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!