[shel]

During the cold early mornings of fall and winter, hot cereal, especially oatmeal, is a favorite breakfast here. Usually I keep it very simple. This morning I tried something new, adding about a tablespoon or so of heavy cream and a small pat of unsalted butter to water, and cooked the oatmeal in that mixture. It was very good and quite rich. So, how do you make your oatmeal?

Shel

[henry]

We buy steel cut oats in bulk from Wild Oats (McCann's in the can too expen$ive).

Soak them overnight with the water, and they cook in less than half the time.

As an addition, I like either blueberries or walnuts. And a bit of splenda.


h.

[siduri]

I found these english oats called Jordans porridge oats, and i boil them slowly with milk and salt. Then just either butter on top (salted) or a bit of dark brown sugar, and i pour a little cold milk on top because i don;t have the patience to wait till it cools.

[Harpua]

I buy steel cut and follow the directions on the canister. Sometimes I toast it first. I usually put soymilk, maple syrup, peanut butter and bananas in mine. And cinnamon and salt.

[phatch]

I struggle with hot grain cereals for breakfast. I can't eat much of them and so I quickly hunger again afterwards.

The best way for me to do oatmeal is as a muesli. Uncooked oatmeal, plain yogurt, fruit--fresh and dried, sweetener as needed (honey most often) perhaps some vanilla or similar extract. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to soften and blend flavors. If I need some warmth, I suppose that would be what Hot Chocolate is for.

Phil

[foodnfoto]

Phatch
I love muesli too. However, I make it a bit differently.
I use equal parts rolled oats, grated fresh apples and milk-then stir in a few spoonfuls of whole milk yogurt and let it chill overnight.
The next morning the oats are soft and the apples crisp and sweet.

[shroomgirl]

cooked in milk and water, oh and salt. topped with dk brown sugar.

[Mezzaluna]

I don't eat it any more, but I did for a long time. I used 1/2 cup regular Quaker long-cooking oats. Before cooking I added cinnamon (Penzey's Vietnamese), raisins and chopped walnuts. This mixture I put in a small microwave-safe bown, then topped it with just enough boiling water to barely cover the oats. Then I cooked it on high for 2 minutes (if I remember correctly- it wasn't long). I added milk and Splenda, stirred and enjoyed. I liked that the oats remained chewy. It tasted like a huge oatmeal raisin cookie!

[Ishbel]

I make porridge the traditional Scots' way:

Soak steelcut oats (I use oats from Alford Mill - probably the best Scots oat products) overnight.

In the morning I use 1 cup of the oats to 2 cups of water (my husband likes 1-1 water, milk) - with a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the oats become creamy.

Serve the traditional Scottish way: a wee drop of milk with a good sprinkle of salt - no sugar, no honey, no fruit, oats and nothing but the oats!

[Jayme]

Isn't that how you know it's autumn- you start craving comfort foods, warm foods??
I actually had oatmeal for breakfast this morning- I cook them in lightly salted water and during the last minute of cooking, I throw a handful of raisins or currents in, so they turn out plump. Top w/ cinnamon, a bit of brown sugar and perhaps a bit of half and half or milk for creaminess......yum!

[shel]

If you like bananas, which I do, get a nice ripe one (one with some black spots on it, no green at all), slice some of it thin some of it thicker, and add it to the oatmeal as it cooks, Depending on the type of oats you use, you may want to add the banana towards the end of cooking. I get some nice, organic, rolled "baby" oats that, while not instant, cook up pretty quickly, so I add the banana towards the beginning of the cooking process. The thin slices melt into the oatmeal adding a nice banana flavor throughout, and also adding sweetness so no additional sugar is needed (for my taste) and the larger pieces of banana add a nice texture to the bowl. I sometimes add a small pat of butter to the oatmeal, maybe some crushed walnuts.

Just fooling around one day, I added a fat tablespoon of Ben & Jerry's vanilla bean ice cream to a bowl of oatmeal. It was pretty good, adding vanilla, a bit of sugary-sweetness, amd a touch of creaminess to the bowl.

Ellie Krieger has a pretty nice oatmeal recipe:

Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

3 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped, optional
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, plus more, to taste
1 cup lowfat milk, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Stir in the oats and raisins, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, place nuts, if using, in a dry skillet over a medium-high flame, and toast, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set aside. When the oats are cooked remove pan from the flame and stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Swirl in the brown sugar and place the oatmeal in serving bowls. Pour 1/4 cup of milk on top of each bowl, and top with toasted nuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Note: For a quicker version using quick cooking or plain instant oatmeal: Cook the oatmeal according to the directions on the package. Stir raisins, brown sugar, and nutmeg into the cooked oatmeal. Top with milk, nuts (toasted or un-toasted) and cinnamon.

Shel (out of oatmeal this morning-bah!)

[MaryE]

Hi There,

I have two ways that I make oatmeal in the mornings.

First, I make OF oats in a crockpot overnight.

Combine in a small (1.5 quart) crockpot (for 2 servings):

½ tablespoon butter

80 grams Old Fashioned oats

622 grams (by weight) of water (approx 21.75 oz.)

½ tsp salt

Put on ‘warm’ setting and leave for for 8-9 hours. In the morning, add brown sugar, a little cream if you want, some chopped apples or maybe raisins, whatever. Very tasty and the texture is wonderful!

I also sometimes make a cold oatmeal dish, also overnight. Again, this is 2 servings:

1 cups quick rolled oats

½ cups apple juice

8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice

8-ounce container vanilla-flavored yogurt

Chopped fruit, chopped

Chopped apples, coarsely chopped

Brown sugar

In a medium-size bowl, combine the oats, apple juice, and crushed pineapple with its juice. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Stir in yogurt and fruit and top with brown sugar if desired.

Enjoy!

[chrose]

I myself like a lot of texture so I will make slow cooking oats with 2/3's of the oats to water. When it's about 2/3's done I will add the remaining oats and let it finish. When it's done I will add either a whole raw egg or just the egg white and stir it in letting the residual heat cook the egg. Then for me it's butter and a bit of salt. After that I can tackle anything! Especially a donut....mmmm....donut......

[Luc_H]

Like some have pointed out, I use slow cook rolled oats and cook with water with a pinch salt and dash of cinnamon. I make until it cooks up gooey and shiny (read later). I like to add some cream a little brown sugar and raisin (or currants). I use my spoon to make ribbons like a marble cake then eat. Adding banana slices is also good.

To get all the nutrients oats has to offer you must cook it until it becomes gooey because that is an indication an important fiber has been released. The beneficial fiber is called beta-glucan. The oat industry has convinced the FDA that oats reduces cholesterol etc. but the part that does that is beta-glucan and if the grain is added dry (like granola bars or dry cereal) your digestive system would not be able to pry the beneficial fiber out of the grain (only cooking does). It doesn't mean dry oats is not good but cooked oats is much better. The same thing applies to okra (gumbo should be gooey).
A way to fool the consumer that instant microwave flavoured oats are the same as slow cook oats, they add guar gum (look at the label) that instantly becomes gooey when added to water (almost looks like cooked slow oats) but the beneficial nutrients (like beta-glucan) does not develop in 1 min of microwave cooking.

Excerpt: Although beta-1 3 glucans occur in baker’s yeast, seaweed, grains such as oats and barley, and numerous mushrooms, they are not readily useable in their natural state. The indigestible cell walls of these substances must be processed in order to free up the beta-1, 3 glucans and make them available for useful purposes.
link: Beta-glucan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luc H

[nowIamone]

Dried Cranberries!!!