Helluuur! How's it going??? Since we last spoke, I feel like I've racked up a whole bunch of young person culture points. 2 weekends ago I flew back home to Cleveland to watch Hamilton. I was never a huge Hamilton fan before... now. My brother on the other hand is a HUGE fan. Like knows all the lyrics to every single song and all the historical references type of mega fan. So his enthusiasm for the musical definitely rubbed off on me in the days leading up to the big show! It was obviously amazing. I loved every single minute of it. I can listen to Helpless over and over and over again. Have you listened to the Ashanti and JaRule version from the Hamilton Mixtape?! SO GOOD. Now that I've seen it, all the songs makes so much more sense lol and now I find myself listening to it while I'm working late on deadlines at work. So enjoyable! 

I also watched Crazy Rich Asians! OMG AMAZING. It's great if you love a good romantic comedy and value Asian representation in Hollywood. Reuben and I watched it at an asian theater full of other asian people. There were a bunch of asian beauty pageant queens and businessmen at our showing for some reason. It was the most magical thing! The overall experience, not the queens and businessmen. The energy in the theater was so crazy. You could feel how excited and happy everyone was to finally see a film full of people who looked like them that weren't material artists. I laughed a lot, cried a ton, and smiled practically the whole time. I think I'm going to see it again this week! I can't wait! Please go see it if you've haven't yet!

Back on the couch front, Reuben and I are watching Freaks and Geeks. It's so painfully embarrassing, I love it. So pretty much I've been watching a lot of things that make me feel current and finally up to date with pop culture references. A lot of times, I feel like a grandma because I don't watch the Bachelor, see all the popular Broadway musicals (they're so expensive in SF!), or have a twitter. 99.9% of the time I'm okay with feeling like a grandma because that means I get to go to bed early, drink tea, and eat oatmeal. ALL things that I love deeply.

I had one of the best oatmeals of my life when I was in Cincinnati last summer at Cheapside Cafe. It was a Creme Brulee Oatmeal. Ahhhh, it was so simple and decadent. I remember thinking to myself that this is how oatmeal should always be eaten. In order to keep this breakfast still on the healthyish side, I'm voiding making an actual custard for the creme brulee. To compensate for the lack of decadent custard, I slowly simmered the oats in water and milk until they broke down into a super creamy texture. I finished off the oatmeal with a splash of heavy cream and a brown sugar topping for that extra treat-cho-self touch. I highly recommend you brulee your oatmeal on a daily basis. It makes Tuesdays feel A LOT less like a Tuesday.

Brûléed Brown Sugar Oatmeal

serves 4

materials:

1 cup rolled oats
3 cups water
1 cup milk
2 tbsp brown sugar + more for topping
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
seasonal fruit for topping

steps:

1. Bring water and milk to a gentle boil in a medium pot. Stir in oats and reduce the heat so that the oats are simmering. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oatmeal is thick and creamy.

2. Add salt and brown sugar, stir and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in heavy cream. Allow the oatmeal to cool for 5 minutes.

3. Place oatmeal into a heat proof bowl of ramekin. Sprinkle the top with 1-2 tsp of brown sugar. Use a kitchen torch to carefully brulee the brown sugar. 

4. Top with your favorite seasonal fruit or eat plain!