Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal with Caramelised Banana and Blueberries

I always try to make use of what Mother Nature has to offer from my neck of the woods. Sometimes I find obscure things and I buy them because they're in season and didn't travel half way across the world with with a crate of coconuts to get to me. Then I can't figure out what to do with them. As grateful as I am, there's only so many things you can do with purple carrots and sprouting cauliflowers (is that a thing? I'm not sure) for 4 months straight, Mother Nature.

So, when I found myself in the rhubarb section, I was sceptical, mainly about whether I would actually make use of them and not leave them at the back of my fridge until they're become unidentifiable.

The problem was,  rhubarb is renowned for its dessert reputation and its recurring features in pies, crumbles and cobblers at this time of year. But as much as I'd love to be a little brunette Martha Stewart, I'm just not that gal. I don't like baking, I haven't been able to find my rolling pin in months, and I don't have the patience for finicky pie crusts - but most of all, (and please don't throw unidentifiable refrigerator contents at me for saying this) I just don't love dessert.

Don't get me wrong, I have a pretty salty tooth, but I do like something sweet as much as the next person, just in small doses (despite this being a pretty huge dose) and post something salty, the best place to put this into play? Brunch. It's the 'order of pancakes' for the middle move, that way you get the best of both worlds.

So, I leave you with a pretty delicious brunch recipe, using this season's fruit MVP along with some others that probably did arrive in this country along side a bunch of coconuts and mangoes, but nevertheless make the dish crazy tasty, so don't judge.








Serves 4
YOU WILL NEED:
2 CUPS OATMEAL
3 STICKS RHUBARB
1/4 CUP BLUEBERRIES
1 BANANA, SLICED
1 TBSP COCONUT OIL
2 TBSP COCONUT PALM SUGAR, 
1 TBSP BROWN SUGAR
1 TBSP HONEY
2 TBSP RAW PLANE SUGAR
2 CUPS ALMOND MILK
Pre-heat the oven to 180C or 350F. 
Cut the rhubarb in half length ways and then cut them into one inch pieces. Place in a bowl and cover with the plane sugar and one tablespoon of the coconut palm sugar. Add a a quarter of a cup of water and soften in the microwave for a minute or so. You can also do this in a pot by bring it to the boil for a minute. 
Mix the oatmeal with the honey, coconut oil and the other tablespoon of coconut palm sugar. 
Pour half of the oatmeal mixture into a 10ish inch baking dish. Top with the rhubarb, leaving a little for the top, some of the banana slices and the blueberries, leaving a little for the top also. 
Top with the rest of the oatmeal mixture and then top with the remaining rhubarb pieces, blueberries and banana. (I left half of the banana whole and placed it inside up because I thought it looked pretty but you can slice the whole thing up if you prefer. 
Slowly pour in the almond milk, covering the whole surface area, but a little at a time, giving the oats a chance to soak some of it up so it doesn’t over flow. 
Sprinkle the whole thing with the brown sugar, adding a little more for the banana so it caramelizes well. 
Bake for 40 minutes and then broil/grill for 2 minutes to make the top golden and caramelized. 

Enjoy!