GROUNDING WINTER OATS

A DISH TO WARM YOUR SOUL

During the earliest days of lockdown in the winter of 2020, our family shared our upstate home with our dear friends Paola and Muz and their eighteen-month-old daughter (our goddaughter Hedi). We fell into a rhythm of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner and gathering around a candlelit table. There was an endless snowfall straight into April that year.

We took daily walks, chopped wood, and even tapped the maple trees. Time was standing still. While it was one of the most uncertain periods of our lives, sharing the ritual of daily cooking grounded us all. Paola brought this recipe with her, and I have tweaked it a little over the years, adding dried raisins from Pantelleria, green pistachios from Sicily, or dates from California. Dishes like this are made for a pantry hoarder like me. It comforts me every time I make it; it's warm, lush, and filled with a tiny tinge of sadness. It brings me right back to our silent cocoon of snow. Quality spices are essential here, as is their origin. I use Diaspora spices and Burlap and Barrel. The quality and fragrance are unmatched. Once you start making this, it will become your winter favorite. Top it off with nuts and dried fruit.

GROUNDING WINTER OATS

2 servings

about 3 cups

Keep a jar of the spice mix around at all times for these quick and easy oats. Once you grind the spices, keep the jar in your refrigerator or freezer. It will stay fresh longer.

INGREDIENTS

SPICE MIX

1 tablespoon of ground ginger

1 tablespoon of ground turmeric

1 tablespoon of fenugreek

1 tablespoon of ground cumin or 1/2 tablespoon cumin seed

1 tablespoon of ground cardamom

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon of ghee or, coconut oil or butter

3 whole cardamom pods crushed and slightly opened

1/4 teaspoon spice mix (above)

1 cup organic thick rolled oats ( I do not use the quick oats)

2 cups of water

1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Pink salt

2 tablespoons of tahini ( favorite is Seed and Mill ). You can of course, use any nut butter

1 tablespoon of maple or jaggery plus more maple for drizzling

Warm oat milk or cream for drizzling ( optional )

Mix in as many of these as you would like: roughly chopped pistachios, dried apricots, walnuts or cashews, raisins, and sultanas.

METHOD

Yields about ¼ cup of spice mix.

For the spice mix

Add the fenugreek, cumin, and cardamom to a spice grinder and pulse.

Add the ground ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, buzz to the other ground spices, and pulse to a fine powder.

For the oats

Melt the ghee or coconut oil in a small pot over low heat; I use my Staub 1.5qt little rounded rice cooker for these oats, and its perfect

Add the crushed whole cardamom pods and 1/4 teaspoon of the spice mix to the ghee. Cook over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add rolled oats, salt, and tahini and stir over low heat for 1 minute, just long enough to coat with the tahini and spices.

Add 2 cups water

Cook the oats according to the instructions until they are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve immediately with a warm puddle of nut milk, a drizzle of warm maple, and your favorite dried nuts and fruit.