Recipe Wednesday - Steel Cut Oats

I almost named this "Apple Crisp...Breakfast Style" - this is deeeelish :)

I've been reading about how good Steel Cut Oats are for a couple of years now but I have just never bit the bullet and tried them.  Finally, I was chatting with my friend, Angie, a couple of weeks ago and she mentioned that now that she's tried them, she'll never go back.  Fine.  If they really are that good it's time to take the plunge. 

I went to a local health food store and found some in the bulk bins.  I bought a half of a pound - just enough to try out.  Funny enough, I went down another aisle and found steel cut oats, prepackaged, in a one pound bag for about $1.40 MORE than the price I paid out of the bulk bins.  I think we need to explore the bulk bins a bit more and see what else we can buy from there in the future!

I found some info online about how it is best to soak your oats (and all grains, actually) overnight (or up to 24 hours) for best digestibility.  After looking over a few different methods and recipes, this is what I came up with. 

(You can do some research about phytic acid if you like - I saw something out there about oats not being able to break down the phytic acid on their own but if you throw in some whole wheat flour, that'll help do the trick.  I haven't done enough research to really know what phytic acid is and why we don't want it but I'm adding that to my "To Do" list.  And here is a great place to start, it seems.)

On to the recipe....

1c. lukewarm water
2T. of my homemade yogurt (you can use yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar, kefir, or whey here, just some sort of acid)
1c. steel cut oats
Whole Wheat Flour - maybe a Tbs, probably a bit less.

I mixed it together Sat. afternoon in a Pyrex dish and let it sit on my counter top w/ a Corelle plate serving as a lid.  Sunday morning I made up the rest. 

*I peeled and cut up some apples and boiled them.  Half of these I pureed for Aren, the rest I used in the oats.  I then used the apple-boiling water to cook the oats.  This worked out okay but next time I make it I will try it with regular (filtered) water.

I boiled:
1c. water (from boiling the apples) (didn't take long to come to a boil since I had just made up the apples)
dash of salt

Then I added in...

The rest of the chunked/boiled apples
The oats w/ their soaking liquid

....and put a lid on it and let it simmer for 5-10 min.

After the oats were done cooking I added in:

A dash or two of cinnamon
A dash of nutmeg
A teaspoon or so of butter (next time I'll try coconut oil - prob. a Tbs. or so.  It is so tasty and healthy for you)
Honey (I didn't measure, just squirted it in) (You can use brown sugar if you prefer.)

Stir it up and serve it up. 

It tasted like Apple Crisp for breakfast.

Biju and I loved it.  Alex and Ajay didn't.  Ajay barely tasted it, went into hysterics and went to spit it out into the trash.  Alex at least tried - thought he liked it then changed his mind.  He asked for raisins, and  then I even put a bit of brown sugar in for him.  He still didn't want it.  It might have been the texture, as these are chewier than rolled oats.  So I made up our regular "quick oats" for them since I knew they would eat those.  Once the "quick oats" are gone I'll switch the boys over to rolled oats - a bit healthier for you but still more "normal" for them.  But as for me and Biju, we'll make the switch to steel cut.  So handy to make up a batch and have leftovers for breakfast for a few days.

While looking up steel cut oats I saw that people were using them in savory dishes!  I'd actually love to try the oats that way.  If I find a yummy recipe, I'll be sure to share!  (Oh, and if YOU have a great way to make up oats, please, leave the recipe in the comments section.)