RECIPE: Apricot-Coconut Baked Oatmeal

We eat a LOT of oats around here; they are probably my favourite grain. They are also incredibly economical; I am able to purchase locally grown organic oats for $2.66 a kilogram when I buy them in bulk!

As we're waiting out these last few weeks of cool weather before spring officially arrives, I'm in major comfort-food mode. I find these last few weeks of winter weather just about the hardest weeks of the year to get through and my body feels really "done" with the cold temperatures and lack of warm sunshine. So, I decided to play around with one of my tried-and-true winter breakfasts and come up with a new twist on it. The apricots give it a nice zing and add a hit of bright colour, providing a welcome invigorating boost to get through these winter "blahs"!

I've been playing around with soaking grains a bit (some people feel this is a beneficial process although there is heated debate about that). I made a "soaked" version of this recipe, which was tasty but a much softer texture than the non-soaked version. Directions for both versions are below.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups milk
1/4 cup honey (I like a darker honey like wildflower or buckwheat for this recipe)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, soaked in boiling water for about 10 minutes to soften
1/2 cup coconut


Instructions:
For the "regular" version: Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased 9" x 13" baking dish and bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until firm.

For the "soaked" version: Combine the oats with 2 cups water and 1/4 cup yogurt. Cover and let sit overnight. In the morning, add remaining ingredients (reducing milk from 2 cups to 1/2 cup) and bake as above (it may need a few more minutes of cooking time than the unsoaked version).

I like to serve this with a drizzle of honey and a splash of milk or light cream.

Do you have a favourite way to serve oats for breakfast?

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