Soon after I graduated from pastry school, I got a job at the wonderful 11th Avenue Inn on Capitol Hill in Seattle. This oatmeal was my star contribution to the breakfast lineup, and it’s still my favorite thing to make for breakfast, whether entertaining guests or cooking for myself.

Crystallized ginger gives this steel-cut oatmeal the glitz to be the star of any breakfast table, while the spices and creamy texture keep it grounded in the world of comfort food.

At the beginning of Life of Pi, the narrator promises that it is a story to make you believe in God. So let me begin this way: These are macaroons to make you believe in coconut.