Dinner for Dickens

Today's food experiment was steel cut oats. I'm a big fan of oats, and have an occasional hankering for oatmeal. I'd heard that steel cut oats were much better than the rolled oats most commonly available in the U.S., so why not? Got myself some from Bob's Red Mill and followed the recipe on the package which is essentially just adding it to boiling water and simmering for 20 minutes or so, with a little salt. It's almost like the recipe for Oatmeal Gruel in the Household Searchlight Recipe Book, 1936. How much easier could it be?

Oatmeal Gruel
1/4 cup oats
4 cups boiling water
salt
Slowly sprinkle cereal into rapidly boiling water. Boil rapidly, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Strain. Add salt to taste.

(Strain??? I thought gruel was just runny oatmeal. Are you straining out the excess water? Or straining out the oatmeal and eating the oatmeal juice. Ack.)

Well, Bob's recipe needed a lot more water and kept sticking to the bottom of the pan. And while it was cooking I did a little internet browsing and found versions where you brown the oats in butter first, and use various combos of milk, half and half, or buttermilk added in near the end of the cooking, all of which made me wish I'd waited and tried for something a little more elaborate.

However, when all was said and done, including vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and a slosh of creamer...I am definitely a convert. The texture was different, creamy but more chewy, like risotto. I understand a savory version is made in Scotland and served on the side very much like risotto. I'm thinking there are tons of experimental possibilities here, both in the this-really-doesn't-count-as-breakfast-anymore-it's-really-dessert direction, and in the stuffing/pilaf/quinoa direction. I've definitely gotten my fiber for the day too.

In the same book, below the Gruel recipe, there's a recipe for Graham Mush. I'd say that the word 'mush' actually sounds more appetizing than anything called 'gruel', which I always associate with Ebenezer Scrooge, but once you scan the recipe you'll see that names, not unlike looks, can be deceiving.

Graham Mush
1 cup graham flour
2 cups boiling water
1 t salt
Sprinkle flour, stirring constantly, into rapidly boiling water. Add salt. Stir frequently to prevent lumping. Cook 30 minutes over direct heat or over hot water in the double boiler 1 hour.

I can't imagine this keeps from clumping. It sounds like a tasteless white sauce. Mmmm, please, sir, can I have some more?

As long as I'm on this page of the book, at the bottom is the recipe for rice. I've noticed that in these older books, rice is quite frequently cooked like pasta, as follows:

Boiled Rice
1 cup rice
8 cups boiling water
1 t salt
Wash rice thoroughly. Sprinkle gradually into boiling water. Add salt. Boil rapidly until rice grains are plump and tender. Pour into a sieve. Pour boiling water over rice until each grain is distinct. Reheat in a double boiler before serving.