Pan-Seared Oatmeal With Warm Fruit Compote and Cider Syrup

-NYTimes veg thanksgiving 2010

Ingredients
Syrup:

2 cups apple cider

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Compote:

2 cups water

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (7-ounce) package dried mixed fruit bits

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Oatmeal:

3 cups water

1 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups steel-cut (Irish) oats

Cooking spray

1/4 cup butter, divided

ORIGINAL RECIPE: Prune bars

1 cup brown sugar
1.25 c flour
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
.5 t baking soda
.25 t salt
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup coarsely ground oats (run steel-cut or rolled oats through a food processor coffee grinder)
1 cup prunes, soaked in enough warm water to just cover for 30 minutes, then chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl with your hands; mush around till coarsely combined like strudel. Smush half the mixture into a 13x9 pan to form a crust. Spread chopped prunes in a layer over bottom crust. Spread the remaining flour mixture over the prunes and smush. Bake till the crust is ... crusty.

Would probably be good with vanilla ice cream.

oat cakes

1/2 cup leftover cooked oatmeal
1 T peanut butter
1 T molasses
2/3 cup ground up raw oats (use coffee grinder)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup
3 T brown sugar
pinch salt
1 T baking powder
1/4 c veg oil
1 beaten egg
1/3-2/3 c milk (?)
1 t apple cider vinegar
butter/margarine for cooking

Mix all but butter together; consistency should be like your favorite pancake batter. Cook look pancakes.
Just threw these together with some leftover peanut butter oatmeal.
I imagine these would be stunning with cinnamon and little bits of fresh apple in them and some syrup over top. Or perhaps with more molasses, some pumpkin or sweet potato in place of the oil, and some allspice.

Cranberry Oat Bars

-The Washington Post, December 12, 2007

* 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
* • 3/4 cup sugar
* • Finely grated zest of 1 medium orange (about 2 teaspoons)
* • 1 1/2 cups flour
* • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or instant)
* • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
* • 1 teaspoon baking powder
* • 1/2 teaspoon salt
* • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Directions:

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking oil spray, then line the pan with a double thickness of aluminum foil so that the foil extends beyond 2 opposite ends of the pan. Fold the overhang down to form handles. Lightly grease the foil with the spray.

For the filling: Combine the cranberries, sugar and orange zest in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the filling has thickened and reduced to about 1 cup. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to work it into the dry ingredients until well combined; the mixture will be crumbly. Press half of the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread the cooled cranberry filling on top. Sprinkle the remaining crumbly mixture over the filling and gently press into an even layer. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is evenly browned. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Run a knife around the 2 inside edges of the pan to release the bars from the sides. Lift up on the foil handles to remove the bars from the pan. Using a large, sharp knife, cut into 16 bars. Cool completely before storing.