Food is very nostalgic for me. I feel like every post you see here will begin with something like
"When I was little..."
or
"My mom always made the best...,"
etc.
But I've decided this nostalgia, this wave of emotion and past images gives our food a healthiness that even the most whole ingredients cannot provide.There is a love unlike any other in cooking, in food, in flavor that is familiar to you.
It makes your heart happy in more than one way.
And this recipe is no different for me.
My mother has made me many a bowl of slow-cooked oatmeal. She still prepares it when my husband and I go home to visit. Always the thickly cut Snoqualmie Falls Lodge brand of oats, always topped with a berry medley and brown sugar, and sometimes even sprinkled with a few chopped pecans as a bonus.
When I moved away to college, I thought the only way I would manage to eat piping hot oatmeal before running to my 9:00 class was to buy the instant stuff. I lived a long time like that.
Let me tell you, don't settle like I did.
There is a way to have real-time hot cereal in the morning
with real apples and cinnamon, or real blueberries and cream,
without taking any more time than you are right now.
And it's divine.
The trick is to plan ahead.
Before shuffling off to bed, pour your usual amount of slow-cooking raw oats (or cereal grain mix, etc.) into a microwave-safe cereal bowl. Add milk and your favorite sweeteners or spices. Stick it in the fridge covered in plastic wrap. Go to bed. Wake up and microwave your oatmeal for a few minutes, and then top it with whatever sounds yummy. Done.
Really!
That's all it takes for a better-than-ever bowl of hot cereal. The overnighter in the fridge gives your cereal time to soften while still avoiding mushiness. Before you know it, you'll be off and running all morning with a belly full of warm sustenance. And you didn't even use the sugary stuff from a packet.
What's real is real, folks.
And this stuff is real.
Click here for some more tips on preparing grains.
Overnight Oatmeal
Inspired by Whole Foods Market
1 cup rolled or steel-cut oats (any hot cereal mix, really)
2 cups milk
Optional:
squirt of agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup
sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice
splash of vanilla
Mix ingredients together in a microwave-safe cereal bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, microwave for about five or six minutes (however long it takes for the cereal to reach your desired consistency).
Give it a stir, add some toppings, and scarf away!
World-class Toppings:
diced apple, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, chopped pecans
unsweetened shredded coconut, honey, chopped pecans
blackberries, raspberries, sucanat (or other brown sugar)
diced peaches/strawberries/blueberries, Greek yogurt, sweetener
dried apricots, dried cranberries, honey
the list goes on and on...