Back to Business and Rice Cooker Oatmeal

Have you missed my blog posts these past few weeks? 
You were worried about me? 
You thought that I had been swept off the rocks of Peggy's Cove during Hurricane Earl?  
Well, God love ya! You are as imaginative a worrier as my dear Mother!
Here is what happened: I drove Lauchlin downtown to his tennis training session. Then I went to Point Pleasant Park to walk Bella - whilst on the walk I formulated my next blog post and was giggly with excitement about typing it out at a cafe after the walk. I went back to my vehicle to find the window smashed and glass all over the back seat. My laptop, purse, camera, and briefcase (with agenda in it!) were taken. Not good. 
It couldn't have been a fellow Nova Scotian that did this; must have been a 'CFA' (come from away)!


So, here we are in September..... sneakily sudden, serious September
Back to routine, schedules, school, and some hard work! 
Yes! Let's all get back to business, shall we?!
But wait!  
Can we just take a few minutes and think back to the glorious summer we had?


My sweetest summer 2010 memories involve saltwater and seaweed: swimming with my siblings at Ballantyne's Cove, finding a secret swimming spot at Peggy's Cove, skinny-dipping with Mike in Cape Breton....


Yes indeed, once every summer I insist that we leave the confines of our swimsuits behind and return to the waters as babes on waves! If it isn't part of your summer ritual - you must start next year - It is so freeing - nothing between you and the saltwater. Seaweed tickling your tummy (or whatever body bits are hanging lowest).
Mike and I  kayaked around a point in Dunvegan, Cape Breton and found a solitary beach  that begged for a skinny dipping couple. In we dove like Brooke Shields and the scraggly blonde haired boy from 'Blue Lagoon' (Mike looking more like Brooke than I!). 
I felt like a mermaid and Mike was the lonely fisherman who was hoping for a good catch...

Sorry no photos - did I mention that my car was broken into and my camera was stolen?? 
Here is an artist's accurate rendition:

Nova Scotia is the perfect place to indulge in some skinny dipping! So many isolated little coves and lonely beaches. Just look up 'skinny dipping' in the 'Doers and Dreamers' guide! Hehe!


O.K., alright... back to business - boy, you guys are all work; no play!!


September is a great time to lay down the groundwork for a healthy, balanced, and successful new year. And we all know that a good day starts with a good breakfast. Instead of falling into the cold cereal rut (expensive and most boxed cold cereals are not nearly as nutritious as the front of the boxes would lead us to believe) - wouldn't you love to get up and have a bowl of steaming hot porridge with fruit for breakfast?
My father would always make hot cereal in the morning - alternating between porridge, Red River Cereal and Cream of Wheat.


But who has the time to stand over a pot stirring?!
Here is the answer folks:


The rice cooker! Yes, your rice cooker can make wonderful oatmeal porridge and other grains and things too!

Into the rice cooker put approximately a 2:1 ratio of cold water to large flake oats.  I love the Speerville Flour Mill Oats from New Brunswick.

Set your rice cooker to about 10 minutes and go back to making lunches, blowdrying your hair, or whatever you need to do!

No stirring required until the cooker beeps at 10 minutes.

Here it is: bubbling hot porridge!

Make it a better bowl by adding ground flax, cinnamon, sunflower seeds, maybe a little brown sugar or maple syrup, a splash of milk, and lots of fruit on top!

What a beautiful breakfast! What a great way to start a day! And doesn't it make that crisp feeling in the air on a September morn a wee bit kinder?




Yes, yes, ...it certainly was a glorious summer ...


NOW, back to business!
But where am I supposed to be today??? (Did I mention that my car was broken into and my agenda was stolen?)