Good Food Made Easier: Oatmeal

Recently my husband and I spent a few days in New York.  We ate breakfast at 3 Guys Restaurant on Madison near 76^th.  A big bowl of oatmeal with lots of strawberries and blueberries was $9 and kept me from being hungry through a long morning of museuming.  I thought this was a great deal, especially for New York, and it reminded me of how much I like oatmeal.

At home I have oatmeal for breakfast several days a week.  I especially like oatmeal made from steel-cut oats because it has a more substantial, chewy texture than rolled or instant.  When you buy it in bulk at the health food store, it is also cheap.  Unfortunately, it takes 30 minutes to cook, much too long in the morning.  So I’ve devised a system for speeding up the process.  About once a month, while I am fixing breakfast, I put a large pot on the stove and put in an even number of cups of water, filling it about 2/3 of the way.  I bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, and stir in half the number of cups of steel-cut oats.  Then I cover the pot and let it sit while I eat breakfast.

After an hour or so, the oatmeal has absorbed all the water.  I get out a bunch of square, plastic, storage containers, a roll of waxed or parchment paper, and a pair of scissors.  Using a measuring cup, I scoop out equal portions of cereal and put them in the containers, separated by squares of parchment paper so they look a bit like hamburgers.  I then store them in the refrigerator or freeze them for later use.  To use the oatmeal “patties” I put one in a sauce pan with a little water – usually I add some of the water I have just boiled to make my tea.  I heat up patty, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon and in a few minutes it turns back into oatmeal again.

Making Oatmeal