Of Oatmeal, Balsamic Vinegar, and Birdsbeak Paring knives

Today it was a day for oatmeal. Now, in this household, every day is a day for oatmeal... but today was a special day, for strawberries were $1 per box in our neighborhood, and it was time to stock up, so here were the results for breakfast.

This was steelcut oats, made with almond milk, some raisins, an shredded apple, loads of cinnamon (mixture of ceylon  and cassia cinnamon), topped with strawberries and some balsamic glazé.

Somehow that makes it seem like spring has sprung, but actually today it was colder outside. Still, no reason not to celebrate an early spring inside...

Meanwhile, also a good opportunity to research more on the health benefits of balsamic vinegar, here from articles on Healthline and New Health Guide:

• Lowers cholesterol
• Supports weightloss
• Improves circulation
• Anti-glycemic, diabetes-friendly
• Reduces hypertension
• Improves skin 
• Anti-oxidant
• Helps fight cancer
• Lowers Heart-attack risk
• Pain reliever
• Helps digestion
• Good for bone-health

The bottom line is balsamic vinegar is healthy as all get-out and in the case of oatmeal it is a great way to add some rich flavor, and avoiding sugar. One of the core tenets of #WFPB is no ADDED Sugar, Oil, or Salt.

In short, besides the great taste of balsamic to top off your oatmeal, you can use it in salad dressings, I spice up my kale snacks, (sometimes I combine them with some sweet potato, which is fantastic with balsamic). Lastly, it is a great preservative, which is one reason I like to take a reverse doggie-bag of kale with sweet potato with balsamic when I have to eat at restaurants I don't trust.

Some good videos:

and more:

and even more:

And, for good measure, yet one more:

And again:

In short, oatmeal is the breakfast of champions.

Use Case for a Bird's Beak Paring Knife

Cutting the crowns out of strawberries and slicing them in this case in 1/8th wedges is perfect work for a bird's beak paring knife. Along the way, if there are any bruises, you can cut them out precisely with the fine tip of a bird's beak paring knife.

MAC Knife Chef Series 2-1/2" Bird's Beak Paring Knife (PK-25)

As usual, MAC knives are superbly sharp and retain their edges for a long time. Some stubbornly call the bird's beak paring knife a "turning knife," based on the tourné-cut in French cuisine. I never do any tourné cuts, but I have plenty of little jobs where a bird's beak paring knife is just what the doctor ordered, and prepping these strawberries was just one of the many.

On Oatmeal

Key Foods on Unionport recently has offered steel cut oats from Quaker Oats, on occasion they may also have Bob's Red Mill.