Peanut butter in the morning

There's no better way to start the morning than a hot breakfast, especially now that the mornings are a bit crisp. Usually I eat still-warm toasted bread with hummus, but lately I've had one slice with peanut butter and jam. When I ran out of bread, cold cereal seemed too cold, and we were out of toaster waffles, I suddenly remembered oatmeal and a tip from my pb-loving friend Kristen.

I always have oats around-- to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, of course-- but I rarely think of having oatmeal for breakfast. It just seems like it takes too long.

Well, I was wrong. Rolled oats (not gluey quick oats) are the best of both worlds. You can microwave them in three minutes (in one minute increments) and have a delicious hot breakfast, fast. I like to use half water and half milk-- coconut, almond or rice.

While the oatmeal is still piping hot, stir in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter. It will melt into the oatmeal and distribute nicely. You can also add maple syrup and cinnamon (best!), jam (PB&J oatmeal!), dried cranberries (trail mix) or chocolate chips (decadent). It's amazing how many variations of peanut butter oatmeal you can come up with. Plus you can lick the spoon you use to scoop the peanut butter. Have a good morning!