There has been some debate in our household about whether oatmeal is universally comforting. Is it that dish that you can always rely on? Is it one that warms you when you’re cold…soothes you when you’re ill…and keeps you feeling full, well into your day? Or is it that gray cafeteria slop that clumsily sticks to the sides of your bowl in gelatinous clumps while you cringe with disgust? Or, perhaps somewhere in the middle? I am a glutton for extremes. In our household, it is the former. But there have been some run-ins with the aforementioned gray cafeteria-oatmeal here and there. Which leaves me with the question: How do you feel about oatmeal? Today, I would like to convert all of the nonbelievers.
This bowl of oatmeal transcends all my other oatmeal experiences. One word: miso. I was reading around the blogosphere a week or so ago and I stumbled upon Betty’s recipe for apple pie. She uses miso in her apple pie! Miso in apple pie! Such a genius and inspiring combination. I took the flavor combination in a different, more breakfast-appropriate direction (unless you are a pie-for-breakfast kind of person, in which case I worship you and wish I had your metabolism). This oatmeal tastes like spiced apple pie and the miso adds a depth of flavor that is so satisfying. I tried out this recipe multiple ways, with cardamom, without, with allspice, without, and my conclusion is: the more spice the better. I like it best with cardamom. I make breakfast for my sister every morning and she was not so thrilled with either spice. So, you can eliminate the spice altogether and still have a delicious bowl of oatmeal to enjoy. Especially if you are making this for young children or adults with unsophisticated palates (haha just kidding, sis).
So, when some good friends of ours sent us a large carton of fresh-from-the-orchard Honey Crisp apples the size of grapefruits, I had the perfect excuse to roll up my sleeves and get recipe testing. Thank you for all of these beautiful and HUGE apples Matt & Anne! I owe you some apple & miso oatmeal.
Many of my recipes come to me as if by surprise. A spark of an idea from something I read, saw, or ate that turns into a new dish. I am a very organized person. With work and with my personal life, I have everything scheduled and mapped out. I never forget to change an air filter, and you can count on me to be exactly where I said I would be exactly when I said I would be there. In fact, it is my job to be that way. However, so far, my natural rhythm with this blog seems to be quite the opposite. I have no idea how I manage to come up with a new recipe each week. If you were thinking I have a publishing schedule…that I am months ahead with recipes and ideas, you would be wrong. I shock myself each week that I have something new to share here with you. Being creative on a schedule just doesn’t work for me. As soon as I start using the effective/scheduling part of my brain, the creative muse seems to evaporate.
I am taken by food, and photos, and writing. It really feels like a gift every time I have an idea for a recipe, learn a new way to capture what I see, or think of a phrase, idea, or story that I want to share. It doesn’t seem like I come up with the ideas, but more like they come to me. And what I am noticing is that it doesn’t come to me on a schedule. So, I am really grateful that I keep being given these gifts of ideas, these pushes to make, create, and share. It seems strange to hope for something that is solely in my control. But I really hope I never lose the push to create and the ability to turn ideas into reality. Even though I know this is all in my control, sometimes it feels like there is something else too. It is an incredible balance to strike between experiencing responsibility for your life while simultaneously being grateful for the gift that it is. Bottom line: I love sharing the recipes that come to me, with you.
- ½ Cup steel cut oats
- 2 Cups water
- 2½ Teaspoons white miso paste
- ½ Teaspoon salt (You might like less. I like my food salty.)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ Teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon ground cardamom (break open the shell and grind the black seeds with a mortar and pestle)
- 1 Medium-sized honey crisp apple chopped into ½" chunks
- Handful of pecans
- Optional: For more creaminess add a pat of butter
- Option 2: Substitute allspice for cardamom
- Bring two cups of water to boil.
- In a small bowl measure out your miso. Ladle out some boiling water and stir into miso. Mix with a fork until dissolved.*
- Add ½ cup of steel cut oats + ½ teaspoon salt to the pot with the boiling water and reduce to simmer. Add your dissolved miso mixture into the pot with oats.
- Cook for 1 minute.
- Cover and place in fridge once the pot has cooled down (about an hour).
- If you have a tight morning schedule grind your cardamom and grate your nutmeg the night before.
- Remove oatmeal from the fridge and heat over medium low flame.
- Add ground spices, maple syrup, and apple, mixing well to combine (add butter if your using).
- Cook for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick you like your oatmeal. Stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes.
- A gelatinous substance might have formed on the top of your oatmeal from the oats. Just stir it into your oats.
- Serve with some fresh apple and pecans. Homemade peanut butter swirled in is incredibly good too!
P.S. Are you in love with my cow apron as much as I am? OK, probably not, but you should be. It is made from an old feed sack that my mother bought in the 1970s. I LOVE IT! You definitely don’t need an apron to make this oatmeal, but if you have a really cool one like I do, then you definitely should wear it. If you don’t have said apron, you need to let eBay into your life.
I love oatmeal! Especially with apple and fall spices. But miso? Game-changer. I can’t wait to try this! xoxo
The miso is incredible! It adds such a unique and satisfying flavor. Let me know how it turns out. xoxo!
Kathryn, your blog and photos are SO beautiful!! I’m so so happy to have stumbled upon your site through the pumpkin party. I’m definitely in the boat that believes oatmeal is ALWAYS comforting no matter what the weather. And the flavor combos for this are so great. Definitely want to try this out. And I love what you said about recipes coming to you kind of a s a surprise and a blessing. I definitely feel that surge of excitement sometimes when a recipe just comes to me. Love that feeling!
