Nothing is better on a cold winter’s morning than hot cereal, also referred to as porridge. Unfortunately, many of us were raised on stuff in wax paper packets to which one added boiling water and stirred. The result was a mushy, salty-sweet bowl of artificially-flavored goo. But you can do better! The investment, however, is time.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup steel-cut (AKA pinhead) oats
3 cups boiling water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp kosher salt
¾ cup whole milk
2 tbsp plain yogurt
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add oats and mix to coat. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow oats to toast for 2-3 minutes – they will begin to smell “nutty”.
Add hot water and salt, and stir. Mixture should boil almost instantly. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cover. Cook oats for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Whisk together milk and yogurt and stir into thickened oats. Return to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes more.
Spoon up into bowls and top with one or more of the following:
Maple sugar
Brown sugar
Toasted seeds or nuts
Honey
Dried fruit
Fruit preserves
PS: As long as you’re able to buy oats from a reputable supplier that certifies against cross-contamination, oatmeal is a GF food.
The food co-op seems to like eggplant this time of year. It keeps showing up, much like zucchini at the height of summer. This is a bit of a challenge, because to be honest it’s not a vegetable that I use a lot. Especially the big Italian aubergines. At least the little Asian ones can go into stir-fries pretty easily. The big guys… let’s just say that babaganoush, as tasty as it is, is getting old and I’m not a fan of frying it and covering it in cheese and tomato sauce.