The Best Oatmeal Ever

I just did something really really well. I'm going to brag about it in this post, and then make you do it too. Here we go.

I just made the most kick-ass breakfast in a long while, and without a recipe. Note: this is a very rare occurance, since generally I tend to follow recipes rather diligently. But this morning (yes, it's only 9 am, but I've already had this great breakfast and I find it necessary to post about it right away) I woke up to a kitchen with absolutely no food in it.

You see, my parents are out of town, so I (of course) neglected to go food shopping. There is no cereal. No bread. Only 1 egg. No milk. Yeah, it's bad. But, there was oatmeal--albeit only about 3/4 cup, but that's just enough. So I set out to make myself a nice breakfast to eat on the back porch early in the morning, so I could take advantage of the beautiful morning of what will be the hottest day of the year so far (they say it will reach 100º!).

Now, as I mentioned, I like to follow recipes, so I quickly perused TasteSpotting for inspiration for some oatmeal. I came across a couple recipes, but decided in the end to just throw the usual stuff into my oatmeal: toasted nuts, cinnamon, agave nectar, fruit, you know. But here's the kicker: peanut butter!! I guess I missed the boat on this cooking phenomenon, since several recipes I found were incorporating various nut butters into their recipes, but I'm glad I finally did it. It added this amazing bite to the sweet oatmeal and made it heartier and just incredibly fantastic.

In addition to peanut butter, I chopped up the last white nectarine hanging around the kitchen, toasted some pecans, and swirled in some agave nectar. I brewed up a huge pot of coffee, busted out my favorite bowl and cup (Look! C'est le Petit Prince!!), and sat out on the back porch to enjoy my Sunday morning. Perfect. I am so happy right now.

Now it's your turn. Make this:

Early Summer Oatmeal
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup water
• pinch of salt
• Cinnamon
• Agave Nectar
• Pecans
• White Nectarine (or any old stone fruit)
  
• Peanut Butter
  

Directions

• Boil 1 cup of water. Add oats and salt, bring back to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until oatmeal has absorbed most of the water and it's your preferred consistency.
• Meanwhile, throw a handful of pecans into the toaster oven and toast.
• Slice up the white nectarine into chunks, and save a few slices to eat while you prepare the rest.
  
• Add a few generous shakes of cinnamon and a swirl of agave nectar to the oatmeal. Taste, and adjust accordingly (I sound so professional right now, I'm loving it).
• Pour oatmeal into your favorite, prettiest bowl. Add a dollop of peanut butter (I added about 1 teaspoon) and incorporate. Top with nuts and fruit and another swirl of agave nectar.
• Go outside. Eat it all. Drink your coffee or tea. Done and done.