If you’re a regular on Instagram and my #oatmealartist feed, you probably know Dana as the one with the mountain of toppings on her porridge. And I don’t simply mean “mountain” as “a lot.” I mean her toppings–like graham cracker ‘crumble’ or granola or yogurt–form a perfectly shaped mountain atop her oats. Now she is October’s Oatmeal Enthusiast!
Before I get started, I wanted to take a moment to thank Lauren for contacting me and offering me an opportunity to share my oats with the world! My name is Dana, I live in New York City, and although my entire academic career has been strictly dedicated to literature and analysis, I have always – ever since I was a child – had a flair for all things creative. My artistic interests include everything from music and drawing to cooking and baking. I became a foodie in my first year or two of college and if anyone else reading this happens to be an NYC native, I’m sure you’ll agree that it can offer a plethora of eclectic culinary inspirations.
Although I love working with all different kinds of food, breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day. In my opinion, it offers a wide range of creative liberty, from baked goods to skillet dishes, from sweet to savory, breakfast is just all around fun.
This brings me to my love of oatmeal. Now where do I begin? There are so many reasons to love oats, they are a delicious, easy to make and good for you but one of my favorite aspects of oats is that they are a canvas. You really can do almost anything with them. From warm and comforting to cool and creamy, oats have it all! Few foods provide the opportunity to bring such a dessert-like decadence to meals that are healthy and nourishing for your body. Finally, and this certainly won’t be a surprise, because oatmeal is such a natural canvas, it is the perfect food to use to create seasonally inspired dishes, which is something that I think everyone will notice I tried to focus on for the month of October. I hope everyone enjoys the bowls I’ve prepared for this week!
MONDAY: APPLE CRUMB BOWL
Cinnamon spiced oats, topped with caramelized apples and finished with a soft baked crumble and warm maple syrup. Continue reading →
