, what can I say? I was 10.) They’re cute and all, but so many of them are sweet enough to verge on dessert territory, which is usually not what I crave for breakfast or a snack (and when it’s time for dessert, I’ll take candy or cookies or pie or cake, thanks). But muffins are so popular with others and so crazy easy to make that I do end up baking them on occasion, usually when I have an ingredient to use up (cream cheese, zucchini, ripe bananas) or when I need to bring a treat somewhere to share. So when I was charged with bringing the refreshments for my department’s monthly meeting, which takes place at 9:00 a.m., muffins were the obvious choice. While watching the Academy Awards red carpet show, I made poppy-seed almond muffins so I could finally get a picture for the ol’ blog—and then noticed, while rereading that entry, that I referred to making those very muffins during the Oscars three years ago! Apparently, something about the Oscars says “muffin time” to me.

I also wanted a slightly more wholesome (or wholesome-seeming) muffin option, so I decided to try this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen (adapted from King Arthur Flour). Although they sound vaguely hippie-ish—and indeed, they’re blessedly far from the cupcakes-masquerading-as-muffins phenomenon I abhor—the butter, buttermilk (ordinarily, I might try yogurt, but when baking for others my shameless desire for approbation leads me to choose the full-fat option most of the time), and generous sprinkling of brown sugar make them not out of place in the “treat” category. The whole wheat flavor comes through, but the texture is spectacularly moist and tender, with an irresistible crunchy, caramelized top. (If I were actually making these for my own breakfast/snacking purposes, I might go a little easier on the brown sugar on top, but for showoff/sharing purposes, it added just the right amount of pizzazz.) I brought 17 of these to work and had only two left over, so I think they were well received. I’d certainly make them again, on the rare occasion when I want muffins.

The recipe was straightforward, and I followed it to the letter, except that I ran out of cinnamon about 2 teaspoons (a tablespoon is a lot!) and substituted cardamom for the remaining teaspoon. I used Fuji apples and chopped them a bit smaller in an effort to ensure that they cooked all the way through (a few of them remained crispish, though, which is not my favorite texture in baked goods but didn’t seem to bother anyone else).

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick; 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar
½cup dark brown sugar, packed, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease and flour muffin cups (or line them with paper liners) and set aside.

2. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and ¼ cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix in the buttermilk gently. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400 degrees, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: 12–18
Time: 40 minutes
Leftover potential: High. These will remain moist in a sealed container at room temperature for several days, and they can be frozen for longer storage.

BAKED OATMEAL

Brilliance, thy name is baked oatmeal.

I love oatmeal—I’m a sucker for it in baked goods and have been known to snack upon handfuls of raw oats. But I don’t find myself eating regular old steaming bowls of cooked oatmeal very often, because (a) I don’t usually have that much time in the morning, and (b) strangely, I’m not very good at making it. If I use the microwave, it boils over; if I use the stovetop, scalded milk sticks to the pot; and either way, it tastes sort of bland and boring. And the less said about the sickly-sweet instant stuff, the better. So I had pretty much resigned myself to eating cold cereal for breakfast—which is no problem, really; it’s one of my favorite foods and I make a killer homemade granola, but sometimes in the winter something hot and comforting sounds so good. Then I got a sudden hankering to make this recipe, which I had torn out of a Penzeys catalog at my parents’ house years ago and jammed into a folder (a Dawson’s Creek folder, of all things, which I once received as a gag gift, possibly at a white elephant party) where all the orphaned recipes I collected on a whim languished sadly. When menu planning, I always use the Internet, referring to my blog or all the online recipes I’ve bookmarked using Delicious, so I always forget about the torn-out magazine pages and photocopied pages from library cookbooks until it’s too late. But a spate of cold weather had me craving hot oatmeal, and I’m so glad I exhumed this recipe because it is the perfect solution to all my problems—er, the oatmeal-related ones, anyway.

