I can be a creature of habit, and as J will readily confirm, rather particular when it comes to certain foods and tastes.  He hypothesizes that we get along so well because he shares a lot in common with my sister L’s tastes, so I’m used to the overlap in the venn diagram of our preferences, even if  the “circle” of foods he enjoys is much larger than mine.   I disagree – I will eat practically any vegetable or fruit!

When it comes to oatmeal, we definitely have our own preferences and tastes.  I prefer plain oatmeal that I flavor with whatever I feel like at the time – seasonal fruit, spices, nuts…I like the chewiness of rolled or steel cut oats and I don’t like it when the oatmeal is a touch on the watery side.  He is much less demanding and is happy to go with the packaged stuff, and tries to mollify me by making it less watery and using half plain quick oats so that I’m not horrified by the cloying sweetness.

That said, this baked oatmeal is versatile, delicious, healthy…and a perfect compromise!  It takes more time than instant oatmeal, but is still super easy to throw together.

Baked Oatmeal with Mixed Berries and Almonds (recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups/7 oz/200 g rolled oats
• 1/2 cup/2 oz/60 g sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup/2 oz/60 g natural cane sugar or maple syrup, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 cups/475 ml milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch/1 cm pieces
• 1 1/2 cups/6.5 oz/185 g mixed berries

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch/20cm square baking dish.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the almonds, the sugar, if using, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, if using, the milk, egg, the butter, and the vanilla.
4. Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining almonds across the top.
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.