Banana and Strawberry Baked Oatmeal Casserole

If you haven't noticed on my Instagram or my Twitter account, I've been experimenting a lot lately with cooking and baking.  Not sure what it is but my inner Martha Stewart seems to have this desire to learn and try something new, even if I have this gut feeling, deep down inside telling me that whatever I am making won't be appetizing at all.  I think the sudden urge to throw and mix random fruits and seasonings in a bowl and hoping for the better is what excites me.  What's even better is knowing that what I've made actually is edible and worthy for anyone who dares to try it!

With that being said, I'm happy to say that the banana and strawberry baked oatmeal casserole that I made last night was actually satisfying.  So far I've gotten the approval from two very important people in my life.  The casserole might have turned out a bit dark and mushy-looking, but once you take a bite of it, it's actually not that bad.

Now that you've seen some of my photos, it's your turn to try this recipe out yourself!

What you will need:

• 1 Cup Walnuts
• 2 Cups Milk
• 2 Ripe Bananas
•  2 Cups Rolled Oats
• 1 Large Egg or 2 Small Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/3 (Brown) Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Cups of Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 Cups of Strawberries - Any berries can be used for this recipe!

First things first, go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Then spray the interior of a baking dish with a cooking spray.  This will help prevent your dish from sticking to the cooking dish itself.

Then mix the walnuts, rolled oats, chocolate chips, sugar, salt, strawberries, and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl and then place it in your baking dish.  With the thinly sliced banana pieces, place them on top of the mixture and evenly distribute them by leaving some space in between.

In a separate bowl whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and the melted butter until it becomes a unified yellowish color.  Then gently pour it in your baking dish and gently move the baking dish in a back and forth motion to evenly distribute the liquid.

Finally place it in the oven and wait for about 50 minutes or until the top looks golden brown.  If you want the dish a little bit sweeter, feel free to sprinkle on some brown sugar and serve!

Thanks you Inspired Taste for posting the recipe.

So I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did!

Bon appetite!

<3 Lina Chen

The Waterbar

Located behind Googles' backyard in San Francisco lies a small restaurant with an ocean front view called the Waterbar. 

Right:  Waterbar's Bay Chips.  The potatoes were cut into thin slices and fried to perfection.  

A hint of a sea salt to add a little bit of flavor from the sea.

The bay chips is large enough to share between 2-3 people.

Left:  Strawberry Pop Tart.  The name says it all.  It's a strawberry pop tart.  It's moist inside from the strawberry jelly; the exterior, flaky.  The pop tart breaks down as you bite into it.  A delightful brunch pastry/appetizer Waterbar has to offer.  

Right:  Hama Oysters from Seattle.  Before I NEVER liked oysters.  The smell of it; repulsive.  The texture, too raw.  The taste, too fishy.  But Waterbar has completely changed my perspective on these seafood delights.  Perhaps it's because they were fresh and small, but they were delicious, unlike the various times I've had them before.  Waterbar's $1 per oyster deal is too good to pass.  So if you ever get the chance, get some.  Especially the Hama Oysters.

Left:  Grilled Calamari Fried Rice.  Not my cup of tea, but thankfully I didn't order this for myself.  It's basically an American-style fried rice with a char-grilled squid on top.  I have nothing against squid.  It's not exotic to me since Korean's eat it all the time, but it was just too smoky and the fried rice seemed a bit too bland for my taste.  It just didn't work very well in my opinion.

Right:  Salmon Tartare.  My culinary vocabulary is not up to date.  The rookie mistake I made was not knowing what the word "tartare" meant.  I ordered this dish thinking that the salmon would be cooked, but it was a surprise when it wasn't.  Oh, Lina.  Good thing I like raw fish, especially salmon.  It wasn't necessarily like eating sushi though; more like ceviche.  The lime "cooks" the raw salmon and brings out a new taste on raw salmon.  I liked it.

Out on the patio of the Waterbar.  Such a magnificent view.

<3 Lina Chen

399 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
415.284.9922.   www.waterbarsf.com