Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Steel Cut Oats


I am back … or almost all back. But where, I ask myself, have I been?

Our little clan has been reeling with illness the last three weeks. Okay not to whine, but maybe just a little … two weeks of horrible cold/virus left me with the farewell gifts of a sinus infection/ruptured ear drum. After finally knocking the infection we got THE MOST contagious 24-hour stomache flu ever (thank you day care:). So there I was two mornings ago, having not eaten for over 24-hours and all I could think about was how wonderful a bowl of good’ol steel cut oats sounded.

One of our favorite breakfast meals is steel cut oats – a bulk oat that takes longer to cook than rolled oats but boasts a creamier texture. When I was working and/or in school I would make a big batch of steel cut oats on Sunday night and we would reheat bowls in the microwave for a simple, fast and nutritious weekday breakfast. Another plus for the steel cut oat: it goes great with lots of additions (chocolate chips! – I am such a junkie). Despite this awesome convenience, they really are best the day-of, though you need to give yourself at least 45 minutes from starting the water to sitting down to eat.

I have had some good conversations with folks lately about ideas for how to be thrifty in the kitchen - a universal theme is cooking more with bulk grains. This is definitely an area of my cooking repertoire I am eager to expand upon and hope there will be many future posts sharing recipes and stories from the bulk grain arena. Please, let me know if you have any ideas or favorites to share!

Steel Cut Oats

Servings: 5
Cost: ~$1 (CHEAP!)
Time: 5 minutes active, 45 minutes total

6 cups water
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups steel-cut oats

Boil the water in a medium size soup or sauce pan. Add the salt and oats. Lower the heat and allow the oats to barely simmer … bubbling like the La Brea Tar Pits ... for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the oats are desired consistency.

1 comment:

Sorcha Cavanaugh said...

Mmm....one of our favorites! But, the big difference here is MILK. I soak the oaks in a bit of water (just enough to cover) and yogurt for several hours (to soften them a bit) and then I cook them on super low heat (forever) with all milk. MUCH creamer, MUCH tastier. I add a bit of maple syrup, raisins and cinnamon and we're in heaven. I make a huge pot on Sunday as well but it tastes better to heat it on the stove (you can add more milk at this time if it's too dry). Delicious!

Sorcha