Chai-Spiced Autumn Oats

Finally! Fall! It seems the cooler temps are beginning to stick. Our highs this week are going to average in the 60s! Just in time for the bulk of our marathon training . . . well, to END. That's right: We're both officially in taper mode after this Sunday's 3rd 20+ miler of the season. More on our weekend happenings later, though.

As you can imagine, eats are far more important to me this morning.

Remember that chai recipe we posted a few weeks ago? Of course, we've been sucking the stuff down like there's no tomorrow. And good news! We found another use for it: Vanilla Chai-Spiced Honey. Perfect for sweetening morning oats.


VANILLA CHAI-SPICED HONEY

What you'll need . . .

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon dry chai mix (tea leaves and all!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method . . .

1. Mix everything together! Let "steep" for half an hour . . . to let the flavors mingle a bit.
2. That is all.
3. Honest!

And if you're not keen on caffeine, simply make the chai mix with decaf black tea. That's what we did with our most recent batch. And to make the syrup even more interesting, add in an equal part (to the honey, so 1/4 cup) pumpkin puree.

Yeah. We put pumpkin in EVERYTHING. And it never gets old!

• Greek Yogurt Pancakes (with Pumpkin-Maple Syrup)
• Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese
• Pumpkin Garlic Knots
• Tri-Colored Veggie Pasta (with Pumpkin Coconut Sauce)
• Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Frosting
• Pumpkin Soup
• No-Knead Pumpkin Loaf
• Pumpkin Puree: How to Make Your Own!

And that's how you make these delicious oats (though I'm sure the plain chai-spiced honey works very well, too!):


AUTUMN OATS

What you'll need . . . (for one hearty serving)

• 1/4 cup dry steel-cut oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon (or more) of the vanilla chai-spiced syrup (mixed with pumpkin puree)
• 1 apple, diced
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Method . . .

1. Prepare steel-cut oats according to package directions. It's just the 1/4 cup dry mixed with the 1 cup water. Heat until boiling . . . then lower heat and cook for around 20 minutes.
2. Put oats in a bowl. Mix with the syrup.
3. Throw in the apples. I chose to put them in AFTER the oats were cooked for a little crunch.
4. Top with the peanut butter. Mix and enjoy.

Happy Monday!

What did you all do this weekend? I don't think I mentioned it on the blog, but we had some bank fraud trouble on Friday. A lot of our weekend was spent dealing with that. And worrying. Ugh. No rest for the weary, I suppose. Hopefully we'll get to fully celebrate our anniversary this coming weekend!

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