Easy as Cherry Pie Oatmeal – a family favorite breakfast treat!

My kids are growing up too fast.   All at once my heart feels both proud and broken.  My Max recently reminded me that he will be turning “double digits” this year.  Ugh, that is quite the milestone for both of us!  This week I needed to cut the grass and Max enthusiastically said he wanted to help.  I was only cutting our front yard with the push mower and laughed inside as I thought how he will probably refuse to do the job without pay in a year or two.  Hopefully not—he has always been such a wonderful helper.  I hope his attitude about helping others doesn’t change as he gets closer to becoming a teenager.

As I passed the mower to him I again asked “Are you sure you are ready to do this?” He puffed out his thin chest and proudly stated, “Never let a woman do a man’s work,” as he gallantly took hold of the handle and started mowing.  He seemed to prefer cutting in a giant asterisk pattern instead of the concentric squares I recommended.  But he was happy, I was proud, and it’s only grass.

Just a few days ago he brought home a brief paragraph about himself.  He had to mention something he is really good at. He said, “Unloading the dishwasher!”  He is correct. I don’t know what I would do without him…I do create a ton of dirty dishes.  In his mini biography he also mentioned that his favorite dessert is cherry pie.  I was surprised by this and he admitted that he really had no clue what to list as a favorite food bhe likes so many.  As a thank you for cutting the grass, to celebrate spring break, and because I love him, I decided to take one of his official favorites, oatmeal, and add a little cherry pie intensity.  This may be a new favorite breakfast, along with a few dozen others.

Easy As Cherry Pie Oatmeal

2 TBSP coconut oil
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 tsp salt
3 ½ cups coconut milk (unsweetened)
1 TBSP almond extract
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 lb pitted dark cherries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
1 cup toasted coconut

Coat the inside of the slow cooker with coconut oil.  Combine oats, salt, and coconut milk in a slow cooker.   Stir, cover with lid, and cook on low overnight.  Just before serving, fold in the almond extract, brown sugar, and cherries.  If oatmeal is too thick, also add additional coconut milk or water.  Serve in bowls topped with toasted coconut.

Other toasted nuts are also excellent in addition to or instead of the coconut.  Toasted sesame seeds are really delicious mixed with the coconut, and they are an excellent source of calcium.