Never ever ate any kind of hot cereal as a child, wanted to like it in my 30’s, enjoyed it in my 40’s but wow…at 47 I have found the exact hot cereal (n my case steel cut oats) that I craved (and didn’t even know I was craving it!) I didn’t know that oats could be so nuanced with delicious flavors and so toothsome! Seriously. These oats are unlike the oats I’ve made for myself (every week) for the past year or so. I recently bought the book Whole-grain Mornings and Megan Gordon (the author) really opened my eyes. I looked forward to my morning bowl, but now, I can’t wait. Please don’t be
turned off by the tad of butter and the extra step of toasting your oats because it is WELL WORTH IT. Really. The result is super scrumptious. My breakfast feels decadent. This 
recipe is enough for 6 days. Each morning I cut a serving, add a little water and heat – I then add my fruits, nuts or raisins and top it off with a sweetener and then add some cold home-made almond milk (you don’t have to use almond milk) and wow…feels like hmmm….happiness. A great way to start every day! My mom loved it too while visiting and I think I may have finally turned her into a breakfast eater.
steel cut oats (from Whole-grain Mornings by Megan Gordon):
1 cup steel cut oats
1-3 teaspoons unsalted butter (I use 2)
3 1/4 cups water
1 cup low fat milk (the recipes calls for whole milk which I bet is delicious, 2% might be a good alternative)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1-3 teaspoons sugar (optional) (I use a sweetener at the time I eat it)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
cinnamon (optional)
brown sugar, honey, syrup, heavy cream, almond milk, milk, raisins, fruits (optional all for serving)
I use almond milk, monk fruit sugar, and sliced bananas and nectarines or berries (in winter diced apples and cinnamon)
In a heavy bottomed skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the oats and stir and gently toss in the pan until fragrant and darken in color. See above photo. This will take 5-6 minutes.
While toasting, bring the water, milk, sugar and salt to a low simmer over medium heat. Add the oats (be a little careful here since the ingredients all seem to puff up). Bring to a slow boil, partially cover – and decrease heat to low and cook until it has thickened (25-30m) and the oats have softened. Stir occasionally while cooking – but especially towards the end so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
The porridge will look loose at the this point – but it will continue to soak up additional liquid so don’t worry.
Add vanilla. If using raisins – stir in and cover. Let sit (covered for 5 m).
At this point you can scoop into bowls and serve with all of the above optional ingredients or some of the above.
Since I am the only person eating this in my house, I pour the oatmeal into a container. Each day I take some (it is kind of a solid mass at this point once refrigerated overnight) and place in a bowl with a little bit of water (to loosen it up). I heat at a medium power for 3 m in the microwave – and end with a 30 sec full blast heat. (I like it really really hot). I add my cut up fruits – lately nectarines and banana, then my monk fruit sugar (a sweetener) and top it off with my cold almond milk and yum. Seriously yum!! Yum! Enjoy –
