Oatmeal boils over because the starches in the oats thicken the cooking liquid into a gel that traps steam bubbles until they spill over. Tricks such as balancing a spoon across the pot don't really work, but a few simple fixes do, including avoiding high heat and using the right size of cooking vessel, whether you're cooking oatmeal on the stove or in the microwave. With these and a few other minor adjustments outlined below, your oatmeal will be creamy, your kitchen will be oat splatter–free, and your breakfast will be easy. Once the chill of fall sets in, I instinctively want to start my day with a steaming bowl of oatmeal laced with cinnamon and a drizzle of good maple syrup. It's wholesome, filling, endlessly customizable, and takes almost no effort to make. But as much as I love it, oatmeal often has a way of turning my fast-track morning routine into a sticky disaster.…