Cooking Oatmeal & Rice

[John Delaney]

Not sure if this is well known or not. I'm posting because I did a brief search and did not see any obvious posts on the topic.

How I Cook Oatmeal:
The recipe on the container always says to use some proportion of water to oats right? If done right you get an oatmeal that is not too soupy and still has a little crunch in it. At least that's the way I like it. But it's easy to miss the mark.

I bought some Irish Oatmeal once and they said to let is soak for a day, strain it, then heat it up. It was great. These are split oats, not rolled. Very good if you've never tried it.

So I thought one day why not boil regular rolled oats with a lot of water and strain it out? I put a cup of oatmeal in with probably six cups of water. Actually I just fill up a cereal bowl about half way with the oatmeal and fill up a 2 or 3 quart sauce pan about 3/4 full. I boil it for about five minutes and the dump it in a wire strainer. Then I put some butter on it with strawberry jamb. 'Course everyone has their favorite. The texture when you do it this way is really good I think.

There's no mush, no soupy stuff, just flakes of cooked Oats. If you over cook it gets mushier of course. If you under cook it's too chewy.

Rice:
OK, loved that so I thought why not apply the same idea to rice?

So what I do now is put about a cup of rice in a 3 qt sauce pan that is almost full. Actually I've done it with two cups often.

I boil it until the rice is almost done. I check it by scooping out a few grains and biting down on them. They should be firm still but real close to being soft. You can look at them too. They should be just starting to barely open up. Careful, hot!

Then I strain it in a regular collander, put it back in the pot, set it on the warm burner, covered with no flame. The remaining heat finishes the job and the remaining water gets absorbed as the grains open up.

Perfect rice every time. No rice cooker required.

Sorry if that's old news. It was a new discovery to me and one that was not in the normal cook books at the time. Thought I would share.

Best,
John

[Sandyj]

Your oats idea is really interesting. I shall try!

Note: that "soupy" stuff you talk about from oats: if strained off, can be fed to a colicky baby. Works wonders to settle the baby's tummy. My friend, that's an old "Boere" farm wive's remedy from South Africa. My dad's youngest sister, Auntie Rhona, perscribed this with great success for my cousin Leslie's first born daughter, Danielle, with great success. Leslie, by the way, is a certified nurse and midfwife (was then, too, 21 years ago).

As for the rice - I cook it that way often, too (keeping it moist over the boiling water). So does my mom-in-law. You must have a natural knack for cooking! Sandyj

[John Delaney]

Interesting about the "soupy" stuff. We are past the baby stage by more than a few years. I wonder if it'll help my old dog? She's always had a sensitive tummy. Hmmm. Anyway....thanks for the reply!

-jd

[Dina]

I sometimes grind the oatmeal to a fine powder and cook it in evaporated milk, cinnamon and sugar. It's so creamy and delicious. Oatmeal is so yummy any way you cook it.

[Sandyj]

Originally Posted by John Delaney

Interesting about the "soupy" stuff. We are past the baby stage by more than a few years. I wonder if it'll help my old dog? She's always had a sensitive tummy. Hmmm. Anyway....thanks for the reply!

-jd

I think you could try it with great success. I've been cooking for my dog for about a year now, and she also has a sensitive stomach. I often add oats to whatever I'm cooking for her (not just "the soupy stuff"). She is doing very well on the home cooked food. Her ear infections have cleared up nicely, and her skin is no longer dry. I read that allergies to wheat can be a culprit in dogs' sensitive skin and ears, so I gradually removed wheat from her diet, replacing it with rice and oats (along with protein & veg.). BTW, corn meal didn't seem to work so well. Whatever you plan to introduce into her diet just do it slowly.

[Ishbel]

I make my porridge from Alford Mill oats. In my opinion, they are the best oats in the world! Soak them overnight and then make it in the mornings. I serve it the traditional way, ie sprinkled with a little salt and a teensy-weensy amount of fresh milk.