I am not a breakfast person. There, I said it. I have no interest in eating breakfast, nor in making it for others, at least not on a daily basis. My ideal
breakfast is hot tea. My family, however, has other thoughts on the matter. This isn't strictly speaking a bento-type post, but in the bigger picture, it is. Because despite our best efforts, sometimes we have to make lunch AND breakfast in the morning, and sometimes the people we love don't want cold cereal.
How pleased I was, then, when I learned about making oatmeal in the slow cooker. Yes, I can start it at night when food still seems interesting and appealing. Plug it in before bed, and in the morning there is hot oatmeal all cooked, and I only have to think about assembling lunches. How delightful! Steel-cut oats hold up the best, or you can cook other grains instead like grits or polenta or cream of rice.
You can add the raisins and sweeteners and milk and such the night before, but of course, me being the contrary breakfast type, I prefer mine later in the morning with salt and olive oil. Or maybe cheese, like grits? To each his own. So we cook it with just a bit of butter and salt, then everyone adorns their own in the morning.
If you have a programmable rice cooker, that is even better: Since it can be set to cook a shorter time, you use less power and you can cook more fragile grains, such as regular rolled oats. Just set it up before bed, then eat it up in the morning. Yum!
This post begs the question, why don't you let just everyone make their own breakfast? If there's one thing I like less than making breakfast, it is banging around in the morning with three other people in the kitchen. There, I said that, too. This has been very therapeutic.
