Lemon, Rosemary Oatmeal with Goji Berries

When I was a kid we had oatmeal that came in small brown bags. You added hot water, stirred & then tried to only eat spoonfuls that had dehydrated bits of apple or clumps of brown sugar.

Then I turned 16 and spent the summer interning at the Royal Melbourne Zoo in Australia. My six week stay was divided into thirds & I spent 2 weeks at each of 3 of my mom’s friend’s homes. I ate what they ate, went on family adventures, got rides into work, & tried to help out with the kids & the dishes. Stuart’s family ate porridge almost every morning, a bowl of goodness I had never encountered before. Thick, slow cooked, multigrain, chewy, hot oats eaten with fresh berries or fruit & a steaming mug of tea. White it was summer at home it was winter in Australia & this hearty, nutty, not-too sweet & not processed hot cereal kept me full as I did my teenage best version of raking wallabee enclosures, or whatever the Zookeepers tasked me to do. Gosh, I hope I was a help to them & not added weight.  What I know for sure is that Stuart’s family recipe for porridge fueled me on.

I’m raising a sticky oatmeal spoon of 10 grain hot cereal to you, Stuart.

Thanks for welcoming in this stranger into your home & giving me a sturdy foundation to face cold mornings.

I really like the tangy taste of Goji Berries, but you sprinkle on whatever you want, lovelies.