Carrot Cake Slow-Cooker Steel-Cut Oats

Well, 2017 rolled around quickly for me. Didn’t it for us all?  I know they say time goes faster as you get older. But man.

I am not a big resolution person, but I do like honour a new year by reflecting on the one that passed, and thinking about how I can live with intention for the next year.  So that it doesn’t feel like a carpet was yanked out from under me when the calendar flips to 2018.

I’m in an interesting place in my life right now.  With a 15-month-old and a 3-year-old, I am in a constant state of distraction and busy-ness and noise.  My brain doesn’t function at a tenth of what it used to.  I had to call the bank TWICE today to cancel incorrect bill payments. Day-to-day life is chaos.  Blessed, wonderful chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

They say the days are long but the months or short or something along those lines and that is exactly what I am feeling right now.

I’m not going to put strenuous thought into fleshing out goals for the year, but I am going to think about it whenever I get a spare minute.  Like right now, while I’m waiting patiently for my bubble bath to fill up.  One of my goals is to work more quickly and efficiently. I spend hours and hours and hours composing a blog post.  Hours more editing photos.  And really, why?  What is a blog post but sharing a few personal thoughts? Why do I have to edit the crap out of it?  And the photos.  Why do I bury myself in lightroom to edit the same photo over and over for white balance and exposure and cropping. This is the year of git ‘er done. Making a decision and running with it. Not in an abrupt, thoughtless way, but in an authentic, not-overthinking-it, natural way. Then moving on to the things that bring me the most pleasure.

The hours I actually enjoy are the ones spent cooking and shooting – and those ones just fly by.  I go into a zone and am so hyperfocused that I don’t even notice the afternoon flying past. I’m like that as well with a good book, painting, or puzzles.  I think they’re active meditation.

So on that note, I made a mini-goal for myself to get a blog post published in those 7 minutes it takes for my tub to get sudsy.

I love slow-cooker steel cut oats. The texture is like rice pudding.  I made a recipe recently with pumpkin that was divine, so I riffed on it with a carrot cake version.  Lots of cinnamon, raisins, brown sugar and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts on top.  I wouldn’t even judge if you concocted some kind of icing drizzle situation.  It’s so nice to wake up to a cozy, warm breakfast. This recipe makes a big batch – enough to feed our family of two littles and two bigs for three days. Re-warm the leftovers with a splash of water or milk to loosen.

Hope you are all easing peacefully back into your work weeks after Christmas holidays. What are your intentions for the new year?

And done! Into the bubbles I go. Nighty night, friends, thank you for being here! 

Carrot Cake Slow-Cooker Steel-Cut Oats

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Servings 10
Breakfast
American

Ingredients
  

  • 6 medium carrots peeled and grated
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups steel-cut oats
  • ¾ cup raisins
  • ½ cup brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low setting for 7 hours (and turn on the "keep warm" function if you've got it). In the morning, give the porridge a really good stir, then serve with more brown sugar as desired and/or milk. Toasted walnuts are yummy, too!

 

Last Updated on January 6, 2017 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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