Blackberry Thyme Oatmeal

Remember less than a week ago when I said that my rosemary plant was the only one still thriving?

Joke's on me! It's dead now.

Shortly after making the Grape Rosemary Oatmeal (which was delicious!), my rosemary plant went from green and robust to brown and brittle. I don't even know...

#FarmFreshOatmeal Update

Remember, the jam/applesauce giveaway will go to the Instagrammer who uploads the 50th #FarmFreshOatmeal post! I am happy to announce that we are over halfway there, and we need just ELEVEN MORE to reach 50 before next Friday!! As I said earlier, if we don't reach 50, I'll keep them for myself. ^_^

Here are some of my favorite uploads from the past couple of weeks.

First of all, I was super pleased to see that someone already made my Strawberry Pretzel Overnight Oatmeal...with farm fresh strawberries!

Lenore made use of her local peaches.

Grape Rosemary Oatmeal

Ugh, you guys... I suck so much at taking care of herbs.

I bought four different herbs from the farmers' market: basil, cilantro, thyme, and rosemary. The basil looked beautiful for nearly two weeks, and then it turned a sad yellow color. The thyme turned brittle after a few days. The tall bush of cilantro collapsed into a  yellow pile within hours. All three of them never fully recovered. I believe the basil and thyme improve a little bit every day, but the cilantro had to be removed from the pot and tossed. The only plant that still looks functional is the rosemary.

#FarmFreshOatmeal Giveaway!

It's happening slowly, but more and more of you are joining me in eating #FarmFreshOatmeal!

In case you missed it, I'm challenging my readers to buy something--anything--from their local farmers' market (or from their own garden) and use it in their morning oats!

Now, the response to this was slow, and I expected that. I am not even slightly discouraged. That slow response is, in fact, the whole reason why I feel this challenge is necessary. We are not utilizing these markets enough. We are relying too heavily on corporations and cookie-cutter supermarkets.

Last weekend, I was at the Union Square Green Market to buy produce for the recipe I intended to make that evening: ratatouille. I purchased locally-grown eggplant, two tomatoes, leeks, a bell pepper, a banana pepper, two zucchinis FOR UNDER TEN DOLLARS. That would have cost me double at Whole Foods.

Here are some more ways that my readers are enjoying #FarmFreshOatmeal!

Now, as promised in the title of this post, I am hosting a giveaway!

#FarmFreshOatmeal

Hello, happy people! Or unhappy people. I don't discriminate.

Like I mentioned last week, I'm digging farmer's markets lately. It's my new weekend hobby. I absolutely love living in Manhattan and having such easy access to so many markets. It's kind of like this:

Anyway, I have been using the farmer's market as inspiration for my oatmeal recipes. My list of recipe ideas is pretty much a mile long, and being the indecisive person that I am, it's a tad overwhelming to select which recipes to make that week. Using the ingredients that are available at the market alleviates the stress of that decision.