Cinnamon Stick Oatmeal

 

Back to Basics...

Because not every Sunday allows for a special breakfast, and sometimes it's just plain comforting to sit down and enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with a cup of coffee!
I've become hooked on cooking oatmeal with a cinnamon stick and vanilla and once you smell this as it is bubbling away on the stove you will too.


I picked up some organically grown oats and spelt flakes from the farmers market.  The gentleman from Mud Run Farm grows the grain and has them made into oats or ground for flour. 
If there's one suggestion I could add: the grains you use matter.  The flavor from one to the next is noticeable.  If I'm not buying from a local farmer or mill then I love Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick Organic Oats.  They lend more chewiness to the oatmeal.
This is not something that requires a recipe, cook how you like--water, milk, soy milk, almond milk.
But try adding , per serving:

• 1/2 TB vanilla per serving and a cinnamon stick into the cooking liquid

When finished, any combination or all of the following:

• fresh ground nutmeg
• Saigon cinnamon (I find it sweeter and with a little kick)
• pumpkin butter
• almond butter
• soy nuts
• dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots, etc)
• ground flax seed
• toasted wheat germ
• hemp seed

And you now have a bowl of comfort--easy like Sunday morning (you will get the musical reference only if over 30!)

oats and spelt from Mud Run Farm