Baked Oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch/20cm square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the sugar, if using, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, if using, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining walnuts across the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set.

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top and serve.

Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.

Although I love this huckleberry version, feel free to substitute your favorite in-season berries, or any other fruit for that matter. Another version I love is made with plump, amaretto-soaked golden raisins in place of the berries and sliced almonds in place of the walnuts.

Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swason. Text and photographs copyright © 2011 by Heidi Swanson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Writer, photographer, and designer HEIDI SWANSON is the creator of 101 Cookbooks, the award-winning culinary blog and recipe journal. She is also the author of Cook 1.0 and Super Natural Cooking. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Glamour, the Washington Post, Time, Fast Company, Utne Reader, and the Vegetarian Times, as well as on Salon.com and NPR.com. Heidi lives, cooks, and writes in San Francisco. Visit www.101cookbooks.com and www.heidiswanson.com.