Soaking Your Wild Oats

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For the last few months, I have been tweaking my master recipe for soaked steel cut oats on the go.  In our last discussion on this topic, we reviewed the basics of simply soaking oats in water, or milk with yogurt, overnight and enjoying them in the morning.  Natural sugar, maple syrup and bananas were a great addition, but when I went back to the farm with my new found love for soaking oats, I was told that I had only scratched the surface in the art of steel cut breakfasting.  Join me now as we dive further into this jar of deliciousness.

There are endless possibilities of transforming this initially simple idea into a medley of flavors.

Step 2:  The next step

Although I have tried a variety of different combinations, I will touch upon the one famously known as "The Go To." 

Any dried fruit is a great addition to add different texture as well as natural sweetness.  Here are my personal recommendations.

Dried Apricots

When you soak oats and fruits overnight, they are naturally going to expand and absorb water.  The whole apricots were overwhelming so I decided to cut them and was pleasantly surprised to find out that this actually helped infuse apricot flavor throughout the entire jar.

 

Dried Cranberries

A blend of dried fruits mixes things up and as an added bonus, cranberries are a good source of antioxidants.

Almonds

Ideally I would use raw almonds, but when I do not have those, I use slivered almonds instead.

Fresh From the Apartment-farm Mint

Last but definitely not least, I was recently given this beautiful young mint plant as a gift and it has since become a valuable source of flavor for my breakfast as well.

With just a quick little nip in the bud, this windowsill plant turns into the key ingredient.  In my opinion, the refreshing, crisp taste of mint changes everything for the better.  I originally thought it was best to pluck each individual leaf, but I recently learned that it is more effective to "nip" the bud.  This way it will grow back even stronger.

It is important to always leave at least one leaf on the stem, if left completely bare it will die.

Add all of the ingredients in a jar with the oats

Fill with water just to cover

Finally, I like to turn the jar over once or twice to mix everything together and leave it overnight.  In the morning, strain out all the excess water and enjoy.

Soaked oats "The Go To" to go:
Jar
Steel-Cut Oats
Dried Apricots
Dried Cranberries
Almonds
Fresh Mint
Water and or Milk/Yogurt
Counter
Sleep