In my neverending quest to make this journey more interesting, I tried my first attempt at Steel Cut Oatmeal today. I actually bought it last week, but I had read about how much time it takes to prepare, so I didn't get to do it until today.

I opened the can (oatmeal in a can???) and was taken aback by the odd apprearance of the cereal. Nuggets. O-kayyyyyy...

Keeping an open mind, I did as the package instructed. Poured 1 cup of these strange-looking granules into a large pot containing 4 cups of fast-boiling water (the pot holds at least 8 cups, maybe 10). Stirred as it thickened up a bit. Lowered the flame to its absolute lowest setting and covered the pot. According to the instructions, I should let it simmer for 30 minutes, coming back to stir "occasionally".

I set my timer for 10 minutes and went upstairs.

Came back in 10 minutes to find an absolute MESS. The oats had bubbled up and over and slid down the sides of the pot and made a slimy, oaty spreading puddle all over the stove. Grrrrrrr!!!

I stirred up what was left in the pot (some was oaty, some was slimy -- I mixed it all together) and turned off the flame. I let it sit like that. Not a happy person.

After about another hour, I came back and stirred it some more. It looked as if it might be an edible consistancy so I decided to give it a try, because even though I was somewhat seething abut the mess, I was still wanting to give it a fair trial before rendering my verdict.

Plus, I was hungry! Hadn't had breakfast because I wanted to save myself for this new food.

Placed some in a bowl, added a bit of butter, sweetener and cinnamon and tasted...

Oh. My. Goodness... all was forgiven! The stuff is grrrrreat! A hint of nutty, with a texture that was very pleasing to the tongue. I can see where a little bit would be very filling. I was quite satisfied with about half a cup.

I divided up the remainder of the pot into individual servings (into the fridge with you!) and proceeded to clean up the mess. I'll definitely make this again, but I think I'll use the overnight-no-flame method next time!

Final answer? Mmmmm mmmmmm!

Lena, where do you find steel cut oatmeal in the store? I don't think I've ever heard of it before. I love regular oatmeal so this just may be heaven for me, I'm thinking.

Not only did you get a nutritious breakfast, but you also got a good workout cleaning that stuff off your stove!

I was expecting to have to hunt for it at some fancy-dancy health food emporium, Quirky. At the very least, I figured it might be in one of the Health Foods sections of the regular supermarket. To my surprise, it was right in the regular cereal section, the part with all the other hot cereals. It was on the top shelf (not eye level) with the wheat germ and whatnot, so you do sort of have to know to look for it.

The brand I bought was McCann's.

((flexes her muscles after cleaning off the stove!))

What a coincidence - I tried steel cut oatmeal for the first time yesterday and LOVED it! Of course, I'm lucky because I'm on vacation so didn't have to do the cooking (or cleaning up)!

Lena, I am so glad you liked it. Really good stuff, huh! I can't give you any tips about making it in an open pot over flame as I've only ever used a pressure cooker or slow cooker for them. I think the slow cooker is the most fun way to cook them. Very little mess and if you add just a tad of cinnamon to the oats and water the house smells so good in the morning.

I had an opposite experience today. As I've run out of steel cut oats (again!), I picked up a box of regular oatmeal on my way home from work yesterday (the store I was at didn't have McCann's). Anyhoo, I made the regular oatmeal today. It has been years since I've eaten regular oatmeal. And now I remember why. It required absolutely no effort to chew. Just mashed it up in my mouth and swallowed. Uh.. I can't eat this tomorrow!
Question is now.. what do I do with the rest of it?!

Jayde, I'm guessing that cookies wouldn't be a good suggestion for the leftover oatmeal?

Yah, right... I'd make them with the pretense that my son loves cookies and I've got to get rid of the oatmeal anyway... knowing full well that he'd probably eat one or two and leave the rest to go stale.. then I'd be eating them. yah.. been there.. done that!

I think I am going to try and mix a little in with rice. We mix rice with all sorts of things (various types of rice mixed with any one or more of the following: beans, barley, quinoa, millet, ..ah and dashima (kombu) seaweed. I think the texture of the rolled oatmeal won't be a good addition but if I only add a little each time I make rice, it might work.

But don't think I didn't think about the cookies already. I did!

ooohhh, I'm thinking I'm going to have to try this!!! Is there really a difference between regular stove top oatmeal and steel cut oatmeal? I guess so!!! I've seen it many many times (on the top shelf) but I always reach to the bottom shelf and get my Quaker oats. THANKS.

You betcha!

I think the steel cut has a heartier, more robust flavor. It has more heft than the regular. But I'm not going to give up the regular. Love my Quaker Old-Fashioned . I make it thick, so it sticks to your ribs but feels nice and smooth as it goes down.

For me, it's not going to be one or the other -- it's both! But not at the same time!

I haven't experimented much with mixing things in rice, Jayde. Occasionally I mix wild rice and brown rice, or throw some mushrooms and/or onions in, but nothing as exotic as oatmeal (oatmeal? exotic???). I've never even heard of some of the things you mentioned!

Oh Lena! You make even a mess of oats sound like fun. Do you have a crockpot?

We *had* a crockpot, but we moved, it got boxed and buried and has yet to resurface. We still have 3,000 boxes in the basement to be unpacked.

I'm half tempted to just pony up the money to buy another one. What do they run, $25 or so? And when I find the original one, it can get donated.

Has anybody tried bringing the oats just to a boil then turning it off (the night before) and leaving the lid on tight overnight? If you had a good heavy sauce pan, why wouldn't that work?

Susan - do you make them in a crockpot? I have one and will absolutely be making steel cut oats again but am clueless about how to go about it. Can you make more than one serving in advance?

I agree that it's the texture and heartier flavor that makes them so good. Kinda like brown rice (which I adore) versus white rice or a fabulous whole grain bread versus the white squishy stuff. I doubt that I'll ever give up my Quaker completely though - the guy on the box is just too cute.

That's sort of what I did, Susan, just not overnight. The pot that boiled over this morning had the lid on and was on an extremely low flame. It boiled up under the lid and bubbled and oozed and slithered out!

Anyway, after discovering the mess, I stirred it, put the top back on and let it sit covered for about an hour or so with no flame at all. Instead of simmering, it just sat and set.

Maybe this is a new recipe!