Caramelized Banana Oatmeal with Blackberries and Goat Cheese

I really love buying big bunches of green bananas, and letting them sit for a week until they’re super ripe…and then figuring out a new way to use them up.  This one is quick, delicious, and easy. They are definitely a staple for me. A big bunch, with no specific plan upon purchase.  This is one of my favorite ways to use them yet!  It’s quick, and I love the combination of sweet and tart flavors.

Serves 1.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup oats (or spelt flakes, or other grain for hot breakfast cereal)
• splash of vanilla
• 1 T goat cheese
• handful of blackberries

How to:

1. mash banana into a measuring cup, and fill the with water so the mixture is full to 1 cup
2. add a splash of vanilla to mixture, and combine well
3. add mixture and oats to pot, and bring to a simmer, let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. transfer to bowl, and top with berries and crumbled cheese.  Enjoy!

I made this with spelt flakes (which work like slow cooking large flake oats), as well as a 12 grain cereal, that also cooks slowly.  The key is that the grains are slow cooking, so the banana can caramelize while everything is coming together.  The nice thing about this is that you can play with the amount of banana/sweetness, as well as the grain. Only have 1 banana, but 2 mouths to feed? Keep the water+banana to 2 cups, and double your grains. It won’t be quite as sweet, but it will definitely work.