While on our trip to Montana, we stopped for breakfast at a restaurant near the entrance to Glacier Park. It was early morning, and I was hungry! There at the top of the menu was something called 'Baked Oatmeal'.
My my, I thought, what in the world is baked oatmeal? Then I read further and found that said oatmeal came covered in Huckleberry sauce. I had never eaten Huckleberries either and decided this was the breakfast for me.
Soon, the very nice waitress who had assured me that I had made the right choice earlier, placed before me a square of what looked like cake, covered with miniature blueberries. It looked divine.
I took a bite.
It was more than divine.
I thought I heard angels singing.
It was not goopy or pasty, it was cakey and you could see the grains of oatmeal, there were raisins, and walnuts and, hmmm.... cinnamon, and was it?... yes, nutmeg, and some other taste I could not quite put my finger on.
And don't get me started on the Huckleberries. I may never be the same after tasting real Huckleberries. This sauce was homemade from fresh berries. You could die.
Well, before I even laid down my spoon, [which I had to do before it was all gone, because it was just too much to eat in one sitting].... I knew what my mission in life would be for the next several weeks.
To duplicate that baked oatmeal.
I scurried off to the internet and found about 6 recipes for the stuff, marveling that I had never run across them. I love oatmeal. You would think I had heard of this before...
Anyway, I am on my third experiment. Trust me, not all baked oatmeal recipes are created equal.
Here is a picture of my third attempt. It has come the closest to my goal...
[album 65561 Cooking 040.jpg]
It is covered with my homemade yogurt, plain, and some Boysenberry sauce from Smuckers. It's the best I could do so far from the Huckleberry harvest out in the wilds of Montana.
I think that 'some other taste' I noticed in the original was applesauce, because this recipe called for it, and took the whole concoction a big step closer to what I remember.
It is not quite there yet however, and I think I have perhaps two more recipes to have a go at, then I will make my modifications on those and when I'm finished testing, I will share the results.
Everyone deserves to taste this at least once in their life. Even if you don't like oatmeal, you should give this a try.
Maybe you will hear angels sing too!
But let me fine tune it, to give you your best shot at Oatmeal Nirvana.
Which is what I intend to name my version.
Experiment #4 begins tomorrow.
(Because she scarfed up the last crumbs of this one today.... it was....inelegant to say the least.)
My my, I thought, what in the world is baked oatmeal? Then I read further and found that said oatmeal came covered in Huckleberry sauce. I had never eaten Huckleberries either and decided this was the breakfast for me.
Soon, the very nice waitress who had assured me that I had made the right choice earlier, placed before me a square of what looked like cake, covered with miniature blueberries. It looked divine.
I took a bite.
It was more than divine.
I thought I heard angels singing.
It was not goopy or pasty, it was cakey and you could see the grains of oatmeal, there were raisins, and walnuts and, hmmm.... cinnamon, and was it?... yes, nutmeg, and some other taste I could not quite put my finger on.
And don't get me started on the Huckleberries. I may never be the same after tasting real Huckleberries. This sauce was homemade from fresh berries. You could die.
Well, before I even laid down my spoon, [which I had to do before it was all gone, because it was just too much to eat in one sitting].... I knew what my mission in life would be for the next several weeks.
To duplicate that baked oatmeal.
I scurried off to the internet and found about 6 recipes for the stuff, marveling that I had never run across them. I love oatmeal. You would think I had heard of this before...
Anyway, I am on my third experiment. Trust me, not all baked oatmeal recipes are created equal.
Here is a picture of my third attempt. It has come the closest to my goal...
[album 65561 Cooking 040.jpg]
It is covered with my homemade yogurt, plain, and some Boysenberry sauce from Smuckers. It's the best I could do so far from the Huckleberry harvest out in the wilds of Montana.
I think that 'some other taste' I noticed in the original was applesauce, because this recipe called for it, and took the whole concoction a big step closer to what I remember.
It is not quite there yet however, and I think I have perhaps two more recipes to have a go at, then I will make my modifications on those and when I'm finished testing, I will share the results.
Everyone deserves to taste this at least once in their life. Even if you don't like oatmeal, you should give this a try.
Maybe you will hear angels sing too!
But let me fine tune it, to give you your best shot at Oatmeal Nirvana.
Which is what I intend to name my version.
Experiment #4 begins tomorrow.
(Because she scarfed up the last crumbs of this one today.... it was....inelegant to say the least.)