This was easy to throw together on a Sunday morning. I was a little suspicious of how full the baking dish was—wouldn’t it boil over?—but what emerged from the oven (which I stupidly forgot to photograph) looked flat and solid and browned, like a cake. When I scooped out a spoonful, the interior was tender and fluffy, sort of like an oatmeal pudding, with toasty edges reminiscent of a soft cookie. It tasted like good, perfectly seasoned oatmeal. The best part was that after taking my initial serving, I threw the rest into an airtight container and stashed it in the refrigerator. Then every morning for the next week, I pulled it out, scooped out a bowlful, microwaved it for a minute, poured milk over it (recommended, as this has a slightly drier texture than your usual oatmeal), and voila! Oatmeal with all the fixins. Amazing! I can tell this is going to be a life-changer. I can’t wait to make another batch; it’s like the winter version of granola—and like granola, I suspect it’s infinitely customizable. Probably any dried fruit would work here; I used raisins and will use fewer next time, because I only like the occasional raisin in my oatmeal. I liked the walnuts but see no reason you couldn’t try pecans or almonds instead. I might experiment with using a bit less sugar (it wasn’t overly sweet by any means, but my tolerance for sugar in the mornings is unusually low), and will perhaps add some flaxseed meal too. You could also get experimental with the spices; I did add a little cardamom, because I adore it, but I suspect the other chai spices (nutmeg, allspice, coriander, even turmeric) would fit in well too. And of course, you can top it with whatever you like—yogurt, fresh fruit, jam, etc.

About the only annoyance with this recipe is that you end up with four spare egg yolks, which I hate to waste, but if I start making custards or mayonnaise or lemon curd or pudding all the time, it’s going to defeat the purpose of this wholesome, sensible breakfast.

POSTSCRIPT: I have since made this twice more, and I think I've arrived at a version that's just the way I like it. I made the following changes:

• Reduced the brown sugar to ½ cup
• Reduced the raisins to ½ cup
• Used 2 whole eggs instead of 4 egg whites
• Omitted the oil
• Added 3-4 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal

I didn't detect a real difference in texture (or taste) due to the egg change. One of the times, the interior seemed slightly softer, but I may also have just underbaked it, because the next time it seemed to be the same as the egg-white version. Obviously, the egg-white version will be a little lighter in terms of cholesterol, but the whole-egg version is less wasteful and more convenient for me, so I'll be sticking with it. I figured that with the whole eggs plus the flaxseed, I didn't need the oil at all, and I didn't notice its absence. It's such a small amount that you might even be able to omit it while using the egg whites, if you oil the baking dish generously (I found that sometimes the browned exterior of the oatmeal tends to stick).

One time I also used chopped almonds instead of walnuts, because I had some that needed to be used up, and I threw in a drop of almond extract too, just for kicks. It tasted good, but I actually liked the texture of the walnuts better. If I try almonds again, I'll give sliced ones a shot.

2¼ cups quick cooking oats or 2¾ cups old-fashioned oats, uncooked
⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup raisins or dried cranberries (craisins)
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3⅓ cups skim milk (I used 1%)
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Milk, yogurt, and fruit for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, sugar, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into the baking dish.

3. Bake for 50–60 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch. Cool slightly. Serve topped with milk or yogurt and fruit, if desired.

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 6–8
Leftover potential: High. Store leftover oatmeal tightly covered in the refrigerator and you can enjoy it all week long! Just scoop out your daily serving and reheat it in the microwave.

