Chocolate Stained Kitchen: Chocolate Pumpkin Oatmeal

I have reached a very sad conclusion that I cannot drink coffee and tea by the buckets anymore. I think getting older is affecting my body’s ability to handle caffeine. This horrid thought crept up on me when it took me an ungodly amount of time to fall asleep, kept waking up throughout the night, and finally gave up at 5 am. The only good thing about this incident is that it allowed me to spend some more time in the kitchen. I was thinking about making some more cupcakes but I came across another sad realization - my moo milk had turned sour on me!! I debated about heading to the market but decided that no one should have to see what I look like that early in the morning. So, I decided that I would try to make another fun and creative oatmeal concoction. However, this time I nay-ed my old-fashioned oats and yay-ed my Irish oats aka steel cut oats. I bought what feels like a Costco sized container of Irish oats last month because it’s supposedly the least processed of all the oats. While this is fine and dandy, it takes at least 30 minutes to cook! At the time of my purchase I was in la-la land because I pretended that the longer cook time didn’t bother me. That it was worth the minimal processing and the increased health benefits. Well, needless to say, I have only cooked them once since buying it because it cooks at snail speed. But since I was up 1.5 hours earlier than my alarm clock and without moo milk, I decided to give Irish oats another try along with some chocolate and pureed pumpkin.

Chocolate Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/4 C Irish oats

1/2 C Water

1/2 C Soy milk

1/4 C Pureed pumpkin

1.5 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 Tsp Pumpkin pie spice mix

1 Tsp Brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Pour water and milk into a small pot. When it reaches to a boil, add the Irish oats and give it a quick stir. Let it cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the desired consistency has been reached. Finish with toppings of your choice or eat plain =)