An Ode to Oats: The Great Quarantine Bakeoff Part 1
A Quarantine Diary by Ashi, a recent JHU grad and a soon-to-be medical school student. This week, Ashi takes on ~Oats~.
Age: 21 | Gender: Female
Occupation: Recently graduated from The Johns Hopkins University in December, and will be starting medical school in August!
Location: San Jose, CA, USA
Quarantine Status: Quarantined with family
State of calmness: Every day, I flicker between *freaking out* and *very calm*, which definitely depends on how much news I read that day. More and more, I’m adapting to the reality that this virus is not going away anytime soon, but I feel calm when I see so many people from different backgrounds uniting together at this time.
Reaction to local/state/federal response to the area: Santa Clara County ordered a shelter-in-place, one of the earliest in the country, and ever since I have not stepped out of the house. I honestly appreciate the early action taken by the county and am doing my best to follow it!
From the onset of this global pandemic, my family has been keeping track of the news and checking in with loved ones across the world every hour. With each news article, tweet and message, I’ve been reminded of how connected our world is today, and even more so, how united we all have the ability to be. When Shannon reached out to me about the quarantine diaries, I could not have resonated with this idea more: a way to stay connected, despite our shelters and lockdowns, and share our experiences during these unprecedented times.
Personally, my quarantine diary documents new recipes I try out every day! I absolutely love to bake, and had actually planned to train at Le Cordon Bleu during my semester off before medical school. Now, I am challenging myself to bake one new vegan recipe every day. It’s a great way to stay positive, learn something new, and enjoy food!
Day 1 (3/18/20)
Today, I am starting off my baking challenge with a twist on something I eat every morning: oats! Oats may sound really boring and bland, but I am experimenting with a few recipes to make this a fun, tasty treat. The clouds outside today reminded me of long days spent in the library at Hopkins, where I’d always grab a green tea and banana nut bread from the cafe. The thought of a warm slice of banana nut bread sparked an idea in my head: recreate those flavors in baked oatmeal! I put together bananas, peanut butter, walnuts, oats, almond milk, and lots of cinnamon, and topped off the mixture with chocolate chips. After baking for half an hour, my kitchen smelled like the holidays and the baked oatmeal did not disappoint. I ate leftovers for breakfast the next morning, and definitely plan on making this again.
Day 2 (3/19/20)
The oat-experiments continue, this time with a savory version of the baked oatmeal I made yesterday! My parents don’t have the biggest “sweet tooth”s like I do,, and requested a salty, spicy version of the baked oatmeal. My mother often makes a spicy, lentil soup with oats, so I adapted that recipe to be baked! Luckily, this did not require any special ingredients — simply oats, vegetable broth, bell peppers, and tomatoes (along with lots of spices). This savory- baked oatmeal was an absolute hit with my family, and we brainstormed ways to improve the dish next time (more spices!).
Day 3 (3/20/20)
Nope, still not done with oats! Today, I am backing off from all forms of baked oatmeal, and am recreating a healthier version of one of my favorite desserts: berry pie. I don’t have enough all-purpose flour or any vanilla ice cream to go on top of the pie, but I do have plenty of oats, berries, and honey. Surprisingly, that did the trick! I tossed in some honey and lemon juice to a bowl of berries, and topped that with a mixture of oats, walnuts, and cinnamon. After baking this for 20 minutes, I added a scoop of greek yogurt on the side. Surprisingly, this “quarantine pie” was delicious and satisfying.
Day 4 (3/21/20)
Throughout this quarantine, my parents and I have been catching up on Bollywood films we missed in the theaters this year. An essential part of our movie nights would always be a scoop of ice cream; no movie feels complete without it! But alas, there is no ice cream in our freezer. So, today I set out to make oat milk ice cream from scratch. First, I made oat milk by tossing oats, water, and dates into a blender and straining the mixture. I had always been intimidated by making any type of oat/almond/nut milk, but this was not as bad as it sounds! Then, I added honey, a pinch of salt, and fresh lemon zest from a few lemons leftover from my mother’s cooking. I don’t have an ice cream maker, but I was determined to churn the ice cream mixture myself! This involved checking on the ice cream in the freezer every hour to stir and mix it. By the end of the day, the ice cream was finally ready — at first, it was rock solid and frozen, but after letting it sit outside for an hour, it had the consistency of real ice cream!
Day 5 (3/22/20)
Am I done making recipes with oats? Nope!! I am not a coffee fanatic, but I do love to get a slice of lemon pound cake from Starbucks every now and then. Today’s challenge was to bring flavors from that Starbucks pound cake to my kitchen, in a healthier way … involving oats somehow. I’ve tried a lot of banana oat muffins before, which are based on a mixture of oats and plant-based milk. Inspired by this base, I experimented by adding different amounts of lemon zest and juice, along with sliced almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon , to make the perfect lemon-oat muffin. They tasted delicious!
Day 6 (3/23/20)
Chai has always been central to my household: every morning, afternoon, and night without fail, and every time you feel tired, sick, or low. During quarantine, our afternoon chai is a time when we put away our phones and turn off the news for a few minutes — ; a moment of calmness. Today, I wanted to bake something savory to surprise my parents during chai-time this afternoon (they’ve been getting a bit tired of all the sweet recipes over the past few days!). My parents love snacking on Pita chips, so I thought why not make healthy masala oat chips? I used oats, chickpea flour, and ground almonds to create a dough, and spiced the dough with many different Indian spices. These chips are delicious when served with a side of tzatziki. My parents rate these chips 12/10 and say this is the best thing I have made this whole week!
Day 7 (3/24/20)
Back by popular demand (in other words, my parents’ request), baked oatmeal is getting a makeover today: an apple pie version! I modified the banana-peanut butter baked oatmeal recipe to add in apple slices, lemon, and more cinnamon, and take out the peanut butter and chocolate chips. If you tasted this baked oatmeal with your eyes closed, you really would not be able to tell that this was oatmeal, not apple pie! Really healthy and very satisfying.
As a disclaimer, I make very small quantities of every recipe I try during this quarantine, such that I do not waste any resources or food, and I adapt my recipes to use whatever ingredients I have available in my fridge. It is important to remind ourselves of the great privilege we have to be able to spend time with family at home during this global pandemic.
Come back soon for an update on the Great Quarantine Bake Off!
