Cherry Kiwi Oatmeal

My recipe calls for dried orange peel, which is my latest obsession. It adds such a natural and subtle brightness to foods (and is much less potent than, say, lemon or orange extract). I think it’s a great way to add flavor instead of resorting to sweeteners.

What you’ll need:

• 3/4 cup milk of choice, or water*
• 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oats*
• 1/4 tsp dried orange peel, or a splash of orange juice
• 10 fresh cherries, stems and pits removed
• 2 fresh kiwifruit, or 1 if it’s large
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

How to make it:

1. Bring milk to a low boil, add oats and orange peel, and reduce heat to a simmer. (If you’d like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
2. Peel the kiwi. Dice half of it and mash up the other half with a fork. Stir the mashed portion into oatmeal. Reserve the diced half for topping.
3. Dice your cherries. Save a few for topping and stir the rest into the oatmeal.
4. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract and salt to the oatmeal. Stir.
5. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with the reserved kiwi and cherries, and add any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).

Just an FYI:

I understand dried orange peel might be a difficult ingredient to find, so don’t worry–you can always add a splash of orange juice, or even some orange zest or orange extract. Or, heck, you could omit it altogether. However, I loved how this interacted with the cherries, so I highly recommend getting a little bit of orange pow in this porridge.

If you’re interested in getting this, I bought mine from a natural food co-op in the bulk spices section.