Savory Oatmeal

[geekgirl]

You all know how good oatmeal is for us, but I can't stand it with sugar or milk. I've found that I like it with onions, bell pepper, little garlic, tomato and seasonings. But I am not very creative, so can anyone help, So I can eat my oatmeal?

[Kitchen Queen]

Sometimes I like it with a fried egg. I love oatmeal but, don't like eggs much. But, this works. If you enjoy sausage and eggs try puting the sausage in the oatmeal. - How about looking at your oatmeal as a polenta dish or a risotto?

[geekgirl]

I've never made risotto. Is it made with cream and parmesan cheese?

[Kitchen Queen]

Risotto is easy. Try this link: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs... . Add to the oatmeal if you like. I can imagine eating it with grilled fish. Heck, I'd even grill already cooked oatmeal - Use mesquite smoking chips, then add butter and your fav. freshly grated cheese then grill for a short time- Asiago ? Or make thin oatmeal crisps -patty already made oatmeal (thin), add a little cheese and or green onion, then fry/saute in a little EVOO, salt and top w/fresh grilled fish filet and a little reduced balsamic vinegar and maple syrup?? Side w/ grilled aspargus or green beans. I love the packages of orange squash and sweet potato from Trader Joes. I saute together and sweeten with a little maple syrup. Sound good?? :)KQ

[Kitchen Queen]

Also - Check out the comments from stove top stuffing - There's a nifty little spinach ball recipe. Use oatmeal instead of stuffing -just add the herbs and spices always found in stuffing -YUM!

[Sam Ottawa]

I once saw an interesting recipe for leftover oatmeal made into little cakes (bound with egg, I think), but you could just make it a little less watery than usual, and then do the same thing. You could season and doctor it any way you might normally do a non-meat burger before pan-frying - e.g. mexican, with black beans, tomatoes, cumin and cilantro, asian, with lemongrass, lime, mint&basil, italian, with tomatoes, spinach, basil & cheese, indian, with chickpeas, curry spices, and mango pickle on the side.

[geekgirl]

I see a creative way with oatmeal! I'll give it a try, and restrain myself from adding my favorite topping for everything-cheese!

[maybelle]

I will use chicken broth to make my oatmeal most of the time - and then if you add other little bits like egg, meat, cilantro whatever, it reminds me of Chinese jook! YUM.

[Claudette]

That's how my parents raised us: thin oatmeal with soy sauce or chicken stock when real jook wasn't ready. I didn't know people ate oatmeal with sweeteners until I moved away to college - how weird!

[S U]

And I thought I was the only weird one who puts soy sauce and white pepper in "oatmeal jook"!

[joonjoon]

This is why I love Chow! I was just sitting here thinking of what to do with my chicken stock - and decided to try making oatmeal juk for breakfast. Delicious and healthy!

So if I'm to make my oatmeal 'juk' style, should I increase the amount of water used for the right texture?

[bolivianita]

My Mom would make "sopa de Quaker" (oatmeal soup) for us when we were babies and when i had babies of my own I tried it and they loved it. its very good. Basically its chicken soup with oats instead of noodles.

[EclecticEater]

The texture of the oatmeal can help; especially if you use steel cut oats or the Irish oats. They taste different from the rolled oats. You can think of it as a porridge or pilaf and put all kinds of neat things in it. I've had it with butter, butter and garlic, all kinds of fruit including cut up apples, strawberries and bananas, all cooked into the grains. A fried egg tasted great on top one day, another day I had a poached egg with ham on it. So let your imagination run wild. Besides oatmeal is supposed to lower your cholesterol.

[FoodFuser]

Savory uses of oaties are spectacular, and initially a rough switch for those of us raised in the days of the sugar bowl and margarine holder on the kitchen table "just to make the oatmeal good".

Oats are the best thing we can eat daily because of the Soluble fiber, the french-maid feather duster of cholesterol.

I was astounded at the first time I tried the rather spartan thing of plain oatmeal with only fresh pepper. It was delicious in its simplicity, and signaled a doorway to other savory uses.

Yes, EclecticEater: texture. A nice step up from Quakers Old Fashioned is the Bob's Red Mill type, rolled a bit thicker. For some real fun, get some oat groats (whole seed) and spin them in the blender/spice grinder/Vitamix to chop a bit (akin to "steel cut", but more random). Soak overnite in your prefered liquid (whey from drained yogurt; water; milk; miso broth; etc) then cook in the morning. Soaking at room temperature will start some nice early fermentation/enzymatic reactions for fuller digestion.

Dried onions, reconstituted on cooking, are also fun.

I'm going to try that Sopa de Quaker :)

[peppermint pate]

I much prefer savoury to sweet oatmeal - and definitely steel cut. Stir in butter, chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds, a generous sprinkling of s&p and then grated parmesan. Or top with stir-fried garlic spinach, a poached/fried egg and a drizzle of olive oil (or a dollop of creme fraiche). Make oatmeal fritters or arancini with the leftovers - form into little patties and either fill with a piece of cheese or dip in grated cheese and then sesame seeds, sautee in butter until golden and toasty on the outside. Yum!

[geekgirl]

Wow! Thanks to everyone for help regarding savory oatmeal. My friends and family thought I was crazy not eat oatmeal sweetened. To them I say "Back off and pass the oatmeal"!

[tcamp]

Adding my thanks too. I've always wanted to like oatmeal but even unsweeten versions with dried fruit leave me feeling....unfulfilled. Thanks to this thread, I'm going to treat it like conjee/jook and go to town with the dried shrimp, pork sausage, garlic, veggies, etc.

Nice to find kindred spirits.

[joonjoon]

I've been eating chicken oatmeal jook every morning for a few days and i gotta say it's delicious! Make the oatmeal with chicken stock, add a drop of soy sauce and sesame oil at the end, plus a sprinkling of scallions. YUm!

[4Snisl]

I also recently became a fan of savory oatmeal.....my favorite is steel cut oats with the sauce from leftover Indian curry (and small bits of meat, and even leftover vegetables) stirred in. A spicy, delicious breakfast!

[bear]

Here's a link to more ideas. I tried Jacques Pepin's savory oatmeal soup (posted in the thread), and it was very good. Not necessarily low in fat, but quite tasty.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/592578

[sf toronto]

Eggs and bbq beans are a delicious combo. Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a creamy/crunchy texture, I'll add a few bits of avocado, toasted seeds/nuts of some sort (e.g. hemp, black sesame, almonds), and maybe even a little ripped up nori.

[jujuthomas]

A very interesting post! DH needs to lower his cholesterol, but is not fond of oatmeal... hafta see if any of these ideas tickle his breakfast fancy. :)
I have a recipe @ home for baked oatmeal that you could easily convert to savory... i can post it later if you like.