I haven't eaten instant oatmeal in so long I forgot how it tasted! I will on occasion mix a bag in with my steel cut oats or in with the mix that I usually eat (it's oats, barley, rye, and flax)
Here is what it looks like:
When I add a bag of the instant oatmeal with a large serving of this I usually use a simple flavoring. Blueberry for instance or banana, cinnamon maybe. I'm not much of one for say the dinosaur eggs or any of the flavors I keep on hand for quick servings for the kids. I like to mix up 2-3 servings at a time and feed both my husband and myself and fruit on top keeps us both full until a late lunch time easily.
However, this morning I was running behind and grabbed a little bag of the instant stuff on the way out the door and decided it would do. I added it to a bag of plain instant so at least it wouldn't be too sweet. Apparently I was wrong. VERY wrong! Someone please remind me not to do that again. My goodness I can't believe my children eat that stuff. Wait, let me change that I can't believe I ever let them eat that stuff without having tried it myself. Shame on me. I don't think they will like it when I stop buying the sugary stuff, but I know I will feel better about serving it to them when they eat what I've been eating for years. *shudder* GAH - Bad Mommy award to me today! Not only was it terribly sweet (with the package of plain added) but it was nothing but mush! Ewww, who would enjoy that? OK, I shouldn't criticize that part I suppose. I mean I eat hummus like it's going out of style.
Now, as for the potatoes. Rich didn't like it when I mentioned the buckets, just like I knew he wouldn't. So, here is what I've come up with. Thanks to a comment by sb158 I got pointed to THIS LINK about growing potatoes under straw mulch. This is a fantastic idea and a way I could actually grow the potatoes out in the front beds (Teehee, you see why this is such a great idea, right?!) in the new planter area that I was looking for something low growing to fill in anyway! So, I'm officially on the lookout for some clean straw. Around these parts it's hard to find. Usually it's Coastal hay so I will be doing some research to see if the same is applicable to hay as well or if the structure would become too dense and rot out prematurely. Meanwhile feed stores beware - I'm a callin'! I will still have a couple buckets as well I think I can put a few of them behind the pomegranate trees without him freaking out on me. Maybe I can put something decorative in front of them and then plant a pumpkin vine there as soon as the strawberry's finish their thing in 2 more months or so.
For the sweet potatoes though I might have to get creative and build a box. I could put it in the playground area against the fence. There are no sprinklers there, but plenty of sun. Watering would only get done Friday and Sunday so they might not grow as well...Maybe I could go soil on the bottom and straw mulch the rest to conserve the moisture.... *sigh* Well - for now anyway it's just dreaming because if the first set of potatoes doesn't get started and under the radar then the sweets won't be growing either. Truth be told He prefers the regular potatoes that can be eaten early and young, but I prefer the sweets and those are much better taken when mature and left to get large and sweet in the Florida heat. He fairs a much better chance at getting what he wants than I do.
'Till next time!
Barbie~
I don't mind the sweetness of the instant oatmeal so much, it's the texture that gets me. There is absolutely no "bite" to it, it's like consuming wallpaper paste. I do sometimes eat it though (it's so quick and handy), adding ground flax seed and walnuts for a bit of crunch.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about trying one row of potatoes under straw or hay, just for comparison. I've heard some bad things about doing it that way, namely because the straw/hay just invites slugs in for a feast. I had a real problem with slugs last year, normally they aren't that bad here. I also had a lot of straw spread over my pathways. On the other hand, if only one row is straw covered, maybe all the slugs will stay there and leave the rest of the garden alone!