Let's talk about oatmeal

I was actually planning to first talk about chicken and soup but this morning's breakfast has me thinking.

So many people skip breakfast, I'm even one of them, but why? The answer will vary but most often it is time. I also hear a lot of people say, I just don't know what to make and I get tired of the same thing all the time. Well let me tell you about the versatility of oatmeal! Porridge to some...

First it is a basic grain, not overly processed and full of nutrition
Second it is full of fibre, very important for people.
Third it is very flexible and can be made sweet or savory.
Fourth It's faster to make than you might think. Even the 'old fashioned' oats. In the time it takes me to make coffee in the morning I can also make oatmeal.
Fifth, you can make it for one or a hundred.

Now, to cook plain oatmeal is a simple water/oats ratio of 2/1. That is 2 parts water to 1 part oats (ie 1 cup water to 1/2 cup oats). Simple. Bring water to a boil, toss in oats, turn down the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Cover or not. as I said, simple, but boring. So I changed it up. I use for my liquid 1/2 water and 1/2 milk. This adds a creaminess to the  oats. I also put in a bit of salt and a lump of butter to enhance the flavor. I like my oatmeal sweet so I add 1 Tablespoon of sugar (usually brown) to the liquid before I start cooking the oats. I also add any spices, such as cinnamon, at this time too. I find adding them to the liquid really helps enhance the flavor. If I use maple syrup though that goes on top of the cooked oats, I find the flavor gets lost of I add it to the liquid. You can add fruit before or after cooking, that is to your taste. Today I added a shredded small apple, I left the peel on before shredding to add extra nutrition and flavor but feel free to peel. Another favorite of mine is to use vanilla sugar (a thing here in Germany at least and simple to make if you are in the US, notes on how later on) and then top it with a puree of apricot and apple (I can buy it in the store).

"But you said it can be savory, I don't want sweet.". Indeed I did, and here are ways to do that. Add bacon grease instead of butter, don't add sugar (obviously), use broth to cook the oats instead of water, add bits of meat to it such as bacon, sausage or ham. Top it with white gravy or even brown gravy, there are many ways to change it up. You could even add an egg either on top or directly to the oats. The heat from the oats will cook the egg, but stir quick.

See now, oatmeal isn't scary and in the time it took to make your pot of coffee you could have a nice bowl to go with it.

Now about vanilla sugar. German's don't use liquid vanilla in their baking, they use vanilla sugar, which is just as it sounds, sugar that tastes like vanilla. To make it you need a glass jar with a tight lid, sugar and 1 or 2 fresh vanilla beans. Fill the jar with sugar leaving a bit of head space. Place the vanilla in the middle of the sugar. Let sit and shake every couple of days to distribute the oils throughout the sugar (this is why you need headspace). Should only take a couple weeks. It tastes good in coffee to and doesn't add a bunch of chemicals and preservatives to your day.