Some like it smooth, some like it lumpy, some with brown sugar, others with granular sugar. I like my oatmeal lumpy, with real Vermont AAA maple syrup and milk. No one will admit to liking oatmeal cold.

My most favorite kind of oatmeal is McCann’s Irish Oatmeal but today I used my fall back regular quick 1/2 cup of oats because I am out of McCann’s. I make my oatmeal with 1 cup of skim milk and I use the microwave oven (1000+ watts) to cook it up just right. A lot of people have problems with spill-over when using their microwave ovens, but I haven’t for a couple of years since using my super-duper anti-spillage tricks: 1) I use a deep cereal bowl, 2) I soften the oats in milk for at least 15 minutes, 3) I cook my oats for 1 minute, stir, then cook for another minute. During the second minute I watch the oats very carefully and stop and stir when the oats puff up, then I restart the microwave oven and cook until done (total 2 minutes). I let my oatmeal sit for a couple of minutes then pour in a bit of maple syrup and a dab of milk. The maple syrup makes sort of a well and the milk swirls around, not quite mixing, ready to cool my first spoonful. I use a long-stemmed spoon to stir my oats during cooking and then to eat my oatmeal – I don’t know why – maybe its fancier …

This method has worked very well for 2 winters and my oatmeal has been very consistent in texture and flavor. I haven’t arrived at the fruit, raisins or nuts stage yet – I am a purist for now.

All gone!