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER: EGGS AND HASH

Postscript, May 2008: Since I first made this recipe, I've discovered that an even easier method of making Breakfast For Dinner is just to break a few eggs over the hash when it's done browning, cover the pan, and cook until the eggs are done. I don't like runny yolks, particularly atop my nice crispy potatoes, so I pierce the yolks with a fork midway through the egg-cooking to let them run out and gently solidify (as you can see in the photo above). You could try to leave the eggs whole and intact atop the hash for a prettier effect when you serve it, but I usually give the whole thing a stir near the end, so that the final result is sort of a cross between a fried egg and a scramble. Anyway, I highly recommend adding eggs to your hash: it's both delicious and efficient, and in the true lazy spirit of Breakfast For Dinner, you end up with just a single pan to wash.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been craving breakfast food. Creamy eggs, buttery toast, waffles topped with fresh fruit, a colorful vegetable-studded frittata…excuse me while I wipe my drool off the keyboard. There can be something so wholesome and comforting about breakfast foods. Ironically, though, I’m a minimalist breakfast eater. I insist upon having it every single day, but all my life, a nice bowl of cereal (or granola or oatmeal), milk, and orange juice has been all I require. In fact, more complicated foods in the early morning make me feel a little queasy—and don’t even get me started on the non-breakfast foods some people claim to enjoy in the morning, like pork chops or cold pizza. In particular, I’m not a fan of the myriad sweet breakfast options—the coffee cakes, the doughnuts and other pastries, the syrup-drenched pancakes and sugar-crusted French toast. Why do so many breakfast foods look like desserts? I suppose a sugar rush is one way to get jump-started in the morning, but it usually just makes me feel ill.

I’m a devotee of brunch, though strictly in restaurants. I rarely feel like cooking (and worse, messing up the kitchen) in the morning. What I like best is Breakfast For Dinner. It reminds me a little bit of being a child (when my mom worked nights and my dad was in charge, he often made pancakes, French toast, or scrambled eggs for supper), a little bit of being an invalid (something about the cozy, easy-to-make, buttery-and-bland quality of many breakfast foods), and a little bit of being rebellious—so daring, mixing up the meals like that! It’s the ultimate in light-meal, use-up-whatever’s-in-the-fridge, I-don’t-feel-like-cooking cuisine, best eaten in one’s pajamas in front of the TV.

So on Saturday night I channeled all my breakfast-food cravings into creating an awesome Breakfast For Dinner. I had a bunch of ham left over from making fritters last week, and what better way to use it up than to make a hearty ham-and-potato hash (recipe adapted from Simply Recipes)? Thanks to the Internet, I also managed to reconstruct a recipe for scrambled eggs with cream cheese and scallions that I often used to make myself for dinner back when I lived alone (swingin’ bachelor lifestyle = eggs and toast for supper whenever you please). On the side, I served buttered toast made from Trader Joe’s cinnamon-swirl bread, and gigantic fresh strawberries from the farmers’ market.

Everything was easy to make and turned out deliciously. The hash was particularly pleasing, with enough left over for my lunch the next day. You could really experiment with putting just about anything you want in the hash—scallions instead of plain onion, sage or chives instead of thyme, other veggies, cheese on top—though I liked it as is. The scrambled eggs tasted like what I remembered, but they had a perplexing custard-like texture that persisted even after I cooked them way longer than the recipe called for. I like my eggs soft and fluffy, but this was nearly overkill. I don’t know if my technique was bad (I hadn’t scrambled an egg in years) or if it was just the amount of cream cheese. The recipe called for 2 ounces, and I’d cut back on that next time. I want enough cream cheese to keep the eggs moist, but it shouldn’t otherwise make its presence known. Breakfast For Dinner is about comfort, not decadence.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH CREAM CHEESE AND SCALLIONS

4 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
4 large eggs
1–2 ounces cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring, until soft.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, the cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet with the scallions. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring, 3–4 minutes or until cooked through.

Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes

HAM AND POTATO HASH

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 small baking potatoes
¾ cup finely diced cooked ham
salt and pepper to taste
fresh thyme to taste

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half, and cook them in the water until almost done but still firm, about 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Drain. Dice into ½-inch-thick pieces.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped bell pepper and cook another 2 minutes.

3. Add diced potatoes, ham, salt, pepper, and thyme; mix well. Cook hash until well browned, about 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with eggs and toast.

Serves: 2–3
Time: 30 minutes