Foodblog Meltdown Aghhhhhhhh! Do-Over!
So if anybody’s been checking in here, you’ll notice my foodblog has been at a standstill. I’ll say I’ve been taking pictures, probably 80% of the time, but the problem is that I’ve been using way too many cameras (including my iPhone which is now at the bottom of the Russian River) and the whole uploading/cord management thing just GOT to me.
Too many cameras. And the more behind I got, the more chaotic it all felt. So I’m just going to try and do a catch-up of sorts here, a Highlights reel, and then I’m going to start again clean tomorrow morning. One thing I’ve learned is that when I’m on top of it, it’s easy – 3 to 6 photos per day. But once I fall behind, the whole thing just goes to hell in a handbasket.
So, in a nutshell: I continue to have coffee every day. This is one of my favorite mugs at the vacation house we stayed at on the river.
Then I’ve been doing a sort of random oatmeal taste test. You know I was obsessed with Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal, and I was on a mission to find a replica of this (or something as good) at home. There were several fails, or not-as-good-as.
Someone recommended the frozen hockey-puck steel cut oatmeal from Trader Joe’s.
frozen disc, in bowl
I had it with walnuts, strawberries & cream
The outcome? Nice texture, but too sweet. It’s already sweetened! Two points off. They don’t sell this plain. Boo.
I tried this “Weight Control” oatmeal which was HUGELY and ickily sweet. Thumbs down. Could not finish it.
Regular plain Quaker Oats
The plain (not 1-minute) Quaker Oats were pretty good but tasted tooooo plain. I put the craisins and pecans on it just like the fancy restaurant in Yellowstone. It wasn’t as good. What was wrong? Hmm.
Finally, the WINNER:
the winner!!!! RAW brand cereal
I definitely call this the winner. Beautiful interesting texture, easy to cook (in a biodegradable paper sack that also measures the perfect amount of water), not too plain but it doesn’t taste sweet either. It has the same nice undertaste as Starbucks, whatever that is (crack?). It has a lot of other grains other than oatmeal, including flaxseed and other good-for-you stuff.
Other highlights:
caramelized onion and tomato frittatta
fresh blackberries
Prosecco on the river
chicken mango sausage
taco truck tastings!
salmon & avocado salad
But the point of this blog is not to just show highlights, it’s to show Everything. So beginning tomorrow, I’m back on the wagon and you’ll see it all — good, bad, and ugly.
What Foodie Eats 
RIP iPhone 😦
I love that crack-oatmeal from starbucks too! At home I love making my baked oatmeal. I make a pan of it on Sunday and eat it all week. 🙂
Lots of yummy eats from the river trip! 🙂
Nice photos! I’d been checking your blog because I missed seeing your food every morning. 🙂 glad youre back!
Welcome back! But oh, man! Sorry to hear about your iPhone!
These are some gorgeous food photos! And I loved your oatmeal taste test. I’ll have to look into that Raw stuff. Loved that Prosecco on the river shot – what a gorgeous place!!!
It is hard keep up sometimes with the whole food blog. But it’s YOUR tool – don’t sweat it. Your strategy for continuing is something I’ll keep in mind for when I get behind on it: post a summary, and just pick up where I left off.
I find your oatmeal quest fascinating. Perhaps this is because I’ve never had the Starbucks kind and thus have no platonic ideal of oatmeal? I make it often, especially in the winter here. I just buy organic whole oats, let them soak for a little while while I’m doing other things and then cook with a bit of milk. Sometimes I eat it with raisins, sometimes banana, always some brown sugar (or maple syrup) and milk. I find it immensely satisfying and so easy–the measuring it out (1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup water/milk) takes 2 seconds, and the only thing I have to remember is to put it in to soak a little while before I want to eat it. So, a tiny bit of thought ahead of time, but otherwise, very little work. The soaking isn’t 100% necessary, but it cooks faster if it’s been soaked, and the texture is creamier. If you are going to continue your quest, I recommend it.
SOAKING! That could be the magic secret! Because yes I do want it creamier. The oatmeal I tend to love is one big creamy mush, and where you can’t see the individual oatmeal flakes swimming around in water. That tends to be a downer for me. LOL. I am going to try the soaking method! Although I am loving the many-grain blend (flaxseed, quinoa) in the Raw brand.
Poor iPhone 😦
have you tried steel cut oats? That stuff cooks up creamier than the rolled kind, in my opinion. I will cook up a batch and then just reheat in the microwave, sometimes helps to add some more water when reheating.
The RAW brand sounds interesting. I would like to say that many years ago I suggested to Kraft foods that they use their Easy Mac macaroni pouches as measuring cups for the water. But they don’t take random suggestions apparently. So I’m glad that someone is actually doing this!
I despise pre-sweetened oatmeal. I think that next week I am going to have to go to Starbucks and try their oatmeal.
I know what you mean about the creamy mush–that is usually how my oatmeal comes out, and it’s how I like it too. As an alternative to oatmeal, I sometimes get the Bob’s Red Mill grain mixes–there’s a 5 (or 7?) grain and a 12 grain, I believe. I usually cook them the same way I do oatmeal, even though the directions are different.