Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

Senior week at Prattville High. There are events I am supposed to care about — the senior picnic, the awards assembly, the yearbook signing party where everyone writes "stay sweet" and "have a great summer" as if those words mean something. I went to the picnic because they gave us free hot dogs and I have never in my life turned down free food. The hot dogs were terrible. I ate two.

There's a thing that happens during senior week that nobody warns foster kids about: the parents show up. They show up for the awards assembly with cameras. They show up at the picnic with coolers full of drinks and homemade cookies. Mothers cry in the hallway outside the guidance office. Fathers clap too loud at the assembly. And I sit in the bleachers and watch all of it and feel the specific ache of almost-belonging — because Gloria and James are coming to graduation, they are, they'll be in the audience, they'll be the only people there for me, and that is enough. It is enough. I'm saying it until I believe it.

Wednesday night I made peach cobbler. Not because peaches are in season — they're not, I used canned — but because I needed to do something with my hands that wasn't packing. I've started putting things in boxes. Not because I'm moving yet, that's still months away, but because packing is what I know. I've packed more times than I can count. Garbage bags usually, not boxes. You learn to fit your whole life into a Hefty bag when you're six and someone says "we'll get the rest later" and there is no later and there is no rest. Now I fold things neatly. I use boxes. Small improvements.

The cobbler was good. Butter, sugar, flour, milk for the batter — you pour it in the pan, drop the peaches on top, and the batter rises up around the fruit while it bakes. It's simple. Gloria's version uses nutmeg, which shouldn't work but does, the way a lot of things Gloria does shouldn't work but do. I brought half the cobbler to school the next day and left it in the teachers' lounge with a note that said "From Savannah Clarke, who is graduating." I don't know why I wrote that. I think I just wanted to see my name next to the word.

One week left. Seven days. I'm counting again. But this time I'm counting toward something, not away from it. That's new. That's everything.

The cobbler was gone by Friday — half to the teachers’ lounge, the rest to Gloria and James when I stopped by Thursday evening and couldn’t show up empty-handed. But I still had a can of peaches on the counter and a week left of mornings to get through, so the next day I made this instead: peaches and cream oatmeal, slow and warm on the stovetop, the kind of breakfast that asks nothing of you except to stand still for ten minutes. It’s the same spirit as the cobbler — canned peaches, pantry staples, something that tastes like summer even when summer hasn’t arrived yet — and some mornings that’s exactly the recipe you need.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups whole milk (or milk of choice)
1 can (15 oz) sliced peaches in juice, drained and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Warm the milk. Pour the milk into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring it just to a gentle simmer — watch it so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.
Cook the oats. Stir in the oats and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–7 minutes until the oats are tender and the mixture has thickened to your liking.
Add the peaches and spices. Stir in the chopped peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Cook for 2 more minutes, until the peaches are warmed through and the sugar has dissolved into the oats.
Finish with cream. Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. The oatmeal will loosen slightly and turn a soft, pale gold. Taste and adjust sugar as needed.
Serve warm. Divide between two bowls. Top with an extra drizzle of cream, a pinch of cinnamon, or a few additional peach slices if you have them.

Nutrition (per serving)

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal — When Canned Fruit Is the Only Summer You Have Right Now