Winter is ... here! OATMEAL!
Winter is here, and that means it's time for steel-cut oatmeal. Since the last several times I've made it, everyone else has eaten my "planned-overs," this time I made a much bigger batch, 3x to be exact. Today's batch:
*12 c water
*3 c steel cut oats
*4-6oz of dried apricots, diced
*1 granny smith apple, diced
*2 small handfuls of dried blueberry-flavored cranberries (it's all we had)
*cinnamon (maybe 1-2 T?)
*ginger (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 t?)
*dried orange peel (1/2 t?)
*1/4 - 1/3 c sugar
Topped with:
*1/8 - 1/4 c ? toasted, salted pecans
*heavy cream
Boil water, add oats, stir. Add apricots early, as they were pretty old and very dry. When starting to really thicken up, add diced apples. Stir, and keep stirring periodically with a FLAT wooden implement to scrape the gunk off the bottom so it doesn't burn. In small bowl, mix sugar and spices to distribute (otherwise the cinnamon clumps up). Shake over the pan in 2-3 batches and stir each one in before doing the next. Keep cooking till the oats are thickened and "al dente," cooked through but still chewy. Cover and let sit to finish absorbing liquid.
Dish up the oatmeal and sprinkle with broken up pecans, and pour on the cream, enough to cover. The batch will actually be better tomorrow. :)
NOTES: Wait a bit longer to add both apricots and apples next time. Both were a bit softer than necessary. Could maybe use a bit more sweetening, and a touch of salt in the water. Could definitely be heavier on the spices for my taste. When I have apple juice, it's nice to substitute that for some of the water.
Om nom nom nom nom...
*12 c water
*3 c steel cut oats
*4-6oz of dried apricots, diced
*1 granny smith apple, diced
*2 small handfuls of dried blueberry-flavored cranberries (it's all we had)
*cinnamon (maybe 1-2 T?)
*ginger (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 t?)
*dried orange peel (1/2 t?)
*1/4 - 1/3 c sugar
Topped with:
*1/8 - 1/4 c ? toasted, salted pecans
*heavy cream
Boil water, add oats, stir. Add apricots early, as they were pretty old and very dry. When starting to really thicken up, add diced apples. Stir, and keep stirring periodically with a FLAT wooden implement to scrape the gunk off the bottom so it doesn't burn. In small bowl, mix sugar and spices to distribute (otherwise the cinnamon clumps up). Shake over the pan in 2-3 batches and stir each one in before doing the next. Keep cooking till the oats are thickened and "al dente," cooked through but still chewy. Cover and let sit to finish absorbing liquid.
Dish up the oatmeal and sprinkle with broken up pecans, and pour on the cream, enough to cover. The batch will actually be better tomorrow. :)
NOTES: Wait a bit longer to add both apricots and apples next time. Both were a bit softer than necessary. Could maybe use a bit more sweetening, and a touch of salt in the water. Could definitely be heavier on the spices for my taste. When I have apple juice, it's nice to substitute that for some of the water.
Om nom nom nom nom...