The Teahouse in Santa Fe: Infamous Oatmeal Recipe

I am still dreaming about the most amazing bowl of oatmeal that we ate this morning at the Teahouse in Santa Fe, NM. It is the owner, Dionne's grandmother's recipe from the South. I am from the South, and I have never tasted anything this wonderful down there.

The oatmeal is a combo of oats, black sticky rice & winter wheat berries. It has a smooth and hearty taste. Plus the black color gives it this rich & exotic feel.

Mine was loaded with thick and sinfully decadent heavy whipped cream, fresh strawberries & bananas. I didn't have the lardons on it like Dionne suggests (kinda like really good bacon bits). But I would love to try it like that.

I am definitely making our oatmeal like this. The girls were even oohing and aahing over their breakfast.

Dionne’s Grandmother’s Now Famous Oatmeal
The Grains
3 cups of Chinese Black Sticky Rice (or Forbidden Rice)
2 cups Steel Cut Oats
1 cup winter wheat berries
Rinse all grains (separately) under cold water, and drain. Soak the rice and wheat berries overnight (they can soak together). Be sure the water level is a few inches above the grains so they remain covered. The oats need to soak two hours before cooking.
Be sure to soak all of the grains regardless of what elevation you live at.
Place the soaked rice and wheat berries in a pot and add enough water to cover the grains by about 2 inches. Cook at a low simmer for 45-60 minutes. At the same time in a separate pot cook the oats again adding water to cover the grains by about 2 inches. Cook on a low simmer for 30 minutes.
After everything is cooked and it’s still warm, add the oats to the rice and wheat berries. If you want you can let it cool at this point and even freeze it.
If eating now, then you add The Whatnot
Mix into the warm grains 1 cup brown sugar (or adjust the amount to desired sweetness and you can use another sweetener if you prefer) and 1/4 cup butter (or non dairy version if desired).
More of The Whatnot
Add 1/4 cup maple syrup to 1 cup heavy cream (you can also use a non-dairy substitute for the cream), mix well.
When the oatmeal is served pour some over the warm cereal.
Beat some of the heavy cream until firm and top each bowl with a dollop.
You can also top with fresh fruits or as Dionne grew up eating you can top it with lardons for a sweet and savory combination.
Makes 6 small servings