this past saturday, i crossed the longest-standing "to-do" off of my mental list by spending the day browsing cookbooks.  while the activity itself isn't anything remotely foreign to me or my interests, the fact that it took me a month to carve out time on my calendar to accomplish such a lovely task is.  luckily the weekend arrived with peaceful weather and an empty schedule, and so i jumped at the opportunity to head to manhattan, take a leisurely walk through gramercy for old time's sake, and make my way to my target destination.

but first: eataly.  i wasn't planning on stopping by, but i couldn't justify walking past without at least taking a peek.  the first time i went, it was so overwhelmingly crowded that my mind didn't stand a chance at taking it all in.  i was hoping that my second visit there would be more calm; however, i was quickly swept up by a wave of shoppers and diners into a sea of every italian specialty imaginable, only to be spat out smack dab in front of the cookbook section.  

nestled amongst the many titles by mario batali, lidia bastianich, and giada de laurentiis was something unexpected for an italian market: super natural every day by heidi swanson.  while i don't regularly follow ms. swanson's blog, i had read countless rave reviews of the cookbook since its release this spring and was curious how vegetarian recipes could be so well-loved by the carnivore population.  and with that, i convinced myself to buy it and find out.  
after reading through the book in its entirety, i decided to start with the recipe that drew me in in the first place: baked oatmeal.  if you do the math, the components create my ideal kitchen experience: breakfast, baking, fresh fruit, and carbs all rolled into one.  

and it did not disappoint.  the cane sugar and fruit provided a natural sweetness without being cloying, while the flavor of the walnuts mimicked that of the butter by lending a rich creaminess.  meanwhile, the crisp outer layer, the cooked bananas, and the moist oats in between added variations in texture to keep things interesting.  and, amongst all of the hearty but subtle flavor components, the high-key cinnamon provided a hint of complexity.
i picked at the finished product as it came out of the oven, and i haven't been able to stop snacking on it since.  it was my breakfast on wednesday morning, the subject of my daydreams all throughout the workday, and then an after-dinner treat.  today was more of the same, and i'm already looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning to what's left of what i wish was a never-ending supply!

{sidenote: i substituted red plums for the huckleberries and vanilla silk for the milk, for no particular reason other than i felt like it}