The Briefing Room
General Category => Grassroots Activism and Living => TBR Kitchen => Topic started by: roamer_1 on November 19, 2017, 03:11:52 am
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I know this is going to sound silly in this day of instant food and microwaves...
And I'm as guilty as anyone of falling for the ease and convenience thereof... And I confess to having Quaker flavored instant oats in their handy little baggies,,, Two of them aren't quite enough for me, so I customarily buy quick oats and keep them around... I'll make a batch up, and grab a bit of quick oats to top it off...
But I made a mistake last time at the grocery store, and got regular oats... And I set about to use em, since I had em here.
Cooked them up in milk with chopped apple, walnut, and rasins, topped it with butter, brown sugar, and a drizzle of black-strap molasses... I'll tell you what... That is a whole different experience from that of the instant world I had grown so used to...
Sometimes the finer things in life are the simplest.
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Nope, doesn't sound silly at all. I make stuff from scratch and my kids and grandkids notice how different it tastes. Like chocolate pudding on the stove with egg and cornstarch. Way better!
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I know this is going to sound silly in this day of instant food and microwaves...
And I'm as guilty as anyone of falling for the ease and convenience thereof... And I confess to having Quaker flavored instant oats in their handy little baggies,,, Two of them aren't quite enough for me, so I customarily buy quick oats and keep them around... I'll make a batch up, and grab a bit of quick oats to top it off...
But I made a mistake last time at the grocery store, and got regular oats... And I set about to use em, since I had em here.
Cooked them up in milk with chopped apple, walnut, and rasins, topped it with butter, brown sugar, and a drizzle of black-strap molasses... I'll tell you what... That is a whole different experience from that of the instant world I had grown so used to...
Sometimes the finer things in life are the simplest.
I make something very similar, with the old fashioned oats, for breakfast many mornings. My little guy like banana, brown sugar and cinnamon in his.
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Nope, doesn't sound silly at all. I make stuff from scratch and my kids and grandkids notice how different it tastes. Like chocolate pudding on the stove with egg and cornstarch. Way better!
I don't know that the taste is all that different, But the texture is remarkably different - not pasty at all, with each kernel of grain swelled and plump... It's an entirely different experience - entirely mo bedda. It's crazy how much better.
And it isn't any different in prep time, really - if you were to use the nuke, it's maybe a minute longer in the making - The actual cooking, I mean... There's a bit of prep cutting up the apples and nuts, but even in that, fresh fruits, even fresh(er) raisins make it so much more superior. How did I ever get to where saving a mere minute would cause me to accept such a lesser standard? It flat astonishes me.
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I make something very similar, with the old fashioned oats, for breakfast many mornings. My little guy like banana, brown sugar and cinnamon in his.
I guess I am more partial to it than most - Like bannock bread and pemmican, oats are a staple on the trail, so I am quite accustomed to them in my diet... It's just amazing how much better 'old fashioned' oats are... And you are losing nothing to carry the better product. A wee bit more on the boil, and perhaps a wee bit more in the volume - But incidental really. Why did I get caught up in them fancy little baggies? :shrug: They suck by comparison.
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I guess I am more partial to it than most - Like bannock bread and pemmican, oats are a staple on the trail, so I am quite accustomed to them in my diet... It's just amazing how much better 'old fashioned' oats are... And you are losing nothing to carry the better product. A wee bit more on the boil, and perhaps a wee bit more in the volume - But incidental really. Why did I get caught up in them fancy little baggies? :shrug: They suck by comparison.
The convenience of the pre-packaged rations is there for sure with the instant; just being able to pull a pouch out and throw it in your go bag with no measuring. And, my guess is that most adults don't eat it. They give it to their kid, and figure the kid can't tell or doesn't care about the difference.
I *think* the difference between the quick cook and old fashioned is that the quick cook are rolled thinner so they cook faster. If that is true, then it makes sense that they don't plump as much as the old fashioned.
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The convenience of the pre-packaged rations is there for sure with the instant; just being able to pull a pouch out and throw it in your go bag with no measuring.
Well, alright, but it really saves nothing.... I don't buy pemmican, and I don't buy pre-measured bannock flour. I make all that. And I have a fair store of dried fruits, seeds, and nuts around... You're maybe talking an afternoon to bust up five pounds of oats into pint zippies, complete with milk powder, dehydrated butter, and several excellent varieties, mainly differing in fruits and nuts (the main spices, nutmeg and cinnamon, could be added to the batch). That would yield, I dunno, close to a bazillion individual custom sized packets for virtually no cost at all, that would keep just as well. So really, even the pre-packing convenience is a lie. :shrug:
And, my guess is that most adults don't eat it. They give it to their kid, and figure the kid can't tell or doesn't care about the difference.
Yeah... maybe I am weird that way, as I said, having grown accustom to it out in the bush... But that's why I thought I'd draw some attention to it. I tried some today, and busted up some almonds, and added pumpkin seed and sunflower seed just to see, dried blueberry, strawberry, and banana... and man oh man...
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"Old fashioned" oats have a lot of uses. Low calories dog treats. No bake chocolate peanut butter cookies. Or no bake chocolate hazelnut cookies. My Mom added oatmeal to many things. Said it added nutrition and "body" to food.
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Cooked oatmeal. After it has set up, sprinkled with sugar.
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Cooked oatmeal. After it has set up, sprinkled with sugar.
No, brown sugar... And a bowl of oatmeal is an art form.
Start mostly with quick oats, but toss in some whole for a bit of textural difference.
Make it in milk.
Once done, surely butter, milk, and brown sugar...
or apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a drizzle of blackstrap molasses...
or cut up dried apricots, or dates, or bananas, or raisins, or craisins,
Walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, fennel, the list goes on and on.
A bowl of oatmeal is a beautiful thing.
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I have a guilty pleasure of some sorta Stone Oats that the kids and wife will not touch, takes a lot longer to cook, but I love them with brown sugar/butter/milk. Throw in a piece or two of bacon and it sticks to the ribs well enough.