Last summer, when I was having an intense granola craving but found my granola jar empty, I had one of those Eureka! moments. I took some oats, some brown sugar, walnuts and coconut and toasted the whole lot under the broiler for a few minutes. Voila! I had toasted oats and I declared myself a genius. Oh, what a summer of breakfasts that was!
But now that it's fall, I've started to slip back into hot cereals like oatmeal to get me through my morning. However, waking up and feeling the icy cold kitchen tiles under my feet, I decided that turning on the oven was going to be a necessity. I remembered my stash of rolled oats and I looked at the apples I had just gotten from a local farm. Eureka! Instead of just broiling the oats quickly, I toasted them for a good 10 minutes or so to get them slightly golden (and heat up my kitchen in the process). A pretty wonderful breakfast that's easy to whip up on any chilly morning.Toasted Oats with Yogurt & Fresh Applesauce
1.5 c old fashioned oats
1 t cinnamon
2 T shredded coconut
2 T walnuts, chopped
2 c plain yogurt
Applesauce
2 apples, core removed
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c water or apple juice
To make the applesauce, dice the apples (I leave the skin on) and place in a small pot with cinnamon and water or apple juice. Simmer over med-high heat with the lid on for about 10 minutes or until the apples become soft and the consistency seems right. Turn off heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F. Dump oats into a cast iron or other large oven-proof skillet. Bake for 10 minutes, checking in at the half-way point to flip around the oats. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts, returning the skillet to the oven for another 5 minutes. Add in the coconut and put the whole shebang back in for 1 minute - coconut browns quickly so don't dilly dally. You want golden, not burnt. Remove from oven. Add yogurt to 2 large bowls, divide oat mixture evenly between the two and top with warm applesauce. You may have leftover applesauce which is okay. Snack on it in the evening, or eat it for breakfast the next day.
