Orange-Kiwi Oatmeal

Simon seems to have a real thing for biting anything that has even the most minute potential to wiggle. Currently, his little focused kitty attention is riveted on my heart necklace, and I am typing with the occasional interruption of a misplaced paw batting at my nose.  We clipped his claws the other night, so it's actually kind of cute.  

But one thing he is NOT allowed to get his precious little nose into is my newest oatmeal breakfast.  It's been so chilly lately in the mornings that I've gone through a whole cylindrical box of oats in the past week and a half!  The latest experiment comes from the amazing amount of fruit my mother blessed me with and some leftovers from my eager days of making truffles.  (I have a knock-your-socks off Earl Grey Truffle recipe that will make you slip into a blissful state of uninterrupted enjoyment and calm, and I shall have to bring that one out once it starts getting cool enough for me to stand over a double boiler.  It's heavenly!)

So here we go!  Oatmeal experiment number...I forget; probably 56.  =)

Orange-Kiwi Oatmeal

Serves 1-2

Ingredients
1 cup original flavor almond milk

1/2 cup oats

Pinch freshly ground salt

1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract*

1 kiwi, rind on or off, chopped (but do take the rind off if it isn't organic)

1 small orange

Drizzle agave nectar

Cinnamon (optional)

Directions

In a small pot, bring the almond milk, salt, and orange extract to a boil, stirring occasionally.  (Almond milk WILL behave like regular milk and bubble over the sides of the pot if you are not careful, so you have to watch it!)  Pour in the oats, stir, and cook for 1 minute.  Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Fold in the chopped kiwi and stir.  Pour into bowl(s) to serve.  Drizzle with agave nectar.  Take a microplane and grate some of the orange skin into zest just over the bowl of oatmeal, to garnish and for an extra citrusy zing.**  For a little bit of a warming spice, sprinkle some cinnamon on top.  Happy breakfasting!

*This is also pretty darn good with a grapefruit theme; just cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit, set it on one of the cut ends, and with a knife, carefully slide your knife along the inside of the rind in strips, going from the top to bottom, getting rid of all the white pith along the reddish grapefruit flesh.  With the knife, cut out each grapefruit wedge from the dividing skin pieces.  You will be left with a very juicy grapefruit core.  Squeeze it into the pot instead of orange extract, and garnish with the grapefruit slices.  If you like, you can even zest some of the rind over the top of the bowl.  Voilà:  grapefruit oatmeal!

**If you like, you can add some orange slices to the oatmeal, but keep in mind that they have so much juice that they will water down the oatmeal a bit; you might consider adding about 1/4 cup more oats.  And be sure to keep some of the rind intact so you can zest it!

I think this calls for a bike ride to the store to pick up some more oatmeal...I'm still loving it!