A fellow Bento Enthusiast came to my rescue with her tip for cooking steel cut oats the night before. Others piped in with a crock pot method, which I now use.
CROCK POT LAZY OATS
- 1 cup of Steel Cut Oats
- 4 cups of water
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 and 1/2
The night before, add 1 cup of steel cut oats (rolled oats or quick oats are not recommended; they become gummy) and 4 cups of water, and salt, to a smallish crockpot. Cook on low overnight. In the morning, scrape down the sides of the crock pot and throughly mix in the foam, water, and oats*. Add a modest amount (less than a 1/4 cup) of 1/2 and 1/2, and stir to blend. Serve, topping as desired.
LEFTOVERS FOR THE WEEK
For the leftovers, pour the warm or hot oats into a buttered loaf pan, cover with cling film, and refrigerate. The "oat loaf" will solidify very quickly, and I've kept it for as long as a week, with no ill effects or loss of flavor. Each morning thereafter, simply slice off a thick piece of oatmeal, place in a microwave safe dish, and microwave until hot and bubbling. The oatmeal will return to the loose and creamy consistency -- I promise. Top as desired.
*There will be some loss of product on the sides of the pot -- this is just the nature of the beast. I tried using a crock pot liner once -- it was a disaster. I lost more than ever.
My toppings of choice are light butter, Fat Free Half and Half, Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, dried currants, and chopped nuts. Yes, I know that Splenda is poison. I need Sugar Free baked goods, and use it, and Splenda Granular, for just about all baking. I make very few desserts and when I do, I use Splenda. No apologies. As for the half and half, it's surprpising palatable to me because they have the consistency right. I wouldn't serve it to company, but a tablespoon or so for thickening a sauce or to top my oatmeal is fine. No apologies for that, either.
Have a good morning. -- Kate