Big smile on my face Brita. Thank you so much! If you are an oatmeal lover your going to really enjoy this. So happy that we found each others blogs 🙂
Woah! I love the creativity! Miso in oatmeal?! Yes, please. I’m a fair weather friend to oatmeal. When it’s good- it’s amazing, when it’s bad, it’s painful, and I want nothing to do with it. Mornings are still pretty warm in San Diego, but the moment a chill arrives, I’ll be making this gorgeous bowl. It’s right up my alley!
Recipe-wise, I’m so the same! I’m shocked and excited every time a new recipe flies out of my kitchen and onto the blog. I definitely can’t force my creativity either. It’s like a wild horse that can’t and shouldn’t be tamed. The way I see it is that it’s my job to figure out where I can find it, and how to ride it. I love your insight as always. Beautiful photos- those apples look amazing, and cute apron!
Happy fall spice season!
xx Sydney
YESS!! I know what you mean about oatmeal so bad it is painful…as in gag-reflex oatmeal, YUCK! I love what you said about your creativity being a wild horse. Thanks for noticing the apron! I love it so much! xoxo
kathryn the idea of including miso beside apples and the both of them creating a heart-warming bowl of oatmeal? inspired and autumnal. i am so ever curious of the taste that i am convinced that i should explore this option on the coming weekend. i do not do oatmeal as often as some, and subsequently this has left very little room for negative experiences – i am generally a fan of the uplifting and nourishing breakfast.
i must agree with your sentiments on ideas and inspiration! often i am taken by surprise myself – and while i’m working on developing a certain road, another something strikes me and i’m going down another. i really enjoy the surprise aspect. i love the way you word ‘being grateful for the gift that it is’ – this is so beautiful and true. i look forward to your beautiful photography, delicious recipes, and mindful thoughts as they come. ♥
I think you will love it Danielle. Thank you for your sweet comment. I love being pulled in new directions and letting inspiration take me. xoxo
I eat oatmeal almost everyday, this looks amazing. Never thought of adding miso to it.
Hi Cheri, I think you’ll love the miso addition. Oatmeal is such a great staple dish.
I’m in the oatmeal is either too bland or too sweet camp – so I love the idea of adding miso. I definitely like savory things so miso may solve my problem with oatmeal. Thanks for the inspiration, Kathryn.
Hey Geraldine, I think this will be your solution to your too bland/too sweet conundrum. It is perfectly savory with a touch of sweet. <3
This oatmeal is so creative! I bet it tastes great!
Thanks, Anne! It tastes so good <3
I’m an oatmeal fanatic and this miso apple oatmeal sounds so wonderfully different! I have a box of miso paste in the fridge that I normally keep for broth or miso aubergine and I can’t wait to use it for something different.
Haha! I like that, oatmeal fanatic 🙂 I hope you enjoy this xo!
Miso in oatmeal is inspired! Beautiful post and photos as always Kathryn.
Thanks Ruby! The combination is incredible. I love the savory and sweet notes together. <3
ohhh, this oatmeal looks heavenly! wonderful photos <3
<3 <3 Thanks! Your photos are such an inspiration to me.
Oh this is genius! Apple does go so beautifully with miso and I love that you have converted the flavours of Betty’s pie into breakfast form. I must admit that I am not a big oatmeal eater, but I think I could be persuaded by a big bowl of this – and I can imagine that homemade peanut butter (or even almond butter!) would really top it off.
Speakinug of blog inspiration for recipes, mine has been a little oddball the past year because I am at college where there isn’t a usable kitchen – so I have to save up my ideas as I go ready to trial and photograph lots of recipes when I am home for the holidays! It is a pressured way of doing it though, so I cannot wait to move out next year and just go with whatever inspiration hits, whenever, like you do. Lovely post as always! <3
I am such a peanut butter fiend! I put it in everything 🙂
Wow! That sounds so challenging to have to pack all of your cooking into such a short time-frame. I am such a “mood” creator and cooker so I would really struggle with not having access to a kitchen. Your going to be like a kid at recess when you finally get your own kitchen! <3
I LOVE oatmeal, it is my 4am comfort food snack when I’m working a night shift. I usually only make the effort to throw so cinnamon and brown sugar in there so I love the idea of making it fancy. AND it’s savoury-sweet which is just so genius.
It’s nice to hear about your creative process as I definitely struggle with the creative/schedule balance. It’s so inspirational that you post such winning recipes so often.
4am comfort-oatmeal sounds reallly appealing even though the night shift part of it is not so great. I am very grateful not to do them anymore. Creativity is such a tricky devil. Sometimes it seems like I have more ideas than time in the day and at others it seems like I will never have another idea again. The schedule part of it just adds an additional challenge, as you know! xoxo
You had me at the name. WHAT?! Miso and apples. That sounds so interesting! <3
I am in love with this combination. I hope you try it and enjoy it! <3
Miso in oatmeal is such a creative idea – I can’t wait to try it. I’m definitely one of those people eating oatmeal every day and I have to admit – sometimes I forget to spice it up and change the ingredients. I guess it’s fair to blame it on the morning rush, even if it’s bad excuse!
Hi Linn, I think you’re going to love it! It is such a simple addition that can make a big flavor difference. This recipe is for overnight oats, but you can stir the miso into quick-oats or any other type of oats if you forget to plan ahead 😉
So this is going on my to-make list. I love using miso in unexpected ways, and I think you just surprised me on this one! And I can relate to your comment about being so organized and planned out in most of my life, but totally spontaneous when it comes to writing and posting for my blog. I do wish that I could be more organized about it, but I kind of like the spontaneity and letting the creative juices flow when they may:)
Hi Emily,
Miso in oatmeal is really unexpected, but so good. As soon as the thought occurred to me I knew it was going to be great. Thanks for sharing your experiences with your blog!