Hot cereal + cool lake

This is the view I opened my eyes to this morning: Green dappled sunshine spilling into our bedroom. A cool lake breeze swept through an open window and the bird song encouraged us to drift back to sleep. By the time we finally pulled ourselves out of bed, we were thinking about our favorite breakfast of oatmeal and tea.
Whenever we spend time at Sunshine Farm, I pack a few pantry staples. I can always find a use for things like walnuts and sea salt. Popcorn is another favorite treat to whip up while hanging out at camp. But we we weren't interested in popcorn for breakfast. We wanted oatmeal.
Adam lit the ancient gas stove with a wooden match, and I filled a pot with the pristine spring water that flows from the taps at Sunshine Farm. I set the water and oats to boil and, after a couple hands of cards, the oatmeal was ready to go. These sweet blueberry dishes that my mother stocks in the Middle Cottage kitchen made the perfect complement for this blueberry infused porridge.

Blueberry walnut oats

2 cups water
3/4 cup organic steel cut oats
1 cup organic walnuts, crushed
1/4 cup flaxseeds, crushed
1 1/4 cup organic wild blueberries
2 Tbsp. Maine maple syrup

Add water and oats to pot and cook on high, uncovered, until it boils. Then turn down the heat to a simmer and place the lid slightly askew on the pot. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed. Add the frozen blueberries, stir and then put the lid back on for another 2-3 minutes. After crushing the walnuts and then flaxseeds with a mortar and pestle, add each to the oats. Add the maple syrup, stir and serve.
And when we start the day with these blueberry oats, we're ready for any adventure life might throw our way (as Adam demonstrated with this flawless cannonball off the end of the dock).

Good news for people who eat

Back in the 1970s when my parents went “back-to-the-land” and started the commune, we had a tough go peddling our organic veggies and free-range eggs. The farmers’ markets in Maine were best described as “fledgling” and most people were still in awe of the vast offerings of cheap food at the local supermarket. People wondered: Why bother buying local?

But as this story in today’s NYT’s Fashion & Style section documents, college-educated, 20- and 30-somethings are once again heading to the hills and tilling the soil. But this time they have economics on their side:

“the growing market for organic and locally grown produce is making it possible for well-run small farms to thrive, said Ken Meter, 58, who studies the economics of food as an analyst at the Crossroads Resource Center, a nonprofit advocacy group for local food initiatives that is based in Minnesota.”