Flaky Oatmeal: Stir oats into briskly boiling salted water. Cook 1 minute for quick oats, stirring occasionally. Cook 5 minutes or longer for old fashioned oats. Cover pan, remove from heat and let stand a few minutes.

Creamy Oatmeal: Put oats, salt and cold water in pan. Bring to a boil. Cook as above.

Top each serving with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Toppings For Oatmeal: Top each serving with brown sugar, your favorite preserves, fresh, canned or thawed frozen peach slices, applesauce, semi-sweet chocolate pieces, marshmallows, dates, raisins, honey, maple-blended syrup or sliced bananas.

Fruit-Blended Oatmeal: Add 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates, chopped prunes, raisins, dried apricots or chopped apple to the water just before stirring in the oats. Cook as for Flaky or Creamy Oatmeal.

Reprinted with permission from The Quaker Oats Company Electronic format courtesy of Karen Mintzias