I love plums in tarts, crisps, cakes… the list goes on. But since I didn’t want to have a whole dessert to myself (which I would obviously finish solo), I decided to craft something with great dessert-y flavor but also on the healthy side: hearty oatmeal with plums and walnuts. So on this fine morning I ventured to the Bowling Green farmer’s market for some sweet red plums and yellow sugar plums to make my decadent breakfast.

For one serving, you will need:

5-8 plums, depending on their size
1 serving of prepared oatmeal
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup

First, prepare the oatmeal according to the package. I prefer steel-cut oats but you can use whatever you like!

Turn your broiler on high.

Heat the maple syrup up in a bowl (the one you will ultimately serve the oatmeal in!) you can microwave it for 30 seconds or warm it up in a pan on the stove for a few minutes until it becomes a little thinner. Slice the plums into quarters (or 8ths if they are especially large!), and toss them into the syrup along with the walnuts. I was going to use sweet red plums in addition to the sugar plums I had, but they really didn’t hold any kind of shape when sliced… so I ate them as a mid-cooking snack. You can see how mushed up they got when I tried to slice them below…

Pour the plums and walnuts out onto a small sheet pan, and place them under the broiler for a few minutes, or until they begin to caramelize.

You can spoon your oatmeal into the bowl that the plums/syrup/nuts were in, then pour the hot plums and walnuts over the top!

Serve hot and enjoy!

This is such a wonderful mix of flavors – tart plums & sweet syrup mixed with the nutty oatmeal and walnuts makes for a fantastic and hearty breakfast!