I love oatmeal

I love oatmeal. I know people, and you know who you are mom, who think oatmeal is boring, but I disagree. It's versatile and versatility sometimes masquerades as blandness. I like to think of oatmeal as a blank canvass, full of possibility rather than lacking in flavour.

Around here we refer to oatmeal as "porridge" because we like to pretend we are bears when we eat it and the variations are limitless. I have a strong preference for fruit and nut combinations, like the cranberry toasted almond oatmeal pictured above, but Zach is less fond of variety and will take peanut butter and chocolate chips every time. See, that's another great thing about oatmeal. I can cook up a batch and everyone in the family can have a different breakfast without any fuss or hassle.

Here are some of my favourite oatmeal toppings:

Cranberry and toasted almond
Cranberry and pecan
Cherry and toasted almond
Cherry and hazelnut
Cherry and vanilla
Mango chai
Good old cinnamon and raisin
Peanut butter and chocolate chips
Peach and pecan
Chocolate chips and walnuts
Chocolate chips and hazelnuts
Apple and walnut
Maple and walnut
Strawberry and almond
Strawberry and chocolate chips
Blueberry and almond

Brunch

I love breakfast. It’s my favourite meal of the day. When I was a teenager my friend Geneva’s mom gave me a standing invitation to join them for their morning breakfast, unsure that my usual cereal and coffee was really enough to sustain a kid through the day. Oh, the breakfasts she made! Hot muffins right out of the over, pannekoeken with berries or just a little powered sugar. It was heavenly. I decided then that when I had kids I would make breakfast a priority.

So this year, when my dad suggested skipping the traditional ham dinner for Easter in favour of brunch I was all for it. I’m not a fan of traditional holiday meals in general. I don’t like to feel boxed in by a set menu and, while I like to take my time making putsy laborious dishes when the mood strikes, I don’t want to feel obligated to do so. On holidays in particular I like to spend my time with my family, not stuck in the kitchen for hours on end.

We had a simple ham and cheese strata, fresh pineapple, blackberries and grapes, homemade blueberry muffins and deviled eggs made from our Easter eggs. The girls helped to make the strata. In fact, other than a few adult-only tasks such as cutting off the bread crusts and putting it in the oven, they made it themselves under supervision.

It was a lovely meal, relaxed, delicious and full of lively conversation. Best of all, by 1:30 in the afternoon the dishes were done and we had the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves.

Here’s the recipe for the strata. It’s simple and like many egg dishes it’s very versatile. We used ham and cheddar, but any combination of meat, veggies or cheeses that strikes your fancy would work. Herbs are good too.

6-7 slices of white bread, crusts removed

6 eggs

1 ½ c milk

½ lb sliced ham

Shredded cheddar cheese (I didn’t measure this, just eyeballed it)

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Line the bottom of a greased 9 X 13 inch baking pan with the bread slices. Top with ham and cheese. Beat the eggs, milk salt and pepper. Pour over the bread. Sometimes, like today, I let this sit for a while in the fridge so the egg can soak into the bread. Sometimes I don’t. Either way seems to work. Bake in the 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes.