| Ever since I turned my family on to steel cut | | | | Steel cut oats are available in most |
| oats, they can't get enough of them. This | | | | supermarkets, sold in cans or packages. The |
| includes one child who always made faces | | | | two whole-foods type markets in my community |
| whenever I tried to serve him regular oatmeal | | | | also sell steel cut oats from their bulk |
| made from rolled oats. | | | | bins, which saves a little money over the |
| | | | pre-packaged ones. |
| A steaming bowl of steel cut oatmeal, served | | | | |
| with raisins or fresh fruit such as | | | | The basic recipe for steel cut oats is to |
| blueberries or strawberries, makes a hearty | | | | bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a |
| breakfast any day of the week. Steel cut oats | | | | saucepan, slowly stir in the oats and heat on |
| are especially welcome on a cold, rainy day. | | | | high until the oatmeal begins to thicken |
| For me, there's nothing better at such a time | | | | (about 4 to 6 minutes). Then reduce the heat, |
| than curling up with a good book and my | | | | cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for |
| oatmeal while listening to the rain drip and | | | | about half an hour. Serve with the |
| splatter against the windows. | | | | aforementioned fresh fruit, or add a little |
| | | | milk, honey or brown sugar. It's all good! |
| Steel cut oats are the inner part of the oat | | | | |
| grain, known as the groat. The groats are cut | | | | If you want to reduce the preparation time |
| in two or three pieces in such a way as to | | | | for those busy mornings when everyone is |
| enhance the naturally nutty flavor. They are | | | | trying to get out the door, here's a way to |
| golden-colored and shaped roughly like small | | | | do it. The night before, boil 4 cups of water |
| grains of rice. Some other names for them are | | | | in a saucepan or pot. Turn off the heat, stir |
| Irish oats, Scotch oats, coarse cut oats, and | | | | in a cup of oats, cover the pan or pot, and |
| pinhead oats. | | | | let sit overnight. In the morning you'll just |
| | | | need to cook the oatmeal over low heat for 10 |
| Besides being deliciously chewy, steel cut | | | | minutes or so. |
| oats are highly nutritious. They're | | | | |
| especially high in the B vitamins. They also | | | | Yes, if you really must, you can microwave |
| provide protein, calcium and fiber to your | | | | steel cut oats. The consistency will be |
| diet. An interesting fact about oatmeal is | | | | noticeably different, but many people prefer |
| that it is the only food with naturally | | | | it cooked this way. Try it and decide for |
| occurring GLA, or gamma linolenic acid. GLA | | | | yourself. |
| is an essential fatty acid. | | | | |
| | | | This microwaving method works pretty well: |
| The one drawback to steel cut oats, and it's | | | | Mix a half cup of oats with 2 cups of water |
| a minor one in my opinion, is that they | | | | in a large bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with |
| require a longer cooking time than regular | | | | plastic wrap. Place in the microwave and zap |
| oatmeal. I rather like this aspect of them. | | | | for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the |
| It means that to enjoy them, you have to slow | | | | microwave, stir the oatmeal, then return and |
| down and step out of the hurry-hurry modern | | | | zap it for another 4 to 6 minutes. Due to the |
| world for a while. And what's wrong with | | | | variances in microwave power, you may need to |
| being forced to take such a break now and | | | | experiment to find the right cooking times |
| then? | | | | for your particular oven. |
| | | | |