A slow conversion

As you already know, I’m not a big fan of sweets, definitely not sweets for breakfast, and most certainly not oatmeal for breakfast. But this recipe for steel cut oats kind of changed my life. Holly first introduced it to me in seminary and I think she tried to sell it to me by calling it “restaurant oatmeal” which of course I had no idea what that meant* because I would never order oatmeal at a restaurant. Corned beef hash eggs benedict? Yes, please!

But trying hers started me on a journey of slow conversion. 

I think at that point I would have said that I liked it but that I probably wouldn't go out of my way to make it myself. That was over six years ago (I cannot believe how time flies!) but I recently returned to the recipe because oatmeal is a known galactalogue that can support nursing. (Hopefully not TMI?) 

I think what I like most about this recipe (besides how it tastes) is the fact that you start the night before, committing you to what you’ll have in the morning. It feels amazingly accomplished to have a breakfast you had lovingly begun for yourself well before the coffee is started and in your system. It’s nourishing for your body and soul, really.

Oatmeal still won’t take the place of eggs benedict at a restaurant** anytime soon but I can definitely more than tolerate having this at home.

Sunday Morning Oatmeal

Adapted from the Amateur Gourmet

The original recipe is a great launching pad that I think most people will readily enjoy as written, but I think my reduced sugar approach lets it shine even more. I would say it’s pretty much the same recipe except that I don’t add any sweetener to the oatmeal itself but amp it up in the topping with the use of dates. The butter adds a nice boost and smoothness but also could be omitted if you’re needing something lighter. I forget it on some days and it doesn’t make a difference to me. But if you’re trying to convince someone to join the “restaurant oatmeal” train I would definitely include it.

3 cups liquid (I do 1 cup whole milk and 2 cups water)

1 cup steel cut oatmeal

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

3-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed by the side of a knife

a couple tablespoons of butter, maybe optional

optional: maple syrup, brown sugar, honey

Topping (mix all the following together)

walnut halves, lightly toasted and slightly crushed

dates, raisins, and craisins, chopped

a judicious** squeeze of honey

many shakes of ground cinnamon

a few crackles of salt and black pepper (more salt than pepper)

The night before, bring to boil your 3 cups of liquids (for me 1 milk and 2 water), cinnamon stick and cardamom pods, and a generous pinch of salt. Add 1 cup of oatmeal and let boil for one minute. Then turn off the heat, let it cool and refrigerate overnight. (Or you can be like us crazy Asians with stomachs of steel who don’t refrigerate things. Lol.)

The next morning, warm up the oatmeal on the stove, stirring it periodically to keep it from burning. I sometimes add more liquid (at this point or even the night before) because I like mine more soupy. Remove the spices (cardamom tastes good but not biting right into it).

When the texture is to your liking (slightly toothsome), stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter. I omit the additional sweetener of honey/maple syrup/brown sugar at this point because I like the contrast of the sweeter topping, but others may like to sweeten the oatmeal itself. If so, you can do that here.

Serve with topping, which you put together from the ingredient list above. I've listed our favorite combination but feel free to modify as you see fit. Pecans would probably go really well. In my opinion the dates are critical, as is the coarse salt.

I believe this recipe adapts well to other milks. I have personally tried it with soy and I’m sure it’d be great with rice or almond milk as well. For an indulgent treat I made it once with full fat canned coconut milk (left over from making a Viet dessert to be posted later) and it was pretty much like eating dessert for breakfast. If you don’t keep whole milk on hand but want the creamy effect, you could probably increase your milk to 1.5 or even 2 cups.

---

Oatmeal is pretty unphotogenic so instead I’ll leave you with a picture of my daughter and a tiny update.

She turns 18 weeks today. Not much to add from last week’s update. I think it’s too much for me to do regular weekly updates, but I’ll try to post things as it’s appropriate. 

I really want to note funny things Theo has been saying. He is pretty verbal for a boy, unafraid to try his tongue as speech, and will pretty much say anything you tell him to say. Yesterday David was playing a game with Theo and he said “it’s a bit tricky.” Without missing a beat, Theo repeated “a bit tricky,” almost with a little British accent. Insert laughing/crying emoji.

Finally, just some randoms I've been enjoying:

I just discovered the Otherhood podcast and LOVED IT.

A great episode on Longest Shortest Time. 

Love what these women are trying to accomplish here. 

_________________ 

*This is where Kenny would probably say with a robotic voice, “ERROR. Cannot. Compute.”

**The other day David and I went a restaurant that let me order gyro meat, hashbrowns, and my poached eggs with hollandaise on top. The best parts of eggs benny (hollandaise) without the less desirable parts (Canadian bacon and soggy English muffins). What?!?!?

***I used the word “judicious” for David. What does judicious mean? We'll leave that up to you.