[Sca-cooks] Speaking of Oats (was RE: steel cut oats - was haggis OOP)

[Celia des Archier]

> 1 cup McCann's Steel Cut Oats (available at Publix)

Since we're on the subject...  I’ve been taping the “Good Eats” lately (I
don’t really enjoy the Alton Brown characters that make him so popular
 but
I *love* the food science and information he shares), and I have just
discovered that I’ve never really had oatmeal before!  I grew up on instant
oatmeal and quick oats
 occasionally had “Old Fashioned Oats” as a treat and
pretty much buy those now that you can make them in the microwave (3 minutes
makes perfect “old fashioned oats”), but I’d never had “steel cut” or
“pinhead” oats.  

After recently learning the drastic difference in the health benefits
between steel cut oats and rolled oats, I finally bit the bullet and bought
some McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal ™.  When I got them home I found that
it would take more than *1/2 hour* to cook them, so I experimented to see if
they could be cooked in the microwave 
 and found out that idea was
disastrously hopeless!  Luckily Alton Brown recently had a show on oats, so
I turned to “Good Eats” for guidance in the science of cooking *real* oats.
And was very glad that I did.  He had a recipe for crock pot oatmeal
 an
idea I’d heard of but never tried.  I had all the ingredients (substituting
a different dried fruit for what he had used), and it came out so
marvelously, I don’t think I’ll ever eat rolled oats as a hot cereal again –
at least not given a choice! 

 Here’s the recipe (from the show
 the web site has different quantities for
the ingredients and I used those from the show):

1 c. pinhead (steel cut) oats
4 c. water
1 c. cream
1 c. dried cranberries (I used raisins)
½ c. dried figs (I used diced mixed fruit, which I happened to have left
over from another recipe)

Combine all in a crock pot and cook on low overnight.  The oatmeal will be
ready when you wake up in the morning. 

This was *awesome*!  There was actually enough sugar in it from the dried
fruit that it didn’t really need more sugar, but if you like your oatmeal
sweet you could add some brown sugar or maple syrup (I add Splenda).  I did
add milk, mostly out of habit, as it didn’t really need it because of the
cream.

I’m going to play with this recipe a bit to see if I can make it more
diabetic friendly so that I can share it with my Mom.  I think I’ll go back
to the dried cranberries and get some from Henry’s that don’t have sugar and
then maybe substitute blueberries for the figs, as those are both low GI/GL
fruits, are high in antioxidants and have a good reputation for minimal
blood sugar impact.  I also think I’m going to add cinnamon, something I
normally do but didn’t in this instance, as it also has been reported to
have a good impact on blood glucose levels.

I’ve since learned that steel oats _can_ actually be micro-waved
 you just
have to soak them overnight first, and that you can also cook them in a rice
steamer overnight as well (I actually wondered about that, but didn’t want
to try because mine is the “fuzzy logic” pressure controlled type, but I’ve
since found a poster who says that’s how he cooks his.)  I’m also thinking
about trying whole oats (which are even less processed than steel cut oats),
which are described as ‘very nutty” and “a good replacement for cous cous as
a side dish”, so I think I’m going to try that next. 

Anyway, since we were talking about oats, just thought I’d share.  Hmmm...
and although the preparation is not period, aren't oats period?  

Cat