My History with Oatmeal

Growing up, I was the youngest in the household. I was always the last one to roll out of bed in the morning. My mother, a June Cleaver wanna be, usually prepared breakfast for the family in the morning. My mom & dad always ate breakfast first, then my brother, then me. On oatmeal mornings, my oatmeal was left in the pan. By the time I ate it, it was cool, thick and lumpy. Mom also poured my juice when she poured the rest. My orange juice was always warm. Consequently, I grew up thinking oatmeal should be doused with two tablespoons of sugar, floating in a pool of milk, cool, bland and lumpy and served with warm orange juice. As an adult, I continued this way of thinking....until recently.

I've looked at recipes for oatmeal with added ingredients but never dared try the recipes. I have substituted raisins for 2 tablespoons of sugar but never added anything more. I met Kate Woods on line this summer (a whole other story). Kate writes a blog - in one of her posts she tells about her love of oatmeal. I've decided to follow Kate's suggestions and dress up my oatmeal - and I'm glad I did.

For breakfast this morning I had oatmeal with 1/4 cup warm homemade applesauce, 1/8 cup raisins and some walnuts sprinkled on top. In addition to the oatmeal, I had a small glass of ice cold Trop 50 orange juice and a large mug of pumpkin spiced coffee. The coffee was fresh pressed in my French press I received from a friend during a swap on recipezaar and served in the mug the oldest daughter painted for me.

Breakfast today not only "broke the fast" but it also came with good memories of times past.