Maple, Kabocha, and Rosemary Steel Cut Oatmeal

Regular readers already know my passion for this pine-flavored herb. I will combine it with just about anything when it comes to oatmeal: grapes, pineapple, peaches, and even chocolate. Combining it with squash probably makes the most sense out of all these, considering rosemary and squash are both classic fall flavors!

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups milk of choice
• 1 cup water, or more milk
• 3/4 cup steel cut oats*
• 4-6 pitted dates
• 1 tbsp finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1 cup roasted & mashed kabocha squash**
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Maple syrup, for topping

How to make it:

1. Add milk and water to a saucepan over medium high heat.
2. While waiting for liquid to boil, prepare your dates. Slice into tiny pieces and add to saucepan, along with the rosemary.
3. Once liquid comes to a low boil, add oats and reduce heat to medium or medium low. (If you’d like to add a tablespoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
4. Stir occasionally and let the oatmeal cook for about fifteen minutes.
5. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add kabocha squash, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue stirring occasionally.
6. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to four or five bowls (or put leftovers in a tupperware container in the fridge for up to a week). For each serving, add a splash of your milk of choice, a drizzle of maple syrup, and any other additional toppings (such as fresh or dried fruit, nut butters, nuts, etc.).

Just an FYI:

For an extra boost in rosemary flavor, you could sprinkle sprigs of rosemary on the pan when you roast your squash. This is what I did, and it made my apartment smell soooo good!

And finally, I have created a “winter squash” tag for recipes. Because these squashes are so interchangeable in most recipes, I thought I would combine them under one category. That way, if you have a sweet potato that you want to use, you could search all the winter squash recipes and use your sweet potato in a recipe that originally called for pumpkin or butternut squash.