Your Stomach on the Line

After last post, Joce had me thinking; I'm going to try to write about more of the culinary adventures I have.  

Especially things that are inexpensive and easily reproduced.  I, fortunately, did not subsist on ramen noodles in my dorm room at school because our dining services were actually great, but I have learned what's good food to keep around!
I have developed a fondness for oatmeal.  Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it absolutely excites me when I consider all the ways you can prepare oatmeal-- like a blank canvas! I prefer plain oats, either instant or microwavable.  I think it tastes better than the other instant oatmeals, and I know there aren't any odd chemicals or flavorings.  When I have more time and a stove I definitely go with rolled and steel-cut oats.  I tend to cook the oats in half water-milk (whoo, a dairy serving!) and fill it slightly above the oats in the bowl-- I'm a not-too-lumpy-or-moist oatmeal person :P.  It's kind of trial and error, similarly with the microwave times because all are different, though starting with one minute is good.

Then, comes the culinary freedom!  Some ideas that I mix and match:

• pushing some oatmeal aside to eat with plain or vanilla yogurt, or applesauce
• mixing in fruit jams (also helps plain yogurt)
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
• maple syrup or honey
• brown sugar (while the oatmeal is still hot, so it caramelizes :)
  cinnamon (I use generous amounts) and a dash of nutmeg
• sliced almonds or walnuts
• toasted coconut
• any fresh or dried fruit
• granola mixed in, or improvise with your favorite cereal
• a dash of whipped cream or a few mini marshmallows :)
• and savory flavors! I haven't gone too much into that, yet I imagine eggs and cheese with thyme would rock.

Yeah, it seems obvious, but once I started thinking about all the possibilities I was blown away.  I have oatmeal nearly every morning.  It was so convenient at school because you can throw whatever you want into it. Oh, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite.  I still haven't tried baking oatmeal, but I'll post about that once it's done :).  Do you have any oatmeal ingenuity that you would like to share?

The picture next to my breakfast (accompanied with a chai latté) was my lunch!  I could, without a doubt, live on baby spinach.  I love eating it straight out of the bag.  I just happened to have the perfect melange of food in my house to make this extravagant salad: leftover summer squash that was sautéed in olive oil and dill, leftover sliced chicken, a diced tomato, peanuts and dried cranberries.  Then I added a bit of a herb olive oil dressing.  It was so satisfying, my bragging is obnoxious but I felt like this was breaching restaurant quality (at least a Panera-type :P).  What's your favorite food to indulge on in the summer?  I could also o.d. on watermelon!!

Ahh, and Monday night I finally had my first backyard bonfire of the season.  Nothing like keeping the neighbors awake with my friends under the stars.  I think I ate four s'mores and roasted numerous marshmallows.  I was so glad to go to bed smelling of burning wood.

Listening: "North by North" by Faded Paper Figures