Huckleberries, Apple

Apple-Berry Baked Oatmeal

Huckleberries?  Never had them.  Never even seen them.  "Aren't good for eating fresh," says Katie Schwarz in her newsletter.  Really?  I never met a fruit or vegetable I didn't like so I had to taste one raw, all by itself.  Katie's right.  It tasted more like a vegetable (and a bland one at that!).  So...noticing the deep color of these delicate little fruits, and knowing that berries are some of the healthiest foods on the planet (Dr. Michael Greger, M.D. of nutritionfacts.org says we should eat them every day), I had a real desire to come up with a way to enjoy them.   It just so happened that this same week I saw a recipe in the Whole Foods newsletter for an apple-berry oatmeal bake.  Why not try the hucks I thought?  And for another idea to use some of your huckleberries, go to my previous post and scroll down for Breakfast Juice.

Apple-Berry Baked Oatmeal
The original recipe just calls for "2 cups frozen berries" so what is given below is the way I adapted it to use the huckleberries.  I have also veganized it by replacing the milk and yogurt with dairy-free versions and using "flax eggs" (see below).  This is a real delight to enjoy for breakfast or anytime of day - warm or cold.  Delicious! 


cooking spray

1/2 cup Clarion River Organics huckleberries, stems removed and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen mango, cut into small chunks
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 Clarion River Organics apple, peeled, cored and grated (about 1 cup)
1 cup non-dairy milk (almond milk is nice)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (coconut, almond, or soy based)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 flax eggs*

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil a (9-inch) pie pan with the cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together all fruit, oats, pecans, baking powder, and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, syrup, vanilla, and flax egg; stir into oat mixture. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until firm and golden brown on top, about 50-55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.  Cut into slices and serve.  Great chilled too!

*To make flax eggs: whisk together 2 tablespoons ground flax (flaxseed meal) and 6 tablespoons water until creamy and frothy.