Spiced Cranberry-Apple Oatmeal

I have a confession--I used to hate oatmeal.  I wanted to like it.  I tried  to like it.  But while the taste was fine, the texture was incredibly off-putting.

Then I discovered the existence of steel-cut oats.  As it turned out, I only hated instant oatmeal.  Steel-cut, I adore.

They do take a lot longer to cook, but it's an easy weekend breakfast, and if you make a double batch (which I often do) you can divide it into individual servings and fridge them all week, just popping them in the microwave to reheat.  (If you do that, I'd recommend leaving off the garnishes until after reheating.)

Also, I deliberately developed this as a lightly-spiced and lightly-sweetened dish.  If you like your oats bolder, feel free to add more of the spices and/or sugar.

Spiced Cranberry-Apple Oatmeal
(4 servings)

• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger
• dash ground cloves
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and honey, to serve

In a saucepan, mix together the oats, sugar, and spices.  Add the water and milk and bring just to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, and add the diced apple.  Cook, stirring frequently to avoid burning, 30-35 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.  Divide among bowls and garnish with the cranberries and almonds, and drizzle lightly with honey.