Peach Melba Oatmeal

It's June 9th. That means we have 2.5 weeks of school left. In 2.5 weeks, I'll be bidding farewell to students who I likely will never see again. I'll be embracing the three kids I've tutored daily for over nine months. Let's be honest:  I'll probably cry.

But on the other hand, I'm very eager for summer vacation. Like most inhabitants of this world, I look forward to the summer season and all it represents. Certainly, summer is not my favorite season (I prefer autumn, especially here on the east coast!), but how can one not love summer? Vacations, sundresses, lazy Saturdays in Central Park, cookouts, afternoons at the pool or the beach....and summer produce.

Oh mercy, I do love summer produce...the watermelon, berries, and peaches. It's a little early for true peach season right now, but they've started popping up at Trader Joe's. When I saw they were selling small crates of them for $3.49, I couldn't resist.
I mean, seriously, I've told you that peaches are my favorite fruit, right? Yep, definitely have. But the other great part about summer is the berries. Personally, strawberries are my favorite berry, but raspberries are great, too, and combined with the peaches, they make one heck of an oatmeal.

Peach Melba, according to Wikipedia, is a French dessert created in the 1890's in honor of an Australian opera singer named Nellie Melba (hence the name of the dessert). It puts peaches and a raspberry sauce over vanilla ice cream, but my version forgoes the ice cream and just celebrates the best parts: peaches and raspberries!

Peach Melba Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1 yellow peach
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I used Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice, or 1/8 tsp lemon extract
• pinch of salt
• raspberry-chia sauce (recipe below)

Instructions

1. Add liquid to saucepan over medium heat.
2. While you're waiting for your liquid to boil, slice and dice your peach (peeling is optional). The smaller your chunks are, the more evenly distributed the peach flavor will be and the easier your oatmeal will be to eat!
3. Once liquid comes to a boil, add oats and diced peaches and reduce heat to medium.
4. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt. Stir.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with raspberry-chia sauce and sliced almonds.

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*Alternatively, to save time, you could puree raspberries in a blender with a tbsp or two of water and splash of lemon juice.

Raspberry-Chia Sauce   (Adapted from my Berry-Ginger Sauce)

 Servings: 1

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup finely diced raspberries
2. 1/4 cup water
3. 1 tsp chia seeds
4. tiny splash of lemon juice or a bit of lemon zest
5. pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and cook over medium low. Stir consistently and keep an eye on it. If it's burning or getting stuck to the pan, turn down the heat. It should be simmering, NOT boiling. 
2. Allow it to cook and reduce for approximately ten minutes.
3. Remove from eat and allow to sit for a couple minutes. It should thicken up a little more.

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!