Lower your cholesterol without the glop!

Oatmeal weather is coming and I have two recipes to share that will jazz it up a bit. Sometimes the bowl of warm, sugary glop will do, but did you know about oatmeal's other sides? One is not even remotely slimy, the other you eat with a fork! So, in the name of lowering cholesterol, thriftiness, and perfect cold-weather food, here are the recipes for: Baked Oatmeal and Oatmeal Terrine.

Baked Oatmeal

If you've never had toasted oats, you'll be amazed by the flavor. We eat it dished out into a bowl with a little milk poured on top. It keeps for about 2 days at room temp--I've tried refrigerating it and it gets tough and since everything's baked, it should be fine.

3 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled for about 10 minutes

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3-1/2 cup raisins

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the first 5 ingredients until well-blended, then whisk in the baking powder. You will probably have very small lumps still (I always do), but just get it as smooth as you can. Dump in the raisins and oats and mix until the oats are well-coated and the raisins evenly distributed. Spread evenly into an ungreased pie dish (or a cake pan would probably work) and sprinkle the cinnamon over the top. Bake for 30 minutes and let cool for about 5 minutes before eating.

Oatmeal Terrine

My husband and I went back to Boston for our fifth anniversary last year and ate breakfast at a great bakery there a few times. That's where we had "oatmeal terrine" for the first time, and this is my attempt at re-creating it. The bakery's version had fresh blueberries and strawberries and almonds in it. My latest (fall-ish) rendition has dried cherries and cranberries with walnuts. So, obviously, feel free to improvise with whatever mix of fresh and dried fruit you have on hand. It keeps great in the fridge and is a wonderful quick breakfast to have on hand--one batch lasts the two of us for the good part of a week.

3 cups liquid (soymilk, milk, or a mixture of milk and water)

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2-1 cup dried or fresh fruit

1/4-1/3  cup nuts (toast these by tossing them in a pan into a 350 oven for 5-10 minutes until just starting to smell and turn golden--watch them, they go fast!)

Bring milk/water and salt to a boil. Add the oats and stir in. Cook, over medium heat until liquid is fully absorbed and mixture is very thick (thicker than normal oatmeal). Take off of the heat and mix in the sugar, vanilla and fruit. Let it cool for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, line a loaf pan or cake pan with plastic wrap with some extra plastic wrap hanging over the sides. When oatmeal mixture has cooled, spread it into the prepared pan and then press the toasted nuts evenly over the top. Bring the edges of the plastic wrap over top of the oatmeal to cover it and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. After it has chilled, transfer the oatmeal to a plate (or just lift it out of the pan and slice on the wrap). We eat it slices in pie-shaped wedges and drizzled with some honey.