upgrade your morning oatmeal

​Just about every morning I make the quick version of oatmeal dressed with a bit of brown sugar, chopped walnuts and craisins. On the weekend my husband makes his long cooked version of oatmeal topped with bourbon infused maple syrup, chopped walnuts and craisins. However, in the March 21st issue of the New York Times food section, Melissa Clark’s A Good Appetite column had a recipe for Brown-Butter Chocolate Oatmeal.  Intriguing, right? 

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​So after church this morning, I began to prepare this for our breakfast. I already had the Dutch process cocoa and only needed to purchase McCann’s Steel Cut Oats and unsweetened shredded coconut. Although preparation and cooking took about 45 minutes, I found the oatmeal delicious. For the first serving I topped the oatmeal with sliced banana, shredded coconut and a drizzle of honey for a bit of sweetness. It was very good. I had a bit more, but on the second one I used maple syrup. Even better!
 
When you read Melissa’s recipe you’ll see that she prefers one tablespoon of cocoa to half a cup of oatmeal, but you can vary the intensity to your palate. You can also use natural cocoa, which has a different flavor profile to Dutch process. Using different sweeteners and changing up the liquid from water to whole milk, coconut milk or nut milk for half of the water again changes the taste. Her recipe gives you’re the framework from which you can adapt her recipe to your taste. Give it a try. As my husband said, it may not be something you eat first thing in the morning, but as a brunch dish or late morning breakfast it’s delightful.