I am so excited for today’s post! While I just got back from Istanbul (what an incredible city – more on that later), my sister is now visiting us in Israel for the week. I couldn’t be more excited to show her around the country that I call home. To give me more time with her Kiran from the amazing blog Kiran Tarun graciously agreed to do a guest post for me. If you don’t know Kiran you must hop over to her blog. Her photography is stunning, her recipes incredible, and her writing witty. And she picked one of my all time favorite foods to write about today: oatmeal!! Read on for her awesome twist on steel cut oats:
Hello! While Katherine is away on vacation, I’m officially honored to hoard her space with my affection for anything and everything oatmeal.
And for Katherine, of course! Thanks sweets for the honor of guest posting J
Allow me to tell you a story about oatmeal and how I’ve finally came to loving it. Warning: the affection is infectious.
As much as I would love to say that oatmeal has been my favorite breakfast since birth — well, I can’t lie.
Oatmeal is served so differently where I hail from – and it has nothing to do with mom’s method of preparation. Not a soul came forth with the idea of “toppings galore!â€.
We used to eat plain ‘old oatmeal cooked in milk and laced with brown sugar. That’s it.
Oatmeal is far more versatile than we think. There’s so many combination to choose, from banana oatmeal to baked oatmeal and oatmeal created from cake or cookie inspiration.
One recipe that we’ve been obsessed lately is “carrot cake†steel cut oatmeal.
A great way to incorporate veggies into your kids diet – just don’t tell them what’s in it 😉
Using steel cut oatmeal makes a lot of difference in texture and overall oatmeal experience. Overnight soaking in boiling water definitely takes down the cooking time to only 10 minutes! Of course you are free to use regular rolled oats. It’ll still taste yummy. It wouldn’t need overnight soaking.
Let’s talk about toppings. Can you sense my excitement? Nope?
Well, here it is 😀
There’s always an important lesson to learn when it comes to food. Oatmeal is no exception:
NEVER skim on toppings! Toppings are one of the main reason why I love oatmeal too much – not ashamed to admit this, one bit. There’s gazillion to choose from: fruit slices, fresh berries, seasonal oatmeal (pumpkin etc), nut butters, jam, granola, dry fruits, coconut, seeds, nuts etc. The possibilities are literally endless.
Enough said, now go and fix a bowl of carrot cake oatmeal. Or for that matter, red velvet 😉
- ⅓ cup steel cut oats
- 1.5 cups boiling water
- 1 cup milk
- 2 carrots, finely shredded
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tbsp. cinnamon powder
- Pinch of nutmeg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Brown sugar/agave nectar/maple syrup to sweeten
- Chopped walnuts for crunch and chia seeds for garnish
- Soak steel cut oats with boiling water in a saucepan overnight.
- For breakfast, heat saucepan over medium.
- Add milk and shredded carrots. Stir till thicken. This should take about 10 minutes
- Sprinkle salt, dash of cinnamon powder, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Mix well to incorporate.
- Serve hot topped with maple syrup, nuts and chia seeds.
Thank you so much Katherine, for having me into your space today. Congratulations on your first cookbook, Puff Pastry at Brunch — I cannot wait to dig in for inspiring and delicious recipes J
Kiran Srivastava is a lifestyle publisher, food stylist, recipe developer & photographer. She met her better half, Tarun, 10 years ago and instantaneously fell in love – long story, short… they eloped! Their life so far has been a roller coaster ride. From Malaysia and India, they begin their journey as husband and wife to America. Currently, they reside in Orlando where Kiran is still trying to fathom the idea of living just a few minutes away from Disney!!! Follow Kiran on her Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Great to see Kiran here! I actually never liked oatmeal because of mushy texture and never tried to experiment with it. But this one seems really delicious, and quite different from typical breakfast oatmeal. Thanks for the recipe Kiran! Katherine, have a great time with your sister!
this sounds delicious, such a creative take on oatmeal!
What gorgeous pictures! I love the flavors, and I’ll be checking out Kiran’s blog now 🙂
This looks ridiculously good, particularly since I covet carrot cake!
Great idea of adding carrots to oatmeal…I will have to try this since we often have oatmeal for breakfast.
Nice guest post 🙂
Hope you both are having a great week!
Thanks for having me over, Katherine!! Shoot, I need to reply to your email 😉
Kiran, I grew up eating the same dull oatmeal as you! I’ve never had the urge to try it again till seeing tempting versions like this. As a carrot cake lover, I heartily approve!
Katherine, have a wonderful time with your sister 🙂
Istanbul is definitely on my list of cities to visit in my lifetime. So many sights and smells, not to mention the history! I’ll have to visit Kiran’s blog as well now!
I’m all about different oatmeals! This one rocks! And love the chia seeds garnish!
Oh Kiran, this looks really good. I’m rarely an oatmeal person but I think I could change my ways with this one.
Katherine, I’d love to visit Istanbul, I’m envious!
Wonderful guest post! I love everything about this oatmeal! So nutritious and you get your breakfast and dessert in one! I have eaten oatmeal every day for 9 years but it has never been this fancy ;)! Would love to try!
I LOVE anything that is a version of carrot cake or bread. I’m not a big fan of plain oatmeal, so this is perfect for me, I’d eat this for any meal!
What a gorgeous recipe! I noticed this yesterday and fell in love with it! What a great recipe:-) Take care, Terra
Have a good time with your sister KAtherine!
I love this version of oatmeal Kiran!
Kiran – so nice to meet you! What an enjoyable post and so close to home! I was raised in the deep south of the USA and my mother served oatmeal the same way – plain oatmeal with brown sugar and milk! Now it’s the more toppings the better. I LOVE the carrot cake oatmeal! I’m putting it on the menu for Friday morning! Your photography IS beautiful!
Great post Kiran! I have to admit I am not a huge oatmeal eater but this looks really good 🙂
Recipes, clicks and the write ups..Kiran has command on all the three! Love this carrot oatmeal breakfast.
Dessert meets breakfast! Love this combination.
Quite an amazingly written Guest Post.. nicely blended with simple recipe 🙂
Great guest post and super yummy recipe I love it!
How beautiful! I’m not a fan of oatmeal but in this version I might like it!
Great dish! I’m really getting into oatmeal + savory flavors. This might be fun with a few extra spices thrown in – maybe a bit of cayenne? Anyway, thanks for a nice post.
OHMYWORD! You are truly a woman after my heart!! I am WILD for oatmeal, and all the ways to dress it up. But in all the recipes I’ve made, I have neglected this one. Heading to the kitchen this very minute to make it for my breakfast…using old fashioned oats. MMMMM! How great you were featured at FB!
I have oatmeal all the time for breakfast but only ever use dried fruit and nuts as toppings. I love the idea of a carrot cake flavour and it would take me out of my morning comfort zone a bit too!
Thanks Kiran for a very cool recipe…I really need to try this 🙂
Congrats on making the top 9!
Oh my! You’re a genius! Who wouldn’t want this for breakfast?! YUM! Congratulations on top 9 today! 🙂
Love this carrot spin that Kiran gave to the humble oats! they sound delicious and what a healthy breakfast!