So here's the short of it, 
My breakfast routine.

And here's the long.

I like to have Bob's Red Mill Organic Extra Thick Rolled Oats for breakfast most mornings.  I like the heartiness and fiber in the extra thick variety. I make them with a 1 part oats and 2 parts water ratio. If I'm the only one eating I use a 1/2 cup of oats and 1 cup of water. I add a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of kosher salt to the water before I dump in the oats. On school mornings, they get started before I jump in the shower and then turned to the lowest setting - they're ready when I get back to the kitchen.  

When they're done, I get two bowls.  One gets about a quarter cup or a little more of oats and the other gets the rest.  They (both) often get topped with some chopped almonds or other such (I keep the chopped nuts in a little jar right next to the stove for just this purpose.  Then each dish gets a bit of milk poured in over the hot oats. I also pour a little small bit of milk (or cat milk) into one of those tiny measuring bowls.  At the table - I get the big bowl of oats.  Sophie gets the small bowl on the floor next to my chair. Lola gets the little bowl of milk or cat milk up on the divider between the dining room and living room.  That's a nice, good breakfast routine.  Not every morning, but certainly most working mornings - Sophie and I really like our oatmeal...

I really enjoy raisins in my oatmeal, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that without having to make Sophie's separate from mine, since raisins are so toxic for dogs. And while I'm really glad to make enough to share with her, I somehow can't see myself getting into the habit of cooking her a breakfast of her own on a working morning! Sometimes I do use other dried fruits in the mix - like cherries, or apricots, or that dried fruit mix.  Those are nice variations that keep me faithful to my oats routine!

I have a hard time always finding these oats in the stores.  Even our specialty markets don't always have just exactly these.  I haven't had success getting any stores to carry this specific variety even when I've asked either.  Maybe they just get confused - they get the organic but not the extra thick, or they get the extra thick but not the organic, or maybe they get the organic, extra thick, but also gluten free which is about 3 times as expensive.  So I just order them by the carton online.  I order about every 2 or 3 months and keep the extra bags in the freezer.  It has worked out just great and really encourages me to stick with the oat routine!

So this morning it was good to have oats and good black coffee with Sophie and Lola.