Scary Garcia Overnight Oats

As its Halloween tomorrow I thought I would post the recipe to my second from last Halloween special, which I had last week but haven't been able to post since. I have lots more to make. But I'll save them for next year.

 

I present to you the 'Scary Garcia'

 

Yes. That's a spider. My attempt at one at least.

 

Now of course, this like all my other Halloween specials can be made any day of the year, its cherry Garcia overnight oats, just topped with an edible spider.

 

Scary Garcia Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup/120ml Milk of choice
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4-1/2 Cup of Yogurt of choice, (Greek, plain, vanilla) make it as creamy as you want.
1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice, to taste
A big handful of cherries, fresh or frozen and thawed
A big handful of chocolate chips, I used milk but use plain if you wish

4-5 TBSP of Cherry jam

Decoration:
1 Cherry
1 Fruit roll-up/leather, I used a BEAR Yoyo

Extra chocolate chips

Method:

1. Mix the first five ingredients and either the flax or chia seeds in a bowl/jug/mason jar, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours.
2. Fold in the chocolate chips and cherries.
3. In a glass/mason jar layer the oats. Jam at the bottom, then oats and so on with oats at the top. If your just having the oats like this, enjoy! If not, melt the extra chocolate or chips in the microwave, heating on 20 second blasts till smooth. You could make a mini piping bag or just a spoon and knife like I did. Work fast to form a spider web because the chocolate will harden fast on top of cold oats. Cut the fruit leather into equal lengths, plop a cherry in the centre and arrange your 'legs'. Enjoy!

Fig and Walnut Stove Top Oatmeal

Another fig recipe. Even though the seasons over.

 

This one involves nuts. Lots of nuts.

 

Fig Walnut Oatmeal

 

 

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats

1/2 Cup/200ml Milk of choice

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1-2 TSP Maple Syrup (To taste)

2-3 Fresh Figs

Big handful of Walnuts, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Bring the milk to the boil, add the oats and salt. (Add the flax now).

2. When most of the liquid has absorbed add the vanilla and half the maple syrup. Stir in 1-2 chopped up figs to let them cook through.

3. Once the oats reach a consistency your pleased with throw in 2/3 of the walnuts, transfer to a bowl and top with another fig sliced into wedges and the remaining walnuts. Drizzle over more maple syrup and enjoy!



 







Rosemary Honey grilled Fig Stove Top Oatmeal

This is a weird one. I'm not sure what to make of it myself but it was interesting.

 

 

Lately herbs have been creeping into the breakfast of other bloggers. I thought I would add my own recipe into the mix. Unfortunately, I made this weeks ago when fig season was sadly coming to a close. But I have being experiencing technical difficulties. My notebook broke. And had to wait for my birthday to receive a new laptop. Annoyingly its currently playing up but I hope to have it sorted soon.

 

After struggling to eat this bowl of oats, gnawing on fig halves I would say, if your gonna make it chop up the figs. Mix half of them into the oats and top with the other half. It will distribute it much better and make it a hell of a lot easier to eat.

Rosemary Honey Grilled Fig

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats

1/2 Cup/200ml Milk of choice

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1-2 Sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2-3 TBSP Honey

1-2 TBSP Yogurt of choice, (Greek, plain, vanilla)

 

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

 

Method:

1. Bring milk to the boil, add the oats and salt and reduce the heat. (Add the flax now).
2. Once more of the liquid has absorbed add the vanilla.
3. Meanwhile, set the grill (broiler) to medium. Lay the figs cut side up on a grill pan and drizzle with 1 1/2 TBSP of the honey, scatter with the rosemary. Place under the heat.
4. Whip 1/2 TBSP of the honey into the yogurt and set aside.
5. When the figs begin to caramelize and the outside starts to dry out, cut them up. Add half to the oats once they reach a consistency you like and transfer to a bowl. Top with the yogurt and the remaining figs and 1 TBSP honey.

After Eight (Chocolate Peppermint) Oatcakes

I only started liking after eights last Christmas. And got addicted. The so dark yet sweet at the same time. The peppermint creme melding perfect with its bitter dark chocolate casing.

The combination is amazing, and so I made it into a oatcake stack. Like I always do. So now I can enjoy the delightful mix, without the guilt.

After Eight Oatcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

2 TBSP Cocoa powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2Cup/120ml Milk of choice
1 Over ripe Banana
Few drops of peppermint extract
Dark Chocolate chips

Toppings:
Maple Vanilla Greek Yogurt, half mixed with peppermint extract to taste, half mixed with a tsp of cocoa
Raw Chocolate Sauce
Cacao Nibs
Spring of Fresh Mint

Method:

1. Blend Oats, baking powder and cocoa powder to a fine flour.
2. Blend in the banana, vanilla and half the milk at first. Add the rest tablespoon at a time till you get the right consistency. It should be thick like paint. Pour half into bowl and add a few drops of peppermint extract to taste. Add chocolate chips to both.
3. Heat a pan or griddle over a meduim heat. Once its ready spray with non stick spray.
4. Spoon batter into the pan and smooth into rounds, 1/4 measures or a heaped TBSP is the right size. When bubbles form on the surface and the edges of are set enough to get a spatula underneath flip them over and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat till on the batter has been used up.
5. Serve layered with toppings of choice.

