An Ode to Oatmeal

Photo by Stacey Ladusch
The Trouble with Oatmeal..  It's shapeless and gooey.
 It's color is muted. So no matter how hard I try, a photo of it can never do the taste justice!

The trouble with me, if I may say so myself, is that while my tastes have certainly evolved overall since childhood I still revert back to my old 'boring' favorites. If making a meal for my family or as a part of the holiday spread, I'll try to supply them with as many bold spices, colorful vegetables and various textures to make the meal as healthy and exciting as possible. On the other hand, when cooking for myself, I tend not to  treat myself to anything fancy. I know my palette well, and its quite simple to please.

When I was little (maybe around 5 or 6) and I would open a packet of dry, instant oatmeal and eat it just like that. Maybe with a spoon or perhaps simply funneling the pale flakes directly into my mouth.

Disgusting? Maybe. But with the sensitive palette of a child I tasted an array of flavors. Salty. Sweet. Starchy. Salty again.

Photo courtesy of http://www.eatingbender.com/

Today, oatmeal remains one of my favorite foods. And while some will argue that oatmeal isn't much of a food and certainly not one that merits its own recipe, I would argue! I no longer eat oatmeal dry and I haven't touched a brown paper packet of oatmeal in years, but with all the varieties of oatmeal offered (steel cut, multi-grain, old fashioned, rolled oats, overnight oats, etc) it remains a constant in my life.

Oatmeal serves as the blank canvas to which I can add everything but the kitchen sink. So here is one rich, flavorful recipe for making oatmeal a little more exciting. Not as ambitious, thrilling or, let's be honest, attractive as other recipes I have in my arsenal to share, but nevertheless I still love it.

Pumpkin, apple pie Oatmeal:

Serves one individual. Many of the ingredients are "add-ons" and can be substituted or omitted. 

Your favorite oats (1/2 cup or 1/4 cup if steel cut)

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Your favorite milk 1 cup or 1/2 if working with steel cut. (Choices: soy, almond, coconut, 2%, 1%, hazelnut, rice, etc!)

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1tsp (or to taste) of pumpkin spice (I got mine from Trader Joe's) and/or a taste of canned pumpkin pie filling

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1/8 tsp of vanilla extract

Cook in sauce pan as directed. After placing it into your serving bowl of choice then add:

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sliced or cubed, browned apple:  in a small frying band, warm salted butter until sizzling, add apples (sliced small to blend well or large, depending on how you want them!) turn over slices once browned, add some brown sugar or cinnamon.

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1 tbsp (or to taste of) neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese). Vegan option: Tofutti cream cheese

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sprinkle with ground flax-seed for nutty taste, texture and omega-3's!



-Stacey Ladusch