Zoatmeal: Perfect Paleo Oatmeal

Chilly mornings are upon us again and I find myself wishing for a warm, sticky bowl of oatmeal.  A few weeks ago I came across a recipe for paleo oatmeal that involved cauliflower and eggs.  It was good, but to me, it just didn't have the same qualities as traditional oatmeal.  I could still faintly taste the cauliflower, and the eggs made it creamy, but it was custard-like creamy - not the smooth sticky quality traditional oatmeal has.

As I thought about how to re-create oatmeal, my zucchini pile in the kitchen was steadily growing.   I'm always up for new ways to use zucchini, since it's so plentiful at this time of year! I thought, why not using the same recipe except use zucchini instead of cauliflower?  Then of course, while making it, decided to do things a bit differently and Zoatmeal was born.

This recipe is incredibly simple, and involves 3 main ingredients:  zucchini, coconut milk, and a pinch of salt.  It involves more utensils than dumping oatmeal and water into a pan, but it takes about the same amount of time to cook. Extra items: a food processer and a fork. 



Zoatmeal topped with honey, coconut milk, blueberries, and a crabapple sauce.

Zoatmeal

• 1 very small zucchini, or half a medium zucchini, peeled
• full fat coconut milk, about half the amount of the zucchini
• pinch of salt
• arrowroot for thickening

Optional:

• cinnamon
• honey
• additional coconut milk

Peel the zucchini and chop into small pieces.  If it's a larger zucchini, remove any large seeds.  Process the chopped zucchini in a food processor until very finely minced.  Add that to a pan with the coconut milk.  Ideally you want the ratio to be 2 parts zucchini to 1 part coconut milk, but I don't measure, I just eyeball it.  Add a pinch of salt, then cover and simmer.  The cover is there for 2 reasons: this will bubble and splatter - and it helps the zucchini cook faster.  I like to add about a teaspoon of cinnamon in there, not only because I love cinnamon, but it gives the Zoatmeal the traditional light brown color.

When the zucchini is tender, begin to sprinkle arrowroot into the Zoatmeal and quickly stir it in with a fork.  Just do a little bit of arrowroot at a time - it doesn't take a whole lot and you can easily over-thicken it.  The arrowroot gives the Zoatmeal the smooth stickiness that oatmeal has.

Pour into a serving bowl and top with whatever you like to top oatmeal with!  I like additional coconut milk, honey, and some fruit.  In the photo above, I made a crabapple sauce from crabapples off my tree.  Same recipe as my Spiced Cranberry Sauce in Cavemom's Cooking, except I used crabapples in place of the cranberries.

Delicious!  Now if your neighbors try to pawn off their excess zucchini on you, take it and make yourself a wonderfully warm, creamy, satisfying breakfast! :)
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Editing to add, this recipe re-heats wonderfully!  Don't be afraid to make a large amount and have leftovers! :)

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Zucchini anyone?

I don't know if it's the lack of bees or what, but the only thing really producing in my garden this year is the zucchini.  The rest of the squash, cukes, and miscellaneous plants just aren't doing too much.  Some of the plants are huge, with tons of flowers but little to no fruit, and some of the plants are still really small with little to no fruit.  I didn't plant by moon phases this year, seeing as the last couple years I didn't see much of any difference.

So, what to do with all that zucchini?

One of my favorite ways to cook zucchini is grilling them!  Oh YUM!! Super easy - slice them length-wise so they are about 1/4" thick. Coat them in oil and your favorite seasonings (Italian dressing works too!) and grill until there's grill marks, then flip 'em and keep grilling until there's grill marks on that side too.  They should be limp when done, and oh-so-tasty! Great with grilled meats, or by themselves for a light lunch.

Some news!  I just got in the 2nd edition print run of Cavemom's Cooking!!  I changed it up just a little - instead of a 5x7 print with a covered binding, I went with 5.5" x 8.5", spiral bound.  Loving the new look!!  There's just a couple left of the originals - once those are gone, I'll post the 2nd edition for sale.  I'm about 1/2 way thru creating recipes for Cavemom's Cooking Volume 2 (still need a good title instead of just "Volume 2") - I have a great idea for the cover photo for that one!

Last for tonight: an idea's been brewing in my  head:  I don't feel the urge to eat bread anymore, but someone close was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, and is having a hard time giving up bread.  I have no idea if this will work; I have yet to see a recipe for such, but pre-paleo I used to make a tasty beer bread recipe from scratch (using something other than beer, of course!).  Hoping to be able to successfully modify that one.  I've seen lots of recipes using baking soda and vinegar, so that's always an option . . . I have all the ingredients necessary, I just need to be brave enough to give it a go, and be willing to toss if it's terrible!! :)

You ever throw together a dish and wonder what you're thinking??

That would be my lunch today.  I really didn't have a plan in mind, just started throwing things together, adding as I went.  The end result . . . well, it wasn't the most appetizing looking . . . probably should have sliced rather than shredded the zucchini for a main dish, or better yet, pureed the zucchini for soup instead . . . but it turned out amazingly good!!


This started out with me wanting to use up a partial zucchini and a box of smoked baby clams. What to do with that??  First I added coconut oil for frying.  Then freshly grated ginger root.  And because I wanted sweetness with the ginger, I added honey.  And because I like lemon with ginger and honey, I added lemon juice.  Then garlic, just because I like garlic, and it goes well with lemon and ginger.  Then I thought it should have a creamy sauce, so I added part of an avocado.  Then at the last second I tossed in a chunk of French type goat cheese for an even creamier sauce.  Black pepper sprinkled on the top of that . . .  I put a little on my plate, wondering if this would taste good, or just plain weird . . . hahaha, it was SO good I went back and ate the rest!!  (And I'm not ashamed to admit I licked my plate!!)

 

Now that I think about it a little, I think next time I would puree the zucchini and make soup. Maybe a wee bit of shredded zucchini swirled with melted goat cheese on top to pretty it up. :)

EDITED TO ADD, Round #2:
Pureed the zucchini this time.  I don't know why, but this garden zucchini had turned yellow instead of staying green.  So the darker flecks should be green, but are yellow instead.  Or, you could peel the zucchini, but I don't bother to do that. Topped with bacon, green onion, and pepper. So delicious!!! :)

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