Fig Stuffed Oatmeal with Blueberries, Almonds, & Honey

I’ve had a pretty busy couple of weeks preparing recipes for Clearly Delicious (and a super secret–but really not so secret to about a dozen people–food project I’m working on.  More information coming soon!).  No matter how many times I skim recipes for squash, gourds, soups, and cold weather fare, I just keep going back to my dream list from the summer.  I imagine most readers know what I mean–that list of cocktails, appetizers, and fresh summer dishes you never got around to making.  Perhaps there weren’t enough dinner parties, enough excuses to sleep in late and stuff yourself with weird ways to make French toast, or perhaps you just didn’t feel like cooking. Whatever the case, I’m convinced it has something to do with this weather.  It’s mid-October in Louisiana, my students have taken their midterms, I’m a semester halfway closer to another year, and I’m still kind of…hot.  Most days, Louisiana weather peaks in the 80s and although it gets to a *chilly* 60-something at night, I’m always toasty.

Perhaps that’s why I wanted one last (truly last) hurrah with my favorite summer fruit–figs.  My adoration of figs has reared its head in recent posts for Fig Prosciutto Salad with Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Pecans, Fig Confiture (Jelly), and Fig Galette.  Ah, figs.  The one thing I haven’t made yet is figgy pudding!

I love figs for their seedy textures, subtle sweetness, and beautiful insides.  They go great on a bed of about anything and especially good on a late Saturday morning with a piping hot bowl of oatmeal.  I imagine few readers find oatmeal as sexy as a stack of pancakes, but I just love its hardy texture, and the variety of ways you can make it.  Adding figs surely makes it sexier.

So, to my new favorite breakfast–great fuel for a busy day and one of the many recipes that’s helped to keep me busy!

Fig Stuffed Oatmeal with Blueberries, Almonds, & Honey

One of the great things about living in Louisiana is that figs stay ripe (and cheap) relatively late into the summer season.  In October, you can still pickup pints of the black fruit for under five dollars.  Also affordably priced? Local honeys available at Baton Rouge produce markets along with whole almonds.  YUM!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup oats, steel cut (*not instant*)

* 2 cups hot water, boiling

* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 2 tablespoons brown sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

* 2 tablespoons honey

* 1/4 cup blueberries

* 1/2 cup fresh figs, quartered or halved

* 1/4 cup almonds, whole

* 1/2 cup milk

1.) Begin by making your oatmeal: bring two cups hot water to a boil and add one cup oats.  Cook down stirring occasionally so that the oats don’t stick to the pan.

2.) Right before the oats are finished cooking, add cinnamon, brown sugar, almond extract, and honey to the oats stirring to combine.

3.) Remove oats from heat and pour into a bowl.  Dress with figs, blueberries, whole almonds, and milk.

Enjoy! Makes 1 super satisfying serving.

–Helana Brigman

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