Cooked oatmeal, a warm porridge with milk and a bit of sugar and raisins, maybe a dash of cinnamon, is such a good breakfast when the wind is howling outside and it is cold. Of course, I know people who eat porridge every morning of their lives as my dad did, spring, summer, fall, and winter. At our house, oatmeal is in a winter rotation of cooked breakfasts with scrambled eggs, sausage and apples, or the occasional waffles or pancakes. Last winter, just about this time, I wrote about non-mushy oatmeal, and sure enough, it struck a chord and I heard back from some of you, including a couple of intriguing recipes.
Valerie Sulya in Bucksport has developed a way to cook non-gummy instant oatmeal! She reports that she has eaten oatmeal every morning for fifty years. Her method employs a microwave and includes a lot of stuff, and I mean, it’s loaded. Here is Valerie’s recipe. “This is my daily oatmeal cereal mixture that I eat for breakfast. Everyday!”
- 3 coffee scoops or 6 tablespoons of instant oatmeal
- 1 tablespoon Bran Buds
- 1 tablespoon wheat bran flakes
- 6 ounces of water
- 3 tablespoons homemade apple or rhubarb sauce
- Or ⅓ cup any mixed fresh fruit
- 1 tablespoon dry granola
- 2 tablespoons coffee creamer or fruit puree
- Put the oatmeal, dry cereals, and water into a microwaveable bowl and cook for one minute.
- Stir and cook for an additional 25-30 seconds.
- Add fruit and microwave an additional 30 seconds.
- Let cool and add granola, creamer or fruit puree.
A Baked Oatmeal recipe came recommended by Ann (whose last name and town, alas, I lost in the detritus on my desk—my apologies). She found it in a community cookbook, the Maine State Grange Cookbook; the recipe was submitted by Kathy Gray of the Nobleboro #369. It produces firm oatmeal, and if you use nuts and a little cinnamon, it’s a little like eating a warm, crumbled up oatmeal cookie for breakfast. I ate mine with a little more milk. Lovely.
Ann noted that the recipe calls for one whole cup of brown sugar, “tooooo much,” she wrote and I agree. She also added raisins and walnuts, an excellent idea. If you use instant oatmeal for this the one cup of milk might suffice. But since I am using rolled oats, I needed to add more liquid and so I used additional water, reflected in the recipe below; otherwise, it is too crumbly and the oats are a little underdone. Ann also advised merely to warm the leftovers in the microwave. Since the recipe makes a generous amount, you end up with two days worth of breakfast. I halved it and still had leftovers because there are only two of us.
Baked Oatmeal
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup brown sugar (more to taste)
3 cups oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup water
Raisins and/or nuts
Cinnamon to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking dish.
Combine the oil, eggs and sugar
Stir in oatmeal, baking powder, and salt.
Mix in water and milk.
Add optional raisins, nuts, and spice.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Serve with milk and/or maple syrup.
Makes 6 servings.