Bob wrote:
> I used to like oatmeal, until I decided to attempt to
> lower my cholesterol by having a bowl every morning for a
> month. That was six or seven years ago, and I haven't
> been much of an oatmeal fan ever since. But today I tried
> McCann's Irish Oatmeal (Steel-Cut Oats) for the first
> time, and it was exceptional. Normally, oatmeal is made
> by rolling oats between steel rollers to flatten them
> into little booger-shaped plates, a resemblance which
> becomes even more pronounced upon cooking. This oatmeal
> is made by cutting the grains (called "groats") into
> little cylinders instead. When cooked, the oats plump up
> nicely and take on a pleasant chewy texture. Toasting
> them beforehand also causes them to take on a nutty
> flavor.
>
> It wasn't particularly quick: Altogether, the process
> took about 40 minutes, but it wasn't labor-intensive; all
> I had to do was toss the oats while they were being pan-
> toasted for two minutes, dump in some water and cook them
> for 25 minutes (without stirring at all), then dump in
> some milk and cook for another 10 minutes, while stirring
> occasionally.
>
> I'm going to try an even easier recipe for tomorrow: Before I go to bed,
the
> oats get dumped in a crock pot, water and dried fruit are
> added (I'm going to use dried apricots and dried
> cranberries), and the crock pot cooks the oatmeal while I
> sleep.
>
> Bob

I'm trying the oatmeal thing for the same reason you did. I keep remembering
an ad some years ago that said, "Oatmeal, If it's good for them in a bowl,
it's good for them in a cookie". So I should eat extra oatmeal cookies each
day for health reasons ? I'm up for it. =

Seriously now, if you would like to use up some of that fine Irish oatmeal
try making flakemeal biscuits. They're an Irish version of oatmeal cookie
that's actually pretty healthy as such things go.

I've got a recipe around if you'd like it.

--
Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet.
promfh at hal dash pc dot org