I really do enjoy eating Irish steel-cut oats for breakfast. It's a regular staple in my diet. At least, it has been again for the past several months or so.
Steel-cut oats have been a favorite of mine for a long time. Enough so, that I named this blog after it. I stove to make this blog like my Irish oats: something that takes some effort to make, is a bit chewy, nutty, and sticks with you for awhile.
But at some point a few years ago, I had gotten off track. Soon, the oatmeal wasn't a regular part of my diet any more.
The reason I strayed was because early morning swimming practice made the process of making oats impractical. I needed something quick. Thus began an affair with peanut butter and toast.
I was seduced by peanut butter's quick and easy convenience, and its sweet and salty combination on top of hot and crunchy bagel-toasted toast. That paired with a cup of inky black coffee and I'm good. Like reaaaaaaly good. And if I'm going full-throttle, then a thick spackle of unpasteurized creamed honey mixed in, all gooey and melty and stuff. Oh golly! (If you could only hear me drawing my breath through my teeth right now).
Anyway, returning to wholesome steel-cut goodness was the result of a process. Back in January of this year, when I joined Harvest Racing, I cut back on swimming. This took a lot of the hustle-bustle out of my morning, and consequently freed up the 20 minutes required to make steel-cut oats.
The first time that I started making Irish oats again, I set aside an extra bowl for Katherine's breakfast. Later that morning, I received an SMS of thanks from her. For the next several days, I continued to set aside an extra portion for her. Then, I missed a day. To my surprise, Katherine sent me a text message, asking me how I made steel-cut oats. I gave her the instructions. 25 minutes later, she sent a follow up text that my oats were better than hers, which were apparently too dry.
That was the transaction that sealed the deal on my resurgence of steel-cut oats. From then on, I'd be making the oats for both of us. We've been on this plan till date.
And about that peanut butter? I've found a better use for it.
Happy Friday. Thanks for reading.
Mmm, I too have found a love for the steel cut oats! I like to make mine 8 servings at a time and refrigerate them. Then I just take a portion out each morning, add peanut butter and warm it up in the microwave. I also mix in some plain Greek yogurt after reheating. I love my breakfasts and they keep me pretty satisfied through most of the morning!
ReplyDeleteI've thought about making up batches too, but I've got my routine dialed in currently. I use the 20 mins in between to pack a lunch, brew coffee, prep the peanut butter, etc...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if I go back to swimming, I'll probably give the batch process a go.
By the way, I can't seem to detect any differences in quality among McCann's Irish Oats (steel can), Red Bob's Mill, Trader Joe's Organic, or Hy-Vee's. Can you?
This looks really good, unfortunately here in Brazil we don't have steel-cut oats I guess, but I will look for.
ReplyDeleteI just saw your reply, Brady! We've only tried two different brands. Quaker Oats, and Hy-Vee's brand. I can't tell a difference, which makes sense since they're simply chopped up oats. As long as they're packaged well and pass whatever regulatory specs there are for that industry, I can't imagine branding making a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteI like the batch process for convenience, but they definitely taste best freshly cooked. Just not enough better for me to changed my current process. :)
Does anyone know where in California I can buy Wholesome Goodness steel cut oatmeal??? Apparently all the Stater Bros. stores in my area no longer carries it.
ReplyDelete