Every summer, I try to post a recipe or two with fresh peaches. They have such a short season, and they’re so good. This week, I came through. Whaddaya think?
What you’ll need:
- 3/4 cup milk of choice, or water, or peach juice (such as the Ceres brand)*
- 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oats *
- 1 small yellow peach (or half a large one), diced or cubed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp shredded and unsweetened coconut, for topping
How to make it:
- Bring liquid to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add diced peaches immediately, reserving some for topping if desired.
- Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, cardamom, salt, and HALF of the tahini. Stir.
- While you wait, toast the coconut in a skillet over medium heat. (No oil needed.) It only takes a couple minutes and you should give it a shake a few times. Remove from heat when it starts turning golden brown.
- Back to the oatmeal: When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with remaining tahini, toasted coconut, and reserved diced peach.
Just an FYI:
*You can make this with rolled or quick oats by increasing the liquid to 1 cup and the oats to 1/2 cup.
Moving to Denver was a tough adjustment, as I knew it would be. (Is any move easy?) There’s nothing wrong with Denver. It’s actually pretty glorious, and there’s a reason it’s consistently ranked as one of the happiest and healthiest cities in the country. But I do have a fondness for the grit, noise, and chaos of New York City that made it tough to leave. Denver feels like a suburb in comparison.
I had two options: sulk about missing NYC, or embrace my new city. I’ve tried to do the latter (although I’ve certainly done my fair share of sulking).
The best part about moving to a completely new location is the sense that you’re hitting the reset button on your life. It’s terrifying, but also liberating. Having spent so many years in NYC, I settled into certain habits and routines that maybe weren’t the best for me–and gave up some routines that I should have been doing.
I became complacent. Everything in NYC is inconvenient (and that’s an understatement). Commuting is harder than it should be. Getting groceries is harder than it should be. Doing laundry is harder than it should be. Etc. I stopped going to farmers’ markets, blogging, going to yoga, riding bike, and more, simply because it was such a chore.
As my partner and I moved to Denver, we discussed all the hobbies we were going to start doing once we got here. One of the many goals I had was to start going to farmers’ markets again. Most weekends, now, I drag my partner out of bed bright and early so we can walk to one of the many markets and buy cool things: uniquely colored bell peppers, sweet corn, vegan tamales, and bags of peaches.
For a long time, I confidently named peaches my favorite fruit. Now, I’m just not sure if I have a favorite fruit. I love them all so much. But when it comes to fruity desserts, it’s usually peach that continues to hold my heart: peach pie, peach cobbler, peach blueberry crisp, peaches and cream, etc.
Of course, I’ve already made oatmeal versions of these, so I have to be a bit more creative now. (Here’s Peach Pie Oatmeal and Peach Blueberry Oatmeal.)
That brings us to tahini. Just like with peaches, I also am constantly looking for ways to use more tahini in oatmeal. It’s a tricky one; letting tahini shine requires rounding out the flavor with some trusty sidekicks–in this case, cardamom and coconut.
Even I was surprised at how well this turned out. Cardamom and tahini are an excellent match, and the peach was a sweet, bright, pleasant addition.
I am a sucker for just having a glob of nut/seed butter atop my oats, but tahini works best stirred in. Ultimately, I couldn’t decide, so I went half and half. 🙂
Random Recommendations:
- [eats] the tomato cayenne Chao cheese slices are soooo good
- [eats] the Follow Your Heart caesar dressing is excellent if the idea of soaking raw cashews all the time doesn’t appeal to you
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