Poached Pear Oatmeal

As many of you know already, I consume a lot of oats .. can't swallow instant oats and use those only for baked cookie and dessert recipes. Instead I rely completely on Old-Fashioned (Rolled) and Irish Steel Cut Oats for my breakfast, and sometimes dessert (sheepish!) needs. Over the past several months I've perfected a recipe which I absolutely love and enjoy every morning - Everyday Oats is what I eat most mornings on my way to work, in the car, out of a cup. It works for me :)

Of late though, at least on weekends, either due to a lack of bananas at home (an essential ingredient of my standard recipe), or because I'm feeling adventurous, I've been scouting around for new and interesting recipes. Here's one I found this morning that turned out really great!! 

Adapted from: Sauteed Pear Oatmeal, The Oatmeal Artist

Poached Pear Oats

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients (Serves 1):

1. 1 D'Anjou Pear 
2. 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
3. 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
4. 1.25 cup Almond Milk
5. 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
6. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
7. 1 tbsp Raisins
8. Pinch of Sea salt
9. 1 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Directions:

I used D'anjou (the original recipe calls for Bartlett) for this recipe since that is what I had at home. I chose not to peal the pears and diced them smaller than the original recipe. I call my version Poached Pears because I had the hardest time getting the golden look that is in the original recipe and ended up using almond milk and water as my poaching liquids. This helped me get the pears cooked nice and golden brown in about 15 min.  This might have been because I used a cast iron pan. In the end, my pears took on a much darker golden hue than the original recipe. Bring pan to medium heat and add pears, allow the pears to become golden brown adding splashes of poaching liquid (water or almond milk) from time to time to help release the sugars caramelized at the bottom of the pan. The pears are done when they're nicely caramelized and fork-tender. Whilst the pears are cooking, soak oats in almond milk, add Chia seeds and raisins and heat oats on high in a microwave for about 3 minutes. Add 1/4 tsp Pumpkin pie spice, stir and set aside. The original recipe called for 'cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger' - i.e. pumpkin pie spice. Once the pears are golden brown (or dark gold like mine), remove from pan and toss in a bowl with the remainder of the pumpkin pie spice (1/4 tsp).  Mix about 2/3 of the pears with the oats, toss well and transfer to a serving bowl. Top off with remaining pears, sprinkle a few raisins and a dash of sea salt. Drizzle maple syrup on top for a touch of sweetness and enjoy!!! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 408 (Fat Calories 68)
Total Fat 7.6 g; Carbohydrates 77.7 g; Fiber 12.1 g; Sugars 35.0 g; Protein 9.2 g

Quinoa Fruit Chaat

While in San Francisco a month ago, we ate a lovely Sunday Brunch at The Palace Hotel's Garden Court and one of the memorable items on the menu was this lovely Chilled Quinoa Berry salad. Ever since then I've been thinking about making something similar at home. I bought Quinoa a few weeks ago, and have had a hard time keeping berries in the house (... we have a teenager with a voracious appetite, who happens to inhale berries on sight!). So finally, I gave up trying to recreate what I had in SF. Instead, I used what fruits I had on hand and made Quinoa Fruit Chaat instead. 

Quinoa Fruit Chaat

Chaat (Hindi: चाट) is a Indian term describing all kinds of savory snacks. Often, these are sold at road-side shacks or stalls or carts in India. Of course, chaat is served in restaurants across the country and also prepared at home. The flavoring includes Chaat Masala, which is most often a mixture of Salt, Dried Raw Mango, Pomegranate Seeds, Cumin, Coriander, Black Pepper, Black Rock Salt, Mint leaves, Ginger, Nutmeg, Chilli Powder, Cloves, Cumin, Asafoetida etc. One can use either each of these ingredients individually, to taste, or simply buy a ready-to-use mix online. You cannot go wrong with MDH's Chunky Chaat Masala - it has been tried and tested by generations of Indians and it still works!!  

Preparing Quinoa: Most colanders will not hold Quinoa very well because the raw seeds are rather small. To rinse, use either a metal-mesh strainer, or a cheese cloth. Rinse the seeds in ample amounts of water. For every cup of Quinoa, bring 1.25 cups of water or vegetable broth to a rolling boil in a deep lidded saucepan. Add quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer, and then reduce further to low. Cover and cook for ~20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove, and let sit for another 5-7 minutes, before removing the lid and fluffing the contents. Quinoa seeds like to show you when they're ready to eat :) the grain swells up to almost twice its size, becomes translucent and the germ ring pops out, forming a spiral around the seed. For salads, you may want to cool the quinoa, before it is chilled. In order to do that, transfer the steamed quinoa from  the saucepan to a large plate, let it sit until it reaches room temperature and then transfer to a storage container. 

Prep Time: 5 minutes with previously cooked quinoa.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup  Quinoa, cooked & chilled 
2. 1 fresh Mango, sliced & diced
3. 1 fresh Pear, sliced and diced
4. 1 tbsp Craisins
5. 1 tbsp Raisins
6. 1 tbsp Roasted Almonds, slivered or sliced
7. 1-2 tsp Chunky Chaat Masala, to taste
8. Lemon/Lime Juice, to taste
9. Salt, to taste.

Directions: Simply toss everything together :) and enjoy!! One cool thing about this recipe, you can use any fruit you have on hand. Simply cut it into bite sized pieces and toss it in. 

My Assessment: While this recipe didn't recreate what I had in SF a few weeks ago, it worked its magic in its own way. I loved the nutty flavor and texture of quinoa, which was enhanced by the roasted almonds and the sweetness of the fruit was balanced well with the savory flavor of the Chaat Masala. 

Quick Note: Chunky Chaat Masala tastes heavenly on just sliced bananas.  Sprinkle some directly on sliced bananas, and add some lemon/lime juice on top. Yumm!!