Stunning Spring Fruits

• Cherries and strawberries ripen in late spring in many areas. The sweet-tart taste of cherries is complemented by a scant handful of almonds added to the oatmeal. Strawberries burst with a bright, sunny flavor. Add these fruits to the oatmeal as it's cooking or afterward. Stir in a spoonful of strawberry jam for another layer of flavor. Apricots are a spring, as well as summer, fruit in many locales; they ripen from May to July. Dice apricots before adding them to the oatmeal.

Splendid Summer Fruits

• Summer is bountiful with fruits such as peaches, plums, blueberries and raspberries. Use firm-fleshed fruits rather than fruits with high water content, such as watermelon, which tend to turn to mush when heated. Chop larger fruits such as peaches and plums. Blueberries benefit from being crushed slightly before you add them to the oatmeal either during or after cooking. Raspberries are fine used whole. Crush a few to add a lovely red color to the oatmeal.

Fabulous Fall Fruits

• Fall is time for crisp apples, mellow pears and luscious grapes. The crunch of raw apples adds texture to the oatmeal. Pears mellow and sweeten this grain. Toss in the pears while the oatmeal is cooking, and then mash them into the cereal. You might not think of baking grapes, but it concentrates their sweetness. Bake the grapes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 to 20 minutes until a few of the grapes burst. Bake them the night before you plan on serving the oatmeal, and add the grapes right before serving. Garnish any of these fruit combinations with a grating of cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of crushed walnuts.

Winter and All Year Long

• When you live where there are cold winters, the selection of ripe fruits is limited if you only choose from those that grow in your geographic area. Broaden that choice with fruits that ripen in warm-winter areas, such as oranges, and tropical fruits, such as pineapple, bananas and mangoes. Before sectioning an orange to put in your oatmeal, take a moment and grate some of the zest into the cereal. As you zest the peel, it releases the heady fragrance of orange oil into the oatmeal. Remove any seeds from the orange sections and cut in half. Do the same thing with tangerines or ruby red grapefruit. Taste the grapefruit first; red is the sweetest variety, but it might need a little sweetening from honey or brown sugar. Bananas almost melt into oatmeal if you put the slices in when you add the oatmeal to the boiling water. Throw in a handful of grated coconut along with chopped mangoes and pineapple for a tropical flavor.