Spring X + oatmeal
8 April 2008 - New hickory canopy
More rain and thunderstorms here, but that means it's not too warm today, and when I get home it will be easier to enjoy curling up with a cup of tea and a stack of exams to grade.
I also enjoyed my oatmeal this morning and had been meaning to share the recipe. It's made overnight in a small crockpot, so when I wake up it's piping hot ready for me.
Crock Pot Oatmeal
- 1 cup steel-cut oats or "Irish oatmeal" (this is important - regular oatmeal oats will become a gellatinous paste; "thick oats" might do in a pinch)
- 2/3 cup raisins, more or less
- 1 banana, sliced
- 4 1/2 - 5 cups cold water
Set the crock pot on low and cook while you sleep. I find that 4-5 hours is plenty. If you sleep longer than that, you're going to get a burned skin on the sides of the crock pot, but it's okay, just don't scrape it into the rest of the oatmeal.
The original recipe my mom found used dates and dried apricots instead of the cheaper fruit I substituted. They're all really good. I eat mine with a bit of honey, but the fruit makes it nice and sweet anyway.
This recipe makes my breakfasts for four or five days. (I store the rest in the fridge and heat it up when I want it.) If you have a large crock pot and more mouths to feed, you could double the recipe.