Salted Caramel Oatmeal

Salted. Caramel. Oats. You like the sound of that? Oh yes you do. Having dessert(ish) foods for breakfast is what life is all about. Seriously, if you haven't tried the Creamy Chocolate Oatmeal that I posted some time ago, get on it, NOW! So next up is this sinfully indulgent beast of a breakfast that'll leave you fully satisfied and ready to take on a new day.

This recipe owes its sweetness to date paste, or date caramel as I prefer to call it (see below). I make mine by mashing a few soft dates with a fork but this may not be so easy if you don't have the right kind of dates. The ones I'm talking about here can be seen above; soft, un-pitted ones that are super easy to peel and have a melt-in-your-mouth consistency. If you can't find these where you live, soaking a few of the drier, pre-pitted dates overnight would probably work as well.

Date Caramel

The wonderful, caramel-y flavour comes from the amazing Organic Burst Maca Powder that I've been putting in everything lately. If you don't have any maca at hand then I suggest you sub it for a spoonful of mesquite powder or simply leave it out and let the dates work their caramel magic all on their own.

Salted Caramel Oatmeal

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup rolled oats

- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 3-4 soft dates with the pits still in them or 3-4 pre-pitted dates soaked overnight (30 g)

- 1/2 tbsp Organic Burst Maca Powder (could sub for mesquite or omit completely)

- Salt to taste

How to:

1. Bring oats, salt and almond milk to the boil (in a small saucepan) then lower the heat to a simmer.
2. Peel (optional) the dates and mash them to a gooey mess using a fork and a spoonful of water.
3. Add the date paste to the saucepan and stir well until the paste has dissolved in the oatmeal.
4. Stir frequently as you wait for the oats to get to the desired consistency. Add in the maca powder right at the end to preserve its nutrients as much as possible.
5. Add toppings such as banana coins and/or peanut butter and serve immediately.

Raspberry and Cherry Crumble Pi(e) for one

Happy pi(e) day! I always love to celebrate otherwise insignificant days that have somehow come to revolve around food. There is National Cinnamon Roll Day (which is kind of a Swedish thing), Mardi Gras, several pancake days and so on. This day in particular kind is so geeky and amazing at the same time that you just can't help but loving it. 

I pondered long on which pie to make. There was an idea of making it a banoffee-thingy lurking somewhere inside my mind, and vegan key lime pie had a certain appeal to it as well. As I was brainstorming, I kind of ran out of time. So what better way to save the day than to whip up an extraordinarily simple crumble pie! All you need is frozen or fresh berries and a couple of pantry staples and you're all set and ready to go!

Before going in the oven

Now, I usually make sure to test my recipes more than once before posting them on here but as there is so little that could possibly go wrong with this, I'll share this recipe before pi(e) day has passed. Let me know if you give it a try!

Raspberry and Cherry Crumble Pi(e) for one

Filling:

- 1 cup (roughly) frozen or fresh berries, I opted for frozen sweet cherries and frozen raspberries

- 1 tbsp cornstarch (potato starch/tapioca flour works as well)

- 1/2-1 tbsp sweetener of choice, such as coconut sugar or erythritol

Crumble:

- 4 tbsp rolled oats

- 1 tbsp coconut flour

- 2-3 dates (24g)

- 1/2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

- 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

- Pinch of pure vanilla powder

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C
2. Place berries in a bowl and toss in cornstarch until everything is coated.
3. Transfer to a small pie dish and add your sweetener to the berries by sprinkling/pouring it on top. (If you've gone for all sweet berries such as sweet cherries and strawberries, you may want to omit the sweetener.)
4. In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crumble -except for 1 tbsp oats- by blending them with a hand blender until a sticky dough forms.
5. Mix the remaining oats into the dough. It should crumble easily and if not, add a bit more liquid/flour until you've reached the right consistency.
6. Sprinkle the crumble evenly on top of the berries and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it starts to brown.
7. Let cool for a few minutes and serve with a few spoonfuls of coconut cream (preferably whipped - mine wasn't) and even more fresh berries if you wish.