Thursday, October 8, 2009

A blanket of soft grey fog

I love fog. I love rain. I love grey days. I love torrential rain showers. Luckily I live in the perfect climate for this. It rains here A LOT! It is also very foggy, and frequently grey. I don't particularly care for sunny weather. Don't get me wrong sunny days are nice in spring and early summer and on the 4th of July. But sun doesn't excite me like grey weather does. Odd? maybe. It's just that sun can be so glaring and bright and unforgiving. It's harsh and hot and not flattering. But a grey misty day, a cold and foggy morning, a wild rainstorm... these things, in the words of Anne Shirley, "Have so much more scope for the imagination."


This is why today I was thrilled to wake up to a grey world blanketed in fog. I'd forgotten how much I loved fog until I woke up to it's beauty and splendor. I felt so cozy and comforted sitting in my arm chair with piping hot tea and a big bowl of oatmeal. The world outside my window looked so much more interesting covered in the blanket of soft rolling fog.

On another note. Oatmeal has become one of my favorite foods. It is my newest food obsession along with peanut butter. I eat it almost every morning with bananas, raisins, butter and pure maple syrup. So delicious, warm and comforting. To try my favorite breakfast creation simply make a pot of oatmeal using a longer cooking oatmeal. No Quaker instant oats or 2 minute oats. Get an oatmeal that cooks for at 10 minutes. Once it's done add a good nob of butter and a whole banana chopped. Then top with a mixture of golden raisins and regular raisins and drizzle with pure maple syrup. This is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe for Sunday morning oatmeal. You could also add cream or milk. Or you could substitute raisins for dried cherries or apricots. Anyway you fix your oatmeal it will be a hot and delicious morning treat!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, I must absolutely agree with you about grey days. My family chides me, calling me "mole woman" when I've been back in St. Louis, but it's true: the sun can be harsh and unforgiving. I won't even mention the distress I undergo when we visit Steve's family in Arizona...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I couldn't agree more with you about the grey days. Colors, especially green, look enhanced on grey days I think. Perhaps it was my addiction to novels like Jane Eyre & the Anne books that made me prefer them to sunshine.
    And yes, oatmeal! I add slivered almonds, cinnamon, flaxseed, granola (for crunch) and raw sugar to mine.

    ReplyDelete