Foods I Live On Part 3: Quaker Oats Oat Meal, Cheese, and Upton Tea.

It’s time to raid the fridge again and tell you about my favorite foods (that’s Nonno Vincenzo on the right with one of his milk and cheese cows):

Old Fashioned Quaker Oats Oat Meal – I usually change from cold cereal to hot oat meal around this time of the year because there’s something nice about a warm breakfast in the morning (call me old fashion).  I add a combo of 1% milk and soy (the Silk brand is nice) milk (one cup in total) to a full cup of Oats and microwave on high in a large bowl for about three minutes (watch the bowl so it doesn’t overflow).  I usually add a bit of maple syrup or honey and then throw in some raisins or a roughly chopped banana.

Upton Tea – Again, because of the cooler season I usually have a cup of coffee in the morning and then as opposed to a second cup of Joe I reach for a nice cup of tea.  Now, tea should be consumed in a fresh manor (that is to say it should never be bought from a supermarket, what you’re basically getting at the Shoprite or A&P is ground up tea dust that has been sitting on the shelf for weeks).  Loose tea is the way to go and there’s no finer online tea shop than UptonTea.com.  UptonTea customer service is excellent and they offer a tremendous amount of loose teas for purchase, including my personal favorites: Bond Street English Breakfast, River Shannon Irish Breakfast. and Russian Caravan.  Also, don’t be intimidated by brewing loose tea (here’s a primer on how to do it ) and the only additional piece of equipment you will need to purchase is a strainer.  Try a freshly brewed cup of tea and you’ll never go back to Lipton bags!

Cheese – One could devote an entire blog to cheese, but I’ll just give you a taste of the types of cheeses I always like to have in my refrigerator: Sharp Italian Provolone (from Italy, not made in the US), Goat cheese (from a small domestic producer), Parmigano Reggiano (the king of cheeses and if you’re only going to keep one cheese this is the one to have), and French Feta (unless you’re Greek you probably won’t like all the salt in Greek Feta and the French style is a bit creamier as well).  I’ve missed a ton of excellent cheeses, but the aforementioned basics can help with sandwhiches, salads, pastas, sauces, and for presenting at a dinner party.

Part One and Two of the series!

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