BREAKFAST! In honor of the many glorious mornings I've woken up with nine other Grinnellians on Alternative Break trips and started the day commensally around a camping stove, this week's recipe is dedicated to that deity of breakfast foods--oatmeal. It's super easy to prepare a bowl of awesome oatmeal in the dorms, especially if you're willing to shell out a few dollars for an investment in Tupperware-type containers and keep them stocked with your favorite mix-ins. Directions:

To make the oatmeal, just throw a half cup of rolled oats (none of this "quick-oats" crap) in a microwave-safe bowl with a half cup to 1 cup of water (depending on how soupy or thick you like your oatmeal) and microwave for about 2 minutes. (Microwave time will depend on the power of your microwave; you'll have to experiment a bit to find the ideal amount of time.) Once it's out of the microwave, add in some funky combinations of the suggestions below:

¥ Brown sugar, for the classic oatmeal marriage

¥ Cinnamon

¥ Raisins or dried cranberries

¥ Pecans or almonds

¥ Cloves

¥ Maple syrup (treat yourself to the real stuff, too)

¥ Sorghum (tastes a bit like molasses)

¥ Honey

¥ Fruit (apples, bananas, strawberries, whatever you like)

¥ Peanut butter (or almond butter)

¥ Sesame seeds

¥ Soymilk

¥ Yogurt

¥ Bee pollen (available at the Iowa City co-op)

¥ Instant coffee (no, I'm not kidding)

¥ Jam (raspberry, apricot, strawberry rhubarbÑ-go crazy!)

¥ Cream cheese (a little unconventional, but worth a shot with some sugar or syrup)