Overnight Oats
john barry
We’ve got an infant at home. Baby Eve. We are all in love with her and she returns the sentiment by being a sweet baby, a good eater and even a decent sleeper for her age. But like any 7 week old, she sleeps all the time and seemingly never. So I am up, sometimes, at 1:30 am, 2:30 am, 4:30 am and again at 5:45 am when the big kids decide to come downstairs with breakfast requests inexplicably early. Of course. Last night was one of those nights. I found myself awake at all of the above mentioned hours as well as at 3:30 am (while Eve was sleeping! Why????) when I found myself craving cold oatmeal more than sleep (crazy) and wishing I had overnight oats in the fridge. More puns. Overnight Oats. An actual name that feels more like a taunt. Not much I can do about its name, or the lack of sleep, but I can refuse to let my 3:30 am craving go unsatisfied again. So today I prepared three days/nights worth of overnight oats.
There's our girl. Sleeping like a baby.
I won’t pretend there is a recipe for this. I happened to organize my kitchen cupboards yesterday, thank you maternity leave, and IKEA, so I actually knew what was in there and what needed to be used. I got out three mason jars and set to work.
For these, I threw together the following in unknown quantities:
Steel cut oats - for chewiness
Quick cooking oats - for softness
Unsweetened grated coconut - for texture and sweetness
Chia seeds - for “superfood-ness”
Hazelnuts - for fat and protein
Pepitas - see above
Spices - Cinnamon, Cardamom, Allspice, Nutmeg
Kosher salt, a pinch
Maple syrup, to taste
Milk, enough to cover and absorb all the oaty goodness
Two kinds of oats and coconut.
Chia seeds. I'm feeling super already.
Layers of good stuff.
And last, the milk. All done.
Once everything was in the jars, I stirred them up and put them back in the fridge, for a day or three.
My assistant was in charge of making sure the ingredients were thoroughly mixed together.
In the morning(s) I stirred in some plain yogurt and fresh fruit and enjoyed my oats cold, summer style. I wonder what my father-in-law would think?