Toasted oatmeal

"Things that are supposed to be good for you should keep the secret of their good intentions strictly to themselves!" - Bert Greene's grandmother

Oh, oatmeal, you are both nutritious and delicious.

I tucked "Geene on Greens and Grains", by Bert Greene, into my bookshelf when I started collecting cookbooks in earnest several years ago. I'm not sure that it's still in print. The copyright is 1984-1988. The recipe collection is interesting and diverse, from bran muffins to onion marmalade to carrot rice pudding, the man clearly had a love of food. Even if you never try a recipe, the book is worth its salt for the food writing. The reader is treated to a conversational and comprehensive overview of over 30 veggies/roots/fruits and some 20 grains, along with humorous personal stories and recipes of his own or from friends, each featuring the food in question. He writes in a way that makes you think, "yeah, I should try that."

Almost as an aside in the Oats section, he tells us that "some kitchen savants believe that all oats taste best if they are lightly toasted prior to serious cookery, whether that be for a morning meal or for a midnight snack of oatmeal pancakes."

Right you are, Kitchen Savants. Toasting the oatmeal brings out a delicious nutty quality in the grain. It only takes a few extra minutes, but the taste is a world of difference. I go through phases of making this, during one of which my upstairs neighbor stopped me to ask, "what is it that you make every morning?" Then, "It smells so good!"

Aside from toasting, the other secret to comment-worthy oatmeal is ingredient quality. After extensive testing, it's clear that oatmeal tastes best when prepared with organic oats. These are easily found at natural foods markets (Peoples or Whole Foods). The organic rolled oats are a bit thicker than the Quaker variety, and it makes for a better (chewier) bowl of oatmeal. For that very reason, at least pass on the quick oats if you can't find bulk organic oats.


Oatmeal for one:

1/3 heaping cup rolled oats
1 cup water, cool
Pinch salt (1/8 tsp kosher salt was my measured pinch, and I like it salty)
Fruit of your choice. I like raisins, cranberries, apricots (chopped), freeze-dried strawberries when I can find them. Fresh fruit, of course, also delicious- just add it after the oatmeal is done cooking.

1. Toast Oats
Put the oats in a saucepan over high heat. Let them sit there for about 20-30 seconds while the pan gets hot, then shake them. Let it sit again, this time only 10 seconds and shake again. Do this for 2 minutes. They will become fragrant after 30 seconds (strangely reminiscent of popcorn), you need to shake them more frequently once you can smell them toasting to prevent burning. Burned oats are bad oats, but a few browned or blackish flecks are normal. You'll know if you really burn them.

2. Add Water
Have the water on standby. After a few minutes of toasting, pour in the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add salt and dried fruit, then reduce the heat to low, stirring often. Cook for about 5 minutes.

3. Let Stand
If you have the patience, turn off the heat and let it sit for about 2 minutes for the oatmeal to thicken up a bit. If you are a perfectionist, cover the pot while it stands. If you're lazy, it will be just as good uncovered.

Some people are against salt in their oatmeal. Most like sugar. Some like butter and cream. Some, nuts. As always, do as you please, but I assure you that if you want to swim in the pool of oatmeal, this is a good platform to jump in from.
The recipe can easily be doubled.