When Life Hands You Mushy Oatmeal . . .

make oatmeal muffins.

Last night, I decided to make oatmeal in the slow cooker.  Well, I did, as plan, wake up to a big pot of steaming oatmeal but it wan't quite what I had expected.  Maybe I should say it was what I expected, it was not what I had hoped.  I like my oatmeal to have a certain amount of texture.  The oatmeal that I woke up to this morning was very soft, mushy, even a little slimy.  Not at all appetizing.  I was now left with a big pot of gloppy oatmeal and an aversion to throwing out said oatmeal.

After a quick internet search and a little tweaking of ingredients, we were making muffins.

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
*4 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla
a handful of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tin.

Combine ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons water and set aside.

In a large bow, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder.   In another bowl, mix together the coconut oil, flax seed mixture, oatmeal and vanilla.  Add oatmeal mixture to flour mixture and combine just until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake 20-25 minutes until top is set and toothpick comes out clean.

*The use of coconut oil and flax seed oil makes these muffins vegan (if you do not add the chocolate chips).  You can un-veganize the muffins by using 2 eggs, lightly beaten, in place of the flax seed and 1/2 cup butter, melted, in place of the coconut oil.

These are moist muffins.  The first time I made them I feared they were not baked completely.  Let them rest for an extra few minutes before tasting and trust the muffins.  The first time Mike saw the muffins, he had a doubtful look on his face because the muffins are kind of flat.  "Is it okay to eat them?"  Yep.  They are odd yet delicious.  Ignore that resounding endorsement.  They really are good.

So you knew what to do when life handed you lemons.  Now you know what to do with that leftover mass of oatmeal.  Enjoy.

 

Let Them Eat Sorbet Part 2

Several people have requested the recipe for the raspberry sorbet so here it is.

One word of advice:  Plan better than I did.  The day that I made this, I had visions of enjoying a bowl of sorbet after supper as the boys enjoyed ice cream.  I did not fully read the recipe before hand and did not start preparing the sorbet until 3 in the afternoon, thus explaining why I had a little with breakfast the next morning.  Although I do have to confess, I had a bowl at 10 at night because I just couldn't wait until the following day.  It was good.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 pound frozen  unsweetened raspberries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Prepare a simple syrup with the sugar and water:  Place the water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, 3-5 minutes.  boil the mixture for 1 minute then remove from heat.  Pour the syrup into a heatproof container and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Place the raspberries and cooled syrup in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes.  cool for few minutes then transfer to blender or food processor and process until pureed.  Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the mixture to remove the seeds.  Add lemon juice, stir, cover and place in freezer.

When sorbet is completely frozen (3-4 hours), remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature until partially thawed.  Transfer to food processor and process to break up ice crystals.  (This is the point where I enjoyed a big bowl of creamy, soft sorbet.)  Place sorbet back into pan and refreeze for at least 3 hours and up to several days.

This recipe is found in The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

I finished the last of my batch a couple of nights ago and will soon be making another batch.

Happy weekending!