Chocolate Blackberry Overnight Oats

Ignore the horrid pictures. I was visiting a University the day I had this, and so I had to serve it in a container I could bring with me.

At least you know its able to travel. I ate it on the four hour car trip up north. The university was worth it though.

Yes. I know that I just posted this combination in oatcake form. But that only proves how great the flavours work.

Chocolate Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

120ml Milk of choice, I used Rebel Kitchens Choco Mylk

2 TBSP Cocoa powder

1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Blackberry sauce:

Big handful of blackberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

Raw chocolate sauce

Cacao Nibs

Blackberries

Method:

1. Mix up all the oat ingredients in a bowl/jug. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight or for at least four hours.

2. Either heat the blackberries in a saucepan with the sweetener till squishable and thickened, or thaw the berries overnight, squish (Heating in the microwave if still solid) and mix in the sweetener. Make the chocolate sauce.

3. Layer then oats, blackberry sauce, a bit of chocolate sauce and repeat. Scatter with cacao nibs or chocolate chips and more blackberries and enjoy!

Chocolate Blackberry Oatcakes

Based off of Oatgasm's 'Chocolate Blackberry Baked Oatmeal' these Oatcakes were wonderfully dark and rich in flavour.

 I'm a big fan of the combination of dark bitter chocolate and even more bitter berries. Of course if you have a sweeter tooth just use more sweetener. A pinch of orange zest added to the batter, scattered on top or within the blackberry sauce would be fantastic but I unfortunately had none on hand.

Chocolate Blackberry Oatcakes

 Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats
Pinch of Salt
2 TBSP Cocoa powder
Pinch of Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1 Overipe banana
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup/120ml Milk of choice

Toppings:

Blackberry sauce:
Big handful of Blackberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

Heat both in a saucepan till the fruit is squishable. Or if using frozen, put in a bowl and defrost overnight, pouring over the sweetener in the morning, squishing the fruit down (If still hard heat for a few seconds in the microwave) and mixing it all up.

Maple Vanilla greek yogurt and 1 Tsp Cocoa powder (whip the cocoa into half the yogurt), or yogurt of choice (Plain, Chocolate, Vanilla)
Raw Chocolate Sauce
Cocoa powder and cinnamon

Method:

1. Blitz the oats, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder and cinnamon to a flour consistency.

2. Add the banana, vanilla and 1/2 the milk. Blend again and check consistency, you want paint-like thickness, add more milk if needed.

3. Heat a pan or griddle over a meduim heat. Once its ready spray with non stick spray.
4. Spoon batter into the pan and smooth into rounds, 1/4 measures or a heaped TBSP is the right size. When bubbles form on the surface and the edges of are set enough to get a spatula underneath flip them over and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat till on the batter has been used up.
5. Serve layered with toppings of choice.

Fig and Banana Stove Top Oatmeal

HAPPY WORLD PORRIDGE DAY ONE AND ALL!!!

That's right there's a whole day dedicated to the best breakfast food in the world! Thank you @eatandtrainwithsofia for bringing it to my attention this morning. That's one for the calendar next year.

Now onto the real subject of this post. The recipe.

This was in fact my first taste of figs EVER. And now, and if you follow my instagram your know this, I've had a whole week of these weird little beauties. Because fig season is drawing to swift close. How do I know? Because Salisbury's (My local supermarket) is selling them 4 for £1. Which is an amazing deal by my standards, so I've been buying 'em on up and trying out lots of different recipes, mostly from The Oatmeal Artists archives, as well as Oatgasm. And even after a week I'm still undecided about them. They've got a very subtle flavour, and personally I find them quite beautiful when cut open, but do I really like them? Still not sure.

This said I was really happy with this bowl of oats, as it was my first use of figs, and tasted good.

Fig and Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats

1 Cup/240ml liquid of choice, I use all almond milk, but use milk of choice, water or a mix

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

3-4 Fresh figs

1 Ripe Banana

Handful of chopped pecans, toasted or not toasted (350F/180C/Gas Mark 4. For 5 minutes)

Optional: 2 TBSP Flaxseed

Method:

1. Bring the milk to the boil. Add oats and salt, and reduce heat to low. (Add flaxseed now)

2. Cut the banana into thirds. Mash one 1/3 and finely slice another. Twist the stem of all the figs. Chop up 1-2 figs into bitesize chunks.Once more of the liquid has absorbed add the vanilla, both lots of banana and the figs. Stir in.

3. Chop up one of the remaining into wedges (Eighths) and if you want the 'flower' like fig for decoration just cut down 2/3 of the way from the top and do the same again to form a cross, with your index fingers and thumbs grasp the base and push inwards and upwards to open up the fig. A video tutorial is here. (Sorry about the annoying teacher).

