for one thing, i didn't realize we were out of real maple syrup. we only had sugar-free maple-ish syrup that the geek accidentally bought a while back.
it also didn't help that the only berries we had on hand were fresh strawberries. when baked, they kind of just dissolved into flavorless mush. (sorry strawberries, i really didn't set you up for success here).
the meh-ness was my bad. i should have planned better, so with a big bag of rolled oats still in the pantry, i vowed to give the recipe another shot.
the second time i made this oatmeal, i planned ahead. real maple syrup? check! berries that bake well? check!
and you know what? it was delicious!
the bigger surprise? the geek loved it.
he loved it so much that it is now on the short list of foods that he actually requests.
he loved it so much that he's looking forward to eating it tomorrow...even though the forecast says it will be in the 80s and we're sitting here with all the windows open and the fans blowing. (north carolina, i miss you and the air conditioning we had in our home there).
once the weather begins to cool, i bet he'll fall even deeper in love with this oatmeal.
