Chow is often overlooked (by me), but this video proves, once again, that they mean business. Oatmeal business.

Loyal readers of the oat blog of record know I don’t shy away from a dollop of yogurt atop my morning oatmeal. I’ve tried the blogger-fueled obsession with yoats, or yogurt covered oats. They didn’t do it for me. 

Tossing my fruit in yogurt, though, is primary genius, oatizens. I coated tiny pieces of kiwi, strawberries, bananas, blueberries with the tangy nectar of the cow gods, and bliss ensued. 

His…

and hers.

‘

All mine! 

Again? Yes. 

Mangoes are in season, meaning that they are ripe, sweet, and cheap. Pick some up, post-haste! 

An oatmeal bath is an excellent natural treatment for eczema. Colloidal oatmeal baths — meaning that oats are dispersed in hot water, like Epson salt — are calming for inflamed, itchy skin. Aveeno offers a wide variety of colloidal products, but you could really make one at home by simply tossing rolled oats into the tub.  Add one or two cups of oatmeal to your lukewarm water and then get in. I would imagine those in extreme discomfort could add more. After getting out of the bath,  use lotion on your damp skin in order to seal the moisture.

Perhaps I’ve been watching too much of the Tudor’s, but I’m pretty sure this is exactly what a bath should look like.

Loyal readers of Oatally Awesome will remember these fine folks, Mary and Eric, of Portland, Oregon. While both of these extremely good looking people eagerly follow the oat blog of record, only Eric enjoys oatmeal everyday at work — Mary had never eaten a steamy, tasty bowl of oatness!

My mission was clear. I would make a simple, slightly spiced bowl of oatmeal, lay out various toppings, and cross my fingers. I offered up blackberries, bananas, and plain yogurt.  

Mission accomplished! Mary loved the oatmeal, and while she’s fairly loyal to granola, I think she will incorporate bowls of the good stuff in her morning routine. 

First convert: Mary. Next convert: the world! Muahhhhhh!

Oatventures in Scarcity: When nary a fresh ingredient can be found and breakfast appears in peril, we make do, my loves — we make do and emerge triumphant!

The fruit bowl was worse than bare, containing a lone, crinkled up leaf, a reminder of a era long gone, one filled with time to market. The refrigerator was worse, with relics of the past standing alone, looking war torn. The cupboards were a bit better, but full of decidedly un-breakfasty items. The freezer was my last hope, and there it was: a bag of Treader Joe’s frozen raspberries,  propped upright against a wall.

The verdict: Delicious. Although you can see the raspberries turned to mush, I actually appreciated the even distribution of fruit. The raspberries were actually sweet, but not too sweet. Definitely something I’d buy again.

I asked the publisher, Rosie, for a comment, but she was too distraught over her summer haircut. It turns out her hair was the equivalent of wearing platforms — her stature and heft has diminished! 

Before:

After:

Raspberry Oatmeal

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of frozen TJ’s raspberries
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup of yogurt

Bring water to a boil and add oats, cinnamon, and a minute later toss in the raspberries. Pour cooked oatmeal into a bowl and top with yogurt. Enjoy!

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Oatventures in Scarcity: When nary a fresh ingredient can be found and breakfast appears in peril, we make do, my loves — we make do and emerge triumphant!

The fridge was looking quite lonely this morning. I swung the door ajar and found the shelves sparsely populated. The contents had been steadily abducted throughout the week, without replenishment. Even the yogurt container felt perilously light, so I shut the door to regroup.

Rosie suggested I check the dried fruit supply. (Yes, she can talk, but oddly enough I’m the only one who can hear it.) Sure enough, an unopened bag of Trader Joe’s tropical fruit appeared before my eyes, a gift from oat almighty.

TJ’s is fast and loose with their diction. Mango, yes, obviously tropical, but cranberries and blueberries? You’re on notice, TJ’s.

It was a totally delicious mix, though, so that made up for the categorical indiscretion.

Tropical Fruit Oatmeal

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of oats
1/3 cup of TJ’s tropical fruit mix
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup of yogurt

Bring water to a boil, add oats and stir a couple of times until all the water is absorbed. Pour into a bowl and top with dried fruit and yogurt. Enjoy!

Comments? You can make them by clicking on the heading.

Oatmeal, a sweet trend for diners and restaurant profits

By Candy Sagon
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, April 14, 2010; E01 

How brilliant is this: First, take a healthful food that costs just pennies per serving and requires barely any effort to make. Then, sex it up with sweet toppings and extra ingredients. Finally, put it in a cute, portable container. That’s hot oatmeal to go, the restaurant industry’s newest answer to breakfast on the run.

Chains such as Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, Cosi, Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice and Pret a Manger have introduced hot oatmeal with fruit and nut toppings for takeout within the past 18 months. Even fast-food giant McDonald’s has been test-marketing a fruit-topped oatmeal in Baltimore and the District since late last year, although no decision has been made whether to offer it in other cities, a company spokesman says.

Locally, frozen yogurt shop Sweetgreen has been selling slow-cooked organic oatmeal mixed with quinoa from its roving yellow Sweetflow Mobile van a couple of mornings each week downtown. And Community Canteen in Reston offers thick-cut natural oatmeal from Bob’s Red Mill with such toppings as goji berries and kiwi.

For restaurants, the oatmeal trend is a win-win. They’re adding variety to their breakfast menu with an inexpensive food that customers perceive as healthful. Plus, it doesn’t require fancy cooking equipment, and its basic ingredients don’t spoil easily.

For customers, well, what’s not to like? Oatmeal is comforting, cheap and filling. Its low fat and high fiber content can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. And now, it’s portable.

This transformation of oatmeal from frumpy to fashionable is the natural confluence of several things: the buzz about whole grains and eating healthy; Starbucks’s introduction of portable oatmeal in 2008, which spurred the other chains to copy it; and the fact that breakfast has been the one meal showing signs of life in the economically distressed restaurant industry.

To read the rest of this article, visit The Washington Post. To comment, click on the link!

I never go topless.*

Seriously. Even in the leanest of times, something can be found in the freezer, fridge, or cupboard. This post welcomes in a whole new series called “Oatventures in Scarcity,” in which I use non-fresh ingredients, ie frozen, dried, and so on, on top of my morning oatmeal, proving that life is worth living. Yes, that’s all it takes. 

I had a Trader Joe’s berry medley sitting in the freezer for just such an occasion, when nary a dried or fresh fruit was to be found. I poured a half a cup over my cooking, old fashioned oatmeal, and voilà!

Would fresh berries have been better? Of course, but so would gold bouillon, and I had neither, so thank oat almighty for the frozen bag of berries. 

I was impressed with the size of the berries. Check out the cherry, above. 

Berry Oatmeal
1/2 cup of frozen berries 
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/4 cup of yogurt

Bring water to boil and add oats and frozen berries. Cook for five minutes, mix in cinnamon and pour over a bowl. Top with yogurt and revel in your resourcefullness!

Comments! You can make them! Click on the header. 

*Indiscretions on different continents don’t count.