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I live on the ocean, write women's fiction, love to read so much that it's an addiction rather than a hobby (I read an average of a book a day). I live on the wet west coast so it's a good thing that I like to walk in the rain.

Friday, November 26, 2010

What is it about oatmeal?

What is it about oatmeal?

It reminds me of my childhood. Having grown up in an English household - my mom arrived in Canada just after the war, having lived through the whole of the war in a small town just outside London - oatmeal was a breakfast staple. Sticks to your ribs, she'd say, or It'll put hair on your chest.

It took me a long time to realize that hair on my chest probably wasn't a good thing.

I think many children who spent the 40s and 50s in England grew up with a massive sugar craving as it was rationed for all of those years. So oatmeal in my mother's house was always sweet - sweetened with lashings of brown sugar.

My cravings generally aren't sweet ones - I get excited more by potato chips than by chocolate bars - but oatmeal? It's an exception to this rule.

And I've been a happy camper since Tim Hortons - for those of you in the US, Tims is a coffee/donut/etc. chain that's ubiqitous in Canada - started serving oatmeal.

I always choose the maple version rather than the fruit version because of the brown sugar. And it's only $1.99. I know, I know, the fruit version is probably better for me but I truly don't care. Oatmeal to me is all about brown sugar. That first taste of the oatmeal and I'm back in my mother's kitchen.

And yes, it does stick to your ribs, though so far, it hasn't put hair on my chest.

Kate

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