Summer has been rushing by… until we arrived in the middle of Ontario, to the area close to where my husband spent his youth, what we call in Canada “Cottage Country.”

Here, life has finally seemed to slow down just a little bit.

The air is humid and warm and we watch clouds shift in the skies and I find myself meditating on a paddle board drifting slowly on a freshwater lake. I am barefoot as much as possible and I slow down to watch monarch butterflies alight on scented wild flowers and marvel with my 7 year old at frogs hopping through rustling leaves while hiking in the forest. We stop at a local farm-stand and leave bearing organic peaches, berries and nectarines.

Life seems stripped down to its essentials. Everything seems simple, yet each moment is full; and I crave to cook and eat this way as well, simply; using only what I have on hand and keeping things unfussy yet delicious.

Here is what I’ve been enjoying for breakfast recently, a bowl of oats, soaked overnight with some of my favorite spices – cardamom in particular has both a lovely sweetness and it is wonderful to keep your digestion happy yet balanced in the summer heat – then gently warmed in the morning and topped with an assortment of local fruit, hemp seeds and – because we are in the Canadian heartland – pure maple syrup.

This is a simple summer breakfast that is great for you alone or to make for friends or family; and because you start the process the night before, the oats become more digestible and cook faster as well, allowing you more time to enjoy the great outdoors this beautiful season of the sun.

So without much ado, here is that recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

Spiced Summer Oats

Servings: 2 - 3
Time: Overnight + 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

I cup rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 to 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp hemp seeds
2 cups homemade or good quality store bought unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp coconut oil (unrefined, cold pressed)
Seasonal fresh fruit, e.g. berries, stone fruit etc.

Method:

Combine spices and salt with oats in a bowl
Add almond milk and mix well.
Store in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, warm the coconut oil on medium heat in a small saucepan.
Add the oat mixture and cook for approx. 10 minutes or until the grains are tender but not mushy.
Pour into a bowl, top with some seasonal fresh fruit, a hint of maple syrup and hemp seeds.
Bless your food before you eat it!
Enjoy

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