A Road Less Travelled

Today I am thankful for leftover oatmeal. Not just because it makes breakfast the next day so much simpler, but because it gives me a reason to feel creative and thrifty.

So today I opened up two containers of oatmeal that were the leftovers from two different days. I put them in a pot and added some water to help reconstitute them from their solid state to a less solid, easier to stir state. Then I chopped up some apples really fine and I added them to the pot. I rarely think to do this when I’m making oatmeal from scratch because I’ll get the water boiling and then walk away. Since I’m just reviving oatmeal I have to be in the kitchen the whole time so I remember the apples.

Next, I add some cinnamon to the oatmeal. Adding cinnamon at this point is very important in our house. Two or three of the young lads have very sensitive skin and will break out in an unattractive rash if raw cinnamon gets on their faces. So it must be cooked in, but I don’t normally make the oatmeal around here and peoples often forget.

Now, I take a small, unmarked jar from the fridge. The jar is full of a dark, thick, syrup looking liquid. It’s a good thing the liquid looks like this because it is actually syrup. Homemade apple and cinnamon syrup, to be exact. Since it was a reward for my helping some friends make scads of applesauce it’s only fair then that I’m the only one who remembers it’s there and could be used. So I put appley-cinnamony syrup in the oatmeal and stir, stir, stir.

It’s really yummy. It’s like a tiny, tiny instance of creativity and redemption. I take two containers of unappetizing globs that are taking up space in the fridge and I make them into something good and enjoyable. They become appetizing and then they become breakfast. And apart from the apples, the cinnamon and the apple-cinnamon syrup it’s reusing leftovers. That’s why I’m thankful for leftover oatmeal.