Hate Oatmeal? Time To Take Another Look

[Isa]

Hate Oatmeal? Time To Take Another Look
Pam Smith O'Hara, The Complete Vegetarian

I used to hate oatmeal. Sticky, slimy and clumpy, it was just too gross to choke down. When I saw the big, round box with the black-hatted Quaker oat man on my mom's kitchen counter, I'd cringe. I'd load my bowl up with brown sugar and drown it in milk.

No more. I don't know if I've been snookered by television commercials touting the huge nutritional benefits of oatmeal for women or if my tastes have changed, but I find myself eating lots of oatmeal lately.

The advertising is true. It is good for you. Low in fat, high in fiber, oats are sodium-free, cholesterol-free and a great source of complex carbohydrates. They also contain more protein than any other major grain.

You don't have to eat just a basic bowl of oatmeal. Heap it high with fresh berries and bananas. Cook it with dried cranberries, top it with vanilla yogurt and walnuts or stir in orange marmalade or juice while cooking. But if you think, like I did, that a bowl of gooey gruel is just too gruesome, you can still get the benefits of oats. Try oat scones, muffins, muesli, granola or bread. Or use them in cookies or to top an apple crisp.

As Eloise, the title character of Kay Thompson's beloved children's story, says: ``You have to eat oatmeal or you'll dry up.''

Overnight Pineapple Oats

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 (8-ounce) can unsweetened crushed pineapple
1 ½ cups rice or soy milk
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 ripe bananas, sliced
¼ cup chopped toasted nuts

In a glass or plastic bowl, combine the oats, pineapple, rice milk, cardamom and salt. Stir well, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, stir in the banana. Divide among four bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon nuts. Makes 4 servings.

Source: Short Cut Vegetarian by Lorna Sass (Quill, $16).

Per serving: 346 calories (25 percent from fat), 9.7 g fat (1.5 g saturated,4.1 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 11.7 g protein, 56.6 g carbohydrates, 8.5 g fiber, 87 mg sodium.

Oven Apple Oats

3 ½ cups 2 percent or whole milk
1 cup Irish (steel-cut) oats
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 to 1 ½ cups peeled and diced apples
2/3 cup currants or raisins, or less to taste
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, heat the milk on medium heat until very hot but not quite boiling; stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Stir in the oats, maple syrup, nutmeg and apples. Continue to cook for several minutes, just until the mixture boils. Remove from the heat; stir in the currants and salt.

Spoon the oatmeal mixture into a 1 ½ quart casserole dish, cover, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed and the oatmeal is creamy; it will puff up slightly when finished. Stir well just before dishing it up, and eat while piping hot. Makes 4 servings.

Source: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics by The Moosewood Collective (Clarkson Potter, $25.95).

Per serving: 378 calories (17 percent from fat), 7.2 g fat (3.1 g saturated, 2.1 g monounsaturated), 16 mg cholesterol, 14.6 g protein, 67.8 g carbohydrates, 6.9 g fiber, 401 mg sodium.

The Miami Herald

[Jock]

I'm Scottish and I love oatmeal. I was raised on it with none of the fancy toppings to take away the pure taste.
But that was then and this is now and now I like to add different dried or fresh friuts, spices and whatever else takes my fancy.
Maybe that's because here we eat instant (or almost instant) rolled oats. What we used to eat at home is a stone or steel ground oatmeal that was cooked like polenta - stirred for half an hour. I'm not so sure that would lend itself too well to the additions we are talking about. But since I can't get it here, I'll never know.

Jock

[kokopuffs]

Somewhere in America is located an "oat" mill that produces oatmeal either using the "steel cut" method or stone ground method. They have an internet site whose name I forgot.

Okay, I'm back from the net. Go to GOOGLE.COM and enter the words: STEEL CUT OATS. Enjoy and pls let us know what you find.

[Svadhisthana]

I have found a steel cut (or pinhead) oatmeal available at the grocery store. The brand is "Bob's Red Mill" they have steel cut oats, various non wheat flours, hot cereals(my personal favorite being "right stuff"), flax seeds, and various grains. The website is www.bobsredmill.com and the mailing address is:
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods Inc.
5209 S.E. International Way
Milwaukie, OR 97222

[Risa]

Isa: Have you tried the Oatmeal Stout Cake in In the Sweet Kitchen? It's delicious. I used the Irish Oatmeal in a white box with green lettering. I brought it into work last week and I got several requests for the recipe with a couple of ladies getting a little upset at me because I forgot to bring the recipe on Monday.

[Isa]

I haven't tried it Risa but now I will. Right after I do the sweet risotto that Shroom recommanded.


I did make the chocolate marquise today. I'll let you know how it turns out...

[Jock]

Thanks Kokopuffs, I checked out a couple of those sites.
I don't have access to the "Bob's Red Mill" product. I can get McCann's Irish oatmeal but it's not quite the same. Good, but not the same.


Jc

[Terri]

I'm not particularly crazy about the mush either, but I need my oatmeal in some form daily to keep my milk supply up (I'm breatfeeding my baby). My favorite form is, of course, the cookie variation since all I need to do is sneak one instead of putting on some water to boil.