Fasten your seat belts, people. This isn’t your ordinary oatmeal.

I’ve been on a smoothie bowl kick lately, but I used to eat a bowl of oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast. I’d slice up bananas,throw some berries on top and call it a day.

This morning, I decided to take my oatmeal to the next level. My friend Carly told me about a recipe for homemade strawberry chia jam, and said that it came with another recipe for coconut oatmeal. “Sold,” I thought. I’ve wanted to make homemade jam for a while now, and I thought I could bring back the oatmeal tradition (with a few key updates).

The easiest part of this recipe is–and you’ll never believe it–making the jam. All you do is throw some frozen strawberries in a pot and add honey or agave, stir and let it simmer for a while. Eventually, it will cook down and start to look like jam you’d get in a jar. I used an old Bonne Maman jar to store mine (Bonne Maman is a delicious brand of French jam).

The oatmeal making part is not difficult, but you have to keep an eye on things. First you toast the oats, and then you add almond milk, cinnamon and spices. The oatmeal actually reminded me of Passover, because the combination smelled a little like Matzah Brei (a fried egg dish served during the holiday that often has cinnamon).

The coconut whipped cream adds a je ne sais quoi. Stir it together with the jam and oats, and the dish tastes a little like strawberry shortcake.

Here is a good oatmeal-making tune to get you started.

Toasted Coconut Oatmeal with Homemade Strawberry Chia Jam (from Cookie and Kate)

Ingredients

For the strawberry chia jam (yields about 1 cup, you might want to double these amounts so you’ll have more for later):
1 bag (12 ounces) frozen organic strawberries or other berries
2 to 3 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
1 tablespoon chia seeds

For the toasted oatmeal:
1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
2 cups rolled oats
1½ cups + 2 tablespoons water
½ cup milk of choice (I used light coconut milk)
Generous pinch kosher or sea salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
Pinch of ground ginger (optional)
Optional mix-ins: flax seeds, shredded coconut, toasted nuts, etc.

For the coconut whipped cream:
1 can (14 ounces) full fat coconut milk, chilled at least 10 hours (the coconut milk MUST be full fat and MUST be refrigerated for at least 10 hours. Put a mixing bowl in the freezer or refrigerator to chill while you’re at it.)
1 tablespoon honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

The strawberry chia jam takes the longest to make, so let’s start with the jam: In a medium saucepan, combine the berries (no need to defrost if they are frozen) and sweetener. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the berries are warmed throughout and saucy (5 minutes or more), lightly mash the berries with a potato masher or fork.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the chia seeds and cook, stirring frequently, until the jam is reduced and looking, for lack of better term, jammy (15 to 20 minutes). Note that the jam will further thicken up as it cools. Remove the pan from heat and add more sweetener if you’d like.

Make the oatmeal: Melt the coconut oil/butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oats and toast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they start smelling fragrant and toasty, around 6 to 8 minutes.

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, combine the milk, water, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat. Add the toasted oats and gently stir once or twice to incorporate the oats into the liquid. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the oats sit on the burner, untouched, for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, uncover and check the oats. Mine were perfectly done at this point, but if yours are wetter than you’d like, let them continue to absorb water in a covered pot for a few more minutes.

Make the coconut whipped cream: Pull out the chilled can of coconut milk and mixing bowl. The coconut cream should have separated from the liquid by now. Flip the can over and open it from the bottom with a can opener. Pour out the coconut water (reserve for smoothies if you’d like).

Scoop the solid coconut cream into the chilled bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream until fluffy and smooth. Add the sweetener and vanilla extract and gently blend again to combine. Use the coconut cream immediately or cover and store in the fridge for later (it will be soft at room temperature and firm when cold).