Cooking, fail book, not fail book

[thistle_chaser]

Cooking success! I made apple cinnamon steel-cut oatmeal in the crock pot and it came out REALLY well. I used this recipe almost to the letter. When it was done, I added some raisins and a small drizzle of real maple syrup that had been gifted to me over Christmas and I was saving for something special. It tasted amazing. Easily the best oatmeal I

Comments

[tersa]

The problem I've encountered with crockpot oatmeal in the past is that modern crockpots run too hot. Even on low, you get what it sounds like you encountered, which is overcooked oatmeal stuck to the sides. The cooking spray would not have helped you there.

The way I got around it is probably more work than you want to put into it, but it was to invest in one of those timers you can buy to control your lights going on and off at particular times to thwart burglars or whatever. I found one that you could set in half hour increments, and I would do something like 1 hour on, half hour off and let residual heat carry it over during those 30 minutes. It was successful about 98% of the time, no burnt on/stuck on oatmeal, and it was fully cooked and hot when I got up in the morning.

[isyris]

Ooh, that's a smart idea, I'm going to have to try that!

@ thistle -- I've also seen some techniques for cooking steelcut oats on the stovetop where you bring them to a boil, turn the heat off, and let them sit overnight (leave the lid on etc). Something like that, anyway! I'm glad your oatmeal turned out so tasty. :)

[thistle_chaser]

I saw that too! I'd be a little worried about bacteria or something growing in it, if I left it out (and not cooking) all night. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I get sick with stomach issues so often, I try to be as safe about it as possible.

With a liner, the crock pot is no problem at all! (Other than that sticking issue...)

[bastets_place]

Regarding the timer - you may have luck finding something over with the fish tanks/garden supply stuff at an inexpensive place. I have seen the price for the exact same product, with different labelling and different stated purposes cost dramatically different amounts.

[resonant]

Oooh - you like real maple syrup? Want me to bring you some Canadian syrup the next time I'm down your way to visit friends?

I'll probably fly into San Francisco to visit friends, and take the Amtrak train southwards to visit other friends in San Bernardino. If I stop off at a station near you (take the Coast Starlight train to Salinas?), I could give you some bottles.

Or, for variety, have you tried maple sugar or maple butter before? Would you be interested in trying birch syrup?

[thistle_chaser]

Oh thanks for the offer! I'd love to take you up on it, but I'm supposed to be avoiding sugar (diabetic), so my little Christmas bottle is going to be stretched out to cover as much of the year as I can, then I'll do without. Thanks so much though!

[thistle_chaser]

Only an hour? Huh! That could work, too!

And yeah. It was only last year when I finally convinced myself not to force myself to finish reading a book I wasn't enjoying... so suddenly I had to figure out what to do when that happened. (I'm really happy I did, too. My reading time is too short to waste it on something I'm not enjoying.)

Woo! I hope you're able to find a hard copy! It's not the most exciting book ever (I'm kind of feeling the lack of a plot in it), but it is interesting and cool.

[spike7451]

steel-cut oatmeal

... what is that, we only have everyday, ordinary rolled oats here.

I've never thought of making porridge, as we call it, in my slow cooker. Mine is a teflon insert, so it can go on the stove top for browning ingredients, so I wonder if it would stick. I might have to give it a try.

[voidmagus]

Even if it does stick, just fill with water and turn it on. half a day and everything inside should clean off easily. This is the same method I use for cleaning my roasting pans, and is very close to the method of turning fond into sauce (which requires less time, more scraping).

Water is the universal solvent. It dissolves nearly everything, especially given time and heat (or agitation).

FWIW, if you're watching cholesterol (like my wife), you can sub Apple Butter for the butter. Adds more apple/cinnamon flavor, adds creaminess, doesn't add bad stuff my wife is trying to avoid.

[spike7451]

Soaking can sometimes work wonders. Once I burnt jam and had to soak the pot for four days! :)

Thanks for the advice on the cholesterol, I am watching mine.

[thistle_chaser]

They're a less processed (so better for you) version of rolled oats. From the wiki page:

"Steel-cut oats take longer to cook than instant or rolled oats due to their minimal processing, typically 15-30 minutes (though much less if pre-soaked). The flavor of the cooked oats is described as being nuttier than other types of oats, and they are also chewier."