4. Once the oats have reached your desired consistency transfer into a bowl, top with the pecans, the remaining 1/3 of banana sliced, the fig wedges, and the whole fig. Enjoy!

Candy Corn Overnight Oats

Another overnight oat Halloween special? Yep.

In honor of 'American Horror Story' (One of the best shows ever)'s new season: Freakshow. Which I just finished watching, and wow have they stepped it up a notch. I present my next Halloween special: Candy Corn Overnight Oats!!

Naturally flavored and coloured of course. Since candy corn doesn't have any real flavour, other than sugar syrup and beeswax. Apparently. Cause I've never actually tried any. Only admired the look of it.

Halfway through making these layers, I completely redesigned them. Instead of my usual flaxseed I chose chia seeds. Cause I thought flax would ruin the colour. And the flavouring of the yellow layer. I had first planned to use banana, but when the mango was a vibrant yellow not orange like I desired I decided to use that for the yellow and blend in a bit of strawberry to create orange.

What I will say is that though chia seeds thicken oats better and quicker than flaxseed, they do have a dark colour. Once I added it to my oats I was afraid of how they would look in my pictures. The next day the oats were still pastel coloured with black chia seeds, so I blended more mango and mixed it on in. In the recipe I put in the amount I used overall but keep extra mango on hand.

I had extra mango leftover so I poured it on top of the yellow for more vibrancy.

I had a lot of extra oats leftover aswell, once I filled my glass, so I threw them all together in one of the bowls and ate it all mixed up.

Candy Corn Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

White layer:

1/4 Cup/20g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

1-2 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

4-5 TBSP Milk of choice

2 heaped TSP yogurt of choice

1 TSP Chia Seed

Orange layer:

1/3 Cup/30g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

1 big handful of mango, fresh (about 1/3 of a mango) or frozen and thawed

1 strawberry or some chunks of frozen and thawed strawberries

1/8 Tsp Vanilla extract

4-5 TBSP Milk of Choice

1 heaped TSP yogurt of choice

1 Tsp Chia Seed

Yellow layer:

1/4 Cup/20g Rolled Oats

Pinch of salt

1/8 Tsp Vanilla extract

4-5 TBSP Milk of choice

1 heaped TSP Yogurt of choice

2 Big handfuls of mango, fresh (about half a mango) or frozen and thawed

1 TSP Chia Seed

Method:

1.White Layer: In a bowl/jug/ mix all the ingredients up all dry ingredients and yogurt. Mix in the milk bit by bit, you want the oats to be soaked and wet but not drowning. The chia seeds will thicken all three layers so you can adjust the mixs in the morning by adding more milk to get your desired consistency.

Yellow layer: Blend the mango and pour into a bowl/jug. Add all ingredients and mix, adding the milk like in the first layer. Cover.

Orange layer: In the same blender blitz up the mango, chop up the strawberry and add a bit into the mango. Blend again, add more strawberry if the colour isn't orangey enough. Pour into another clean bowl/jug and mix in the rest of the ingredients and cover.

2. Put all in the fridge and chill overnight or for at least four hours.

3. Layer up your oats to form your corn. A small white layer, bigger orange layer and yellow equal to the white. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Overnight Oat Parfait

It's the first of October. Meaning its now officially the month of All Hallows Eve. Meaning...Halloween special time!!!

Now you can't have halloween without something pumpkin. Or chocolate. So why not have both in one breakfast?

The quantity is large. I'll warn you now. It's actually double my normal serving of oats. But its better I indulge on breakfast than a bowl of sweets.

I was running late this morning so my choice of container isn't the best, buts it's all I had that was see-through, clean and deep enough for the abundance of oats I had made up the night before. Also, in my defense, decoration was a rushed job. So forgive my crude little jack-o'-lantern. He would have looked more charming but I overslept. You can decorate this oatmeal if you wish, it will still taste great if you don't. But it's more fun if you do.

Chocolate Pumpkin Overnight Oat Parfait

Ingredients:

Chocolate Layer:

1/2 Cup/45g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

1/3 Cup/80ml Milk of choice, I used chocolate (Rebel Kitchen) for extra chocolatey-ness

2 TBSP Cocoa powder

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

1/3 Cup Yogurt of choice, I used greek

1 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

Optional: 1 TBSP Flaxseed or Chia seeds. If omitting reduce liquid to get a thick consistency

Pumpkin Layer:

1/2 Cup/40g Rolled Oats

Pinch of Salt

1/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree

2 Tsp Maple syrup or sweetener of choice

120ml Milk of choice, I used unsweetened almond milk

1/2 Tsp Pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

Optional: 1 TBSP Flaxseed or Chia seed. If omitting reduce liquid to get a thick consistency

Toppings:

Chocolate chips, cacao nibs or raisins for the face

Green fruit leather (I used a Bear, apple yo-yo's), or anything green, for the stalk

Method:

1. In to separate bowls/jugs/containers make up the mix up the separate oats by mixing all the ingredients thoroughly. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight or for at least four hours.

2. Layer the oats and decorate as you wish. I threw some chocolate chips into the layers for extra indulgence.