I Like Oatmeal with fruit and I like Quinoa with fruit so this seemed like a no-brainer and it’s really easy.  I’ve made this with both regular old rolled oats and steel cut.  I prefer the texture of the steel cut oats in this dish.

Everything I’ve seen about quinoa talks about washing it to get rid of it’s natural coat of bitter stuff called saponins.  So far, I’ve been really fortunate.  All the Quinoa I’ve bought has been pre-washed. I wash mine anyway, just in case.  Qunioa comes in a variety of colors,  most common being white, red and black.  Each cooks up slightly differently.  I used white for this.

 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Oats

1 Cup Quinoa

2 Ripe Bananas

2 Cups Blueberries

2 Cups Blackberries

2 Cups Whole milk

3 Eggs

1 Teaspoon each, Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Ground Nutmeg and Allspice

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

about 1 tablespoon of butter

grated unsweetened coconut (optional)

 

Pre-heat your oven to 375 F

I make this in a 9 x 9 x 2 baking dish.  I start by buttering it so the food doesn’t stick and it gives a nice taste and allows the sides to brown a bit in the pan too.  Set that aside when done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I beat the eggs, continue beating to add the milk and finally the spices and set aside.  This let’s the spices flavor the liquid but they tend to settle so we’ll want to stir this mixture well just before adding to the fruit and grain mix, but that’s a bit down the road.

Now for the tedious part — Washing the grain.  This takes 15 to 20 minutes of rinsing.   I combine the oats and quinoa into a large wire tea strainer and run cold water through until the water stops looking milky.  I’ve never been able to get it run totally clear so I’m happy if it’s only a little cloudy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s time to assemble everything.  Slice the banana and put a layer in the bottom on the baking dish.  cover with some of the oat/quinoa mixture

   

Add some blueberries, blackberries and if you like some of the coconut… and more banana slices

   

Another layer of oats and quinoa… this will finish off the grain mix and we’ll top that with more berries

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, stir the egg, milk, spice mixture and pour gently into the baking disk.  Notice that I have the baking disk  on a baking sheet.   This keeps things cleaner in case some of the mix spills out of the baking dish or it over flows while baking.

 

Bake until either the dish lightly brown on top or if you added more coconut, that is lightly toasted

Let it cool a bit and serve.  Sometimes I serve with whipped cream, sometimes pressed into Vanilla ice cream.  Sometimes all by itself

However you choose to do it, enjoy!