Pass the Butter

The health benefits of starting the day with oatmeal have long been touted and I can’t argue with them. Yes, it fills me up and keeps me full until lunch. Yes, many things can be added for extra nutrients or to change the flavor. Yes, it’s great for cholesterol levels and has a low glycemic index but all that starts to sound like “blah blah blah” when faced with my 20th oatmeal morning. If you’re cooking the real stuff (I haven’t opened a pack of instant oatmeal since the early 90’s) there’s only so much you can do until you’re confronting boredom in the bowl.

I’ve been hearing about baked oatmeal for a while but until now had never tried to make my own. I jumped online, goggled “baked oatmeal,” read a few recipes for inspiration and then just got started making it up as I went along. I’m a big fan of the “use what you’ve got” approach to cooking so staring at a ripe banana and a few leftover dates I immediately knew where to start.

Banana Chip Baked Oatmeal
serves 2

1 cup Rolled oats (if you prefer to use steel-cut, soak them overnight first)
1 cup Unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (I’m sure almond works too)
1/4 cup Raw cacao nibs (full of antioxidants!)
1 Ripe Banana (mashed but still chunky)
3 Dates (pitted & sliced)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (pure vanilla extract will do)
1/4 tsp Salt

1) Preheat oven to 350°
2) Put everything but the dates into a bowl and stir until well mixed and no dry clumps remain.
3) Place mixture into individual baking dishes or single dish and lay date slices on top.
4) Bake for about 15 minutes. Oatmeal is ready when top is set and slightly darkened.

Options: nuts (mix into oatmeal, if you sprinkle them on top they could burn), raisins, dried cherries/berries/apricots, mix in a little maple syrup if you need more sweetness, berries/peaches/apples/figs (mixed in or on top). Once removed from the oven top with- dried fruit, nut butter, jam, fruit preserves, or drizzle with honey.
Nutrition boost: mixed in- protein powder, chia seeds, maca powder, acai powder, bee pollen (sprinkled on top).

Before baking

Ready to eat

♥

Uni (sea urchin) at Sushi Belly Tower Los Angeles

I love a pop-up. Clothing stores, kitchy boutiques, holiday shops, restaurants, limited-run expositions, whatever it is, if it’s short-term and in a temporary location, I’m in! You can imagine then my excitement upon finding out what my neighbor at the Ace Hotel bar one evening, Michael Stember, told me what he did! The fellow ginger, former Olympic runner and sushi chef extraordinaire is the mastermind behind Sushi Belly Tower, the culinary pop-up event that’s been making its way across the US for some time now. Michael, who has been hosting sushi nights since his Stanford dorm-room days, and his team organize the space, music, cocktails and of course the food.

Ingredients were all super fresh & vibrant

Having no idea what to expect, I rallied a group of friends and off we went to eat from communal plates of sashimi and drink sake-tinis out of mason jars. The band (whose name I sadly didn’t get) was perfect- jazzy enough to be great dinner music and with a tempo upbeat enough for dancing if one felt a little loose. Considering the event is invite-only the crowd was a happily surprising mix of people and styles.

The space seemed to be a gallery of some kind.

The location of the event is revealed the day of

Everything we ate was gorgeous. Beautiful, fresh fish (salmon, tuna, yellowtail, salmon roe, sea urchin) was combined with tofu, citrus, fresh vegetables, herbs and seasoning in simple and perfect combinations. Michael’s food is breathtakingly subtle, he cuts and preps live as part of the event but does so without being flashy. He respects his ingredients and clearly knows his stuff. My favorite example of Michael’s simplicity and creativity was one of my last bites of the evening: uni served on a slice of citrus-splashed cucumber topped with sea salt and freshly grated wasabi. They say a great chef can tell you who he is in one bite; if that’s true and you want to know Michael Stember, that’s the bite you’re after.