Recipe: Portable pumpkin oatmeal

Putting off writing anything of substance, here is the latest culinary brilliance to come out of Kitchen McStew.

Portable Pumpkin Oatmeal

4 c rolled oats

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour, smelt, or kamut (I used smelt)

4 c water

1/2 c yogurt or buttermilk

3 eggs

6 T melted butter

2/3 c brown sugar, sucanat, or rapadura

1 1/2 c pumpkin

2 t vanilla

1 T baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1 1/2 t salt

1 apple chopped (optional, but highly recommended)

For maximum digestibility mix oats, grain of choice, water, and yogurt or buttermilk the night before. Cover and let sit at room temp for 8-24 hours.

Whisk together eggs, butter, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla til well blended.

Sprinkle baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over oatmeal mix. Blend gently but thoroughly with wire whisk.

Add pumpkin mix to oatmeal and whisk til just combined. Add apple if desired.

Pour into 24 greased and/ or lined muffin tins. Muffin tins can be quite full, as this does not raise much.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or til the oatmeal is slightly puffed and moist, but does not look wet.

Remove and let cool a while. If you did not use papers, these will come out of their tins very easily if you let them sit a bit.

I made these because we had a partial can of pumpkin that needed to be used and we LOVE the baked oatmeal recipe from Annie that forms the base of these goodies. They are not as dry as a muffin -- more like an oatmeal (hence the name), but they freeze beautifully and the Bug will eat them right up, so they are winners with us!