I loved school. I loved everything about it. The new season would begin with the build up of anticipation when summer draws nearer to a close and then became palpable when the task of buying new school clothes and supplies was right around the corner.
The major excitement came when it was time to choose the cool new lunch pail with its even cooler thermos (my favorite was The Monkeys!). Most of my lunches were packed thoughtfully by my mom but sometimes, as a treat, I was able to buy a hot lunch from the cafeteria. There were no packages to open or styrofoam to unload, just a big, hard plastic, divided plate that everything was served on and returned to the kitchen to be washed. Oh, I did have to open the carton of milk.
The school year was always a highly anticipated event and although the summers meant magical experiences, school days always meant a world of new discoveries that I always look back on fondly.
School mornings were, without fail, a whirlwind of activity especially for a family of five children. Mom would be busy in the kitchen preparing a hot breakfast (I don't remember eating cereal until there were only two of us left that were school age), and the older kids would be jockeying for the bathroom mirror or trying to find that favorite shirt or pair of pants.
For us girls, it was deciding which dress we would adorn as those were the days when girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. Yep, no slippers or pajama bottoms anywhere to be seen in the halls of those school years. And the hair, even for my brothers it was a big deal and had to be perfect.
After all the preening, we would all head for the dining room table where spoonfuls of oatmeal or Cream of Wheat would be heaped in bowls, a little brown sugar on top and a pitcher of warm milk to pour over our porridge. In the middle of the table would be a huge stack of buttered toast and the jar of Skippy peanut butter. There was usually a pitcher of orange juice. It didn't take long for all of us to devour the morning offerings before we ran out the door for the school yard.
There were a lot of good memories made for me to savor when I finally had time to look back on it all. I can't even imagine how our children are doing without it right now. I can only hope that when the kids do actually get back in the classroom with all their mates that they have a new appreciation of what it means to be “in school.” I know their parents will.
I hope everyone celebrates the return of a bit of educational normalcy with a good breakfast before the kids are off down the street or hop on the school bus.
Oatmeal for me is longer just a school morning memory. Not only can you make it tasty but it's very good for you especially steel cut oats. Steel cutting the grain itself leaves much of the outer layer intact with all it's nutrition.
This lavender-flavored oatmeal, I think, is a real treat. Our oatmeal was rather bland as a kid because the only thing available in the store were the oats that are flattened like a pancake and take minutes to cook. Now, I use the steel cut oats exclusively and they're very easy to find in grocery stores. McCann's and Bob's Red Mill are my favorites. They do take a little longer to cook, but you can lessen the time on the stove if you soak the oats overnight in water or you can even cook them in the pressure cooker. Since I grow my own lavender, the culinary type, it was easy for me to try. I just use the leaves and chop them up rather finely. You don't need many and fresh are best.
Lavender Oatmeal
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
1-2 tsp chopped lavender leaves (adjust for your taste)
Cook the oats as directed on the package with the chopped lavender leaves. And, of course, don't forget all the wonderful accompaniments which make breakfast a gourmet meal such as chia seeds, nuts, bananas, chopped apple, raisins or other dried fruit such as cranberries and apricots, milk, brown sugar or honey. And, of course, toast and peanut butter!
