Majida Rashid
Most of us spend the first six days of each week sowing wild oats; then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure.
— Fred Allen
I still remember my first spring in Michigan. One April morning of 2002 I parked my car in the parking lot of Panera Bread near Barnes and Nobles on Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor and started walking to get my favorite cup of coffee. I was bundled up, though not like early in the year. The ground of the flowerbed near the restaurant’s entrance was still covered with thick patches of snow. That April day the delicate stems of magenta, yellow, maroon and white tulips, some solid and some striped, rose up proudly from the ground. They took me back to Supply, the neighboring town of the hilly resort of Abbottabad, Pakistan, where I spent the first few years of my life. Supply was a small town used by the infantry to practice shooting. Our house was surrounded by a lot of vacant land. In spring wild poppies and tulips peeked their heads through thick long grass that covered the unused land. As a child I loved the red poppies, but white tulips with pink or yellow lines or dots in the base always fascinated me. The solid-colored tulips coming out of snow-covered ground mesmerized me, however. Never had I seen such a miracle. I completely forgot about the coffee and started taking pictures until someone opened the door and the aroma of coffee wafted out.
While it’s not April yet, I would like to give tribute to those tulips and a toast to lower temperatures in Michigan with a slice or two of homemade oat bread. The rolled oats are not the ideal variety but they are oats nevertheless. They contain fiber manganese, copper phosphorus, thiamine, zinc and small amounts of folate. It’s far better than white flour bread.
The bread is easy and quick to make. It can be used for breakfast or as a snack. The recipe below is very basic. The dates change the flavor slightly without making it sweet. For a sweeter flavor mix in more dates or more salt for a salty flavor. Other ingredients like a mashed banana and whole or ground nuts can also be added. the quantity of yoghurt will have to be adjusted accordingly.
A small aluminum round tray is ideal for this bread because due to its density the bread will hold its shape. I buy them from a dollar store because they are excellent for baking anything in small quantity and can be reused.
Oats Bread
Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups plain yogurt
A pinch of salt
3 large pitted dates, soaked overnight, (optional)
A few tablespoons of chia seeds or any other seeds
3/4 tablespoon baking soda
Instructions
Mix together the oats with 1-1/2 cups of yoghurt and salt in a bowl.
Cover. Leave it for 2 hours. The oats will absorb the yoghurt and become dense.
Just before baking, mix in the baking soda, dates, seeds and the remaining 1/2 cup yoghurt.
For Baking
Baking pan 6.5” x 1.5”
Parchment paper
Olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Cut the paper to fit the base of the pan and spread with the oil.
Place it in the pan.
Pour the mixed ingredients into the prepared pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Insert a wooden toothpick inside the bread. It should come out clean. If not, then bake a few more minutes.
Turn off the oven and let the pan sit inside until the oven is almost cool. This helps brown the top evenly.
For Serving
Turn the pan upside down on a flat dish.
Remove the pan and peel off the paper.
Turn the bread face side up.
Cut into wedges or slices.
Spread soft butter and cover with cream cheese.
Voila! A great change from the usual porridge and healthy as well.
Serves 4
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Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food @Frontiers_Of_Flavor Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.wordpress.com.
