Oatmeal

As I mentioned in my last post, oatmeal is in my two top dishes to cook for breakfast at home. Man, I can’t imagine anything more boring than the idea of oatmeal, but, in fact, I have a recipe that I love.

When I was a kid, I ate oatmeal every day, often several meals each day, I did not use quick oats or old fashioned. I did not add milk, cream or butter. I had instant oatmeal and I added lots of sugar. I can remember the oatmeal glistening with a sugar coating when it was in my bowl.

I was a purist. One ingredient, oatmeal could have another ingredient, sugar, and that was fine. Third ingredients (don’t tell me about the water) were a desecration. If you are that type of oatmeal officianado, this recipe may not be for you. If not, well here goes.

In my last post I mentioned how important it is to me how I use my knife in food preparation. In this recipe, finely chopping the fruit and ginger is very important. I don’t know, call me crazy, but I never heard a painter say “apply the paint any way you want” ingredients are our medium. Knife, spatula, and pan are our tools. The plate is our canvas. Be proud of how you prepare and present your food.

Fresh Ginger is a hot spice, but it doesn’t make your fingers smell like garlic, and it doens’t cause your eyes to tear if you accidently wipe your face after pealing and chopping like jalapenos. I love ginger. Erin tells me it is good for me, and that is all the research I need. It would be a real disappointment to find out it is carconigenic or causes cellulite. But anyway, it is an ingredient that you must chop well to enjoy.

I take a ginger root, trim off one bulb, and then skin it with a sharp paring knife. Then, I cut it along the grain into long flat slices. They are like very small pine shelving. I turn them on their side, and again, cut them the long way into match sticks. At this point the success of your cutting is based on the fineness of your matchsticks. If they are similar to a matchstick from a pack of twenty. Good. More like a toothpick. Great. Like a dill stem. Absolutely Fabulous. Remember Practice makes perfect.

Now, turn them 90° and chop these sticks as fine as possible. Now you have prepared your ginger perfectly.

And here’s the recipe.

Oatmeal with Fruit and Ginger

Ingredients

2/3 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 1/2 cups Water
small hunk of ginger – final ammount about 2 TBSP
1 Pear
1 Apple
1 cup Yogurt
1 cup Orange Juice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp each Cocoa, Brown Sugar, or 1/2 tsp Cayenne if you like

Preparation

Combine Oatmeal and Water in small sauce pan over high heat.

Mince Ginger as described above. (One thing about ammount of ginger. I get this stuff all the time, and it is not consistent on its flavor or heat. A ginger root lasts for five or six preparations. If you make the recipe today and it’s too spicy, cut down on the ginger, too bland, increase the ginger.)

Now put the ginger in the Oatmeal Water mixture quick, before you read that paranthetical clause. Once the water is boiling turn down to simmer. You’ll be cooking until it reaches the consistency you like. I like my Oatmeal like a thin gruel (now) but you might like it thicker.

Okay. cut slices off your pear, parallel to the core. two slice on one side, then turn it on its side; two slices on the next…and the next…and the next. Now you have these 1/4 inch thick slices of Pear with a 1/3 inch thick core. Throw away the core. Turn the pear planks 90° and cut them into matchsticks. Then turn them 90° to cube them. These cubes should all be about 1/4 inch in diameter. This is the same process as the ginger, but the outcome is not fine mince, but 1/4 inch dice.

Now do the same thing with the apple.

Mix the apple and the pear in a cereal bowl and add the OJ. Now split this between two cereal bowls.

Now dolop on the Yogurt.

If I am adding brown sugar, I like to add it now so that it is hidden by the oatmeal.

Now, split the oatmeal between the two bowls so you all you can see is oatmeal, but hidden below is the fruit/OJ parfait and the yogurt.

Now sprinkle on the Cinnamon, Cocoa Powder, and Cayenne as desired.

Serve immedeatley, the Oatmeal may be hot, but all the other ingredients are cold, so, the faster you serve and eat, the hotter this will be.

Enjoy!

Advertisement