If you read my post on the 10 Kitchen Items I Wished I’d Never Bought (or Been Gifted), I list the heart form Le Creuset mini casserole pots as one of the items I don’t see much point, nor get much use, of. 

That is, until I make this little number. Although, when I first made this (first year of the PhD), I had no such thing. The only Le Creuset item I owned was an orange mug - which I unashamedly adored, by the way.

This is a brunch treat to be made, with love, for oneself. Not actually being bread nor cake, there should be no qualms, and no holding back. Make this as often as you want, when you want - although I would recommend a lazy Saturday morning while pouring over some light reading - and don’t feel you can’t add any and all the toppings your heart desires.

This isn’t complicated and doesn’t take a huge amount of time to make, but it does nonetheless require some assembly and baking. So make a cup of tea, relax, put on some lofi beats and make sure that today is the day that you don’t need to leave the house before 12pm.

A few notes on the recipe

I should say that this is inspired by Kravi’s wonderful little treasure trove of recipes*. I have also referred to this as gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan because you’re absolutely allowed to swap out the regular milk and oats with whatever versions you require. Oh, and of course feel free to make this for more than just yourself. However, in the spirit of this blog, make your first ever forage into these lands a solo and entirely selfish affair. 

I like to use quick oats for this recipe (finer than rolled oats but not ground), which lends the more ‘bread’-like consistency. But feel free to use rolled oats, as Kravi does, instead using 100ml or so of milk.

And yes, you guessed it, this recipe would work well if you added berries or other flavourings to the banana smoothie base. 

**Kravi, Anni, Porridge: Oats + Seeds + Grains + Rice (London: Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2017), p. 46.