Who knew?

Oatmeal. The bane of many a child's morning existence. Mine included, though Mom took the hint pretty quickly when I was little that I was just NOT going to eat the stuff. Over the years she was the only one in the house that would, and then later when my sister was older she developed a taste for the stuff too. I still could not understand the appeal of a bowl of soggy warm mushy stuff and the only way I would eat oatmeal willingly was in the form of oatmeal cookies, sans raisins. I didn't like those much either. This has been the way of it for years, up until a few weeks ago when a random purchase at Whole Foods led to a new and kind of startling addiction.
Steel cut. Also known as "Irish Oats" in some packaging, with the most well known brand being McCann's with the expensive price tag and old-fashioned tin. Steel cut oats are what you get when you cut the whole groat into pieces rather than the steam and press method used to make rolled oats, which are what the usual paste-like mush comes from. Steel cut oatmeal takes a little longer to cook, but the result is a bowl of warm cereal with actual texture and to my tongue, a far more palatable taste, and a much better blank canvas for the addition of fruits and spices. I took a chance on a packet from bob's red mill, but have found a far cheaper source at trader joe's, and I'm sure it can be found elsewhere. McCann's is kind of ridiculously expensive here at around $8/can, but it does come in a lovely tin. I've not noticed any difference in taste or quality among the three kinds I've tried, so I'm going to say it really doesn't matter. This variety doesn't come in a quick version, so it's pretty much the same stuff no matter where you buy it.
I took a chance on steel cut primarily because my sister has been hounding me to try it for about four years now. She discovered it ages ago and has made oatmeal a staple of her breakfast pantry and has offered to make it for me dozens of times. I kept turning her down due to my prejudice against cooked oatmeal of any kind. Oops. When I finally made it myself, I was amazed at both how easy it was and how much faster it was to make than anyone made it out to be. In about 15-20 minutes I can go from raw ingredients to eating oatmeal out of a mug, so that's really not too bad. I've also stopped using it just for breakfast and have found it to be pretty good whenever. It's rather impractical to make just one serving of the stuff, so I routinely make a batch of three to four servings and just reheat it in the microwave as needed. Works just fine for me and saves time later.
An accidental side effect of my preferred ingredient list here is that my first several bowls were all flecked with the exact brown and orange of Bowling Green's chosen colors. Oy. I fixed that by adding cranberries to subsequent batches, so now it's just fall colors in a bowl instead of a daily reminder of my alma mater's colors. The ingredients I list here are my choices, but once you've got the oatmeal in hand you can mix in whatever you choose. I selected a variety of dried berries, cinnamon