So Edible is a monthly feature with recipes and cooking tips to inspire eating fresh home-made food.
A beautiful bowl of oats for breakfast is something to behold, especially since it can be a rare find. Living in this era of convenience foods, the advent of the grab-and-go cereal bar has even alleviated the hassle of dealing with milk, bowl, and spoon for cold cereal. So the idea of cooking oats from scratch might seem downright ludicrous to some.
Cranberry Pecan Cinnamon Steel-cut Oats
Convenience foods are fast and easy, but what happened to good? I’m not talking about good for you in the sense of calories, fiber, sodium or the presence of the latest health demon, high fructose corn syrup. I’m talking about actually tasting good; tasting so good that your attention is fully captured by what you are eating.
Steel-cut oats
Worlds away from the dreadfully common gloppy bowl of oatmeal, slow cooked steel-cut oats are delightful and satisfying in an attention-captivating sort of way. It’s the remarkable texture of individual oat grains that seem to pop in your mouth with every chew that make it so standout-good. Of course all this goodness comes at a price. The exquisite texture of properly cooked steel-cut oats is the reward for 45 minutes of gentle simmering. A hefty price in this fast-paced world. It’s an investment I made regularly because I love a great bowl of oats that much. Then a visit to my parents rocked my oat-devoted world. I was served a wonderful bowl of steel-cut oats, but there was no long slow cooking investment to pay. How did they do this? This glorious slow food that demands patients before reward can be quick and convenient? Not as quick and convenient as pouring a bowl of Cheerio’s, I grant you, but quick enough to make it a reasonable way to start any morning, even a busy morning.
Apricot Almond Cardamom and Honey Steel-cut Oats
A gorgeous bowl of toothsome steel-cut oats can be yours in ten minutes as long as you plan ahead. By soaking the oats overnight, a brief ten minute simmer is all that’s needed. The ten minutes of simmering time can be used wisely since the oats require very little attention; run around and locate your keys, find your shoes, pack your lunch, load your briefcase, get all the last minute morning crazy stuff done, and then sit down and enjoy a steaming hot bowl of oats. If you are feeling fancy dig through your pantry and find some tasty toppings. Cranberries and pecans with cinnamon and brown sugar, apricots and almonds with cardamom and a drizzle of honey, fresh bananas brown sugar with a touch of ground clove, or go for the classic raisins with cinnamon and brown sugar. Of course there is nothing wrong with simply a splash of milk and a little sugar.
A bowl of steel-cut oats not only fills your belly and fuels you for the day, but it satisfies in a deep and meaningful way. Maybe because it’s warm and comforting, or because it’s a healthy whole grain, or maybe it’s the act of cooking that brings such satisfaction.
Fresh Banana Brown Sugar and Clove Steel-cut Oats
Are you thinking this is too much to pull off? Try it on your day off. Saturday night before you go to bed place a cup of steel-cut oats in a pan with cold water and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat (very important!), cover the pan and go to bed. In the morning, stir in ½ teaspoon of salt and bring it back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. One cup of oats will make 3 nice servings, so you can eat one Sunday morning and portion out the other two into microwave safe bowls, cover and refrigerate. Monday and Tuesday morning you’ll have a spectacular bowl of oats with just a 90 second zap in the microwave. If you are feeding more than just yourself you can easily double the recipe.
Steel-cut oats
Steel-cut oats can be found in most grocery stores. The best place to buy them is in the bulk bins section where four cups will run you only about two dollars. If your store doesn’t sell bulk products look in the baking aisle for the Bob’s Red Mill line of grains and flours or in the cereal aisle for Bob’s or tins of Scottish oats. The only difference between steel-cut oats and rolled oats is the way the oat grain is processed. For steel-cut oats, the whole oat grain is cut into pieces creating little oat nuggets, which is the key to the remarkable texture once cooked. Rolled oats are made by rolling the whole oat grain into a flat flake. The quicker cooking styles of oat flakes are simply processed into smaller and thinner pieces so they cook quicker. Instant oats are made from pre-cooked steel-cut oats that are then rolled flat.
Makes 3 servings
1 cup steel-cut oats
4 cups water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Toppings such as milk, sugar, dried fruit and nuts as desired
Put the steel-cut oats and 4 cups of water in a medium-sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and leave to soak overnight. The next morning, stir in ½ teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen.
I hope you give this a try, and please share your favorite way to top your bowl of oats.
Carol Peterman
Carol writes the blog feature, So Edible, a monthly post with recipes and cooking tips to inspire eating fresh homemade food. Carol is the owner of TableFare, a company developing unique kitchen products that combine the best of form and function to create superior usability and beauty. As a passionate cook obsessed with spices, she loves to inspire others to cook and share their food experiences. She writes the blog mix, mix...stir, stir on TableFare.com, teaches cooking classes to low-income families as a volunteer with Operation Frontline, and is always ready for a food adventure. Connect with Carol onTwitter @TableFare and Facebook.
* This post is from a Girl Power Hour featured blogger. It is not written, edited or endorsed by Girl Power Hour. The authors are solely responsible for content.
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Minh-Hai
02.25.2011
Beautiful photos, Carol! Looking forward to sharing this easy idea w/ my clients – and trying it myself.
Carol Peterman
02.26.2011
Minh-Hai, Thanks, I hope you get your clients hooked on making Steel-cut oats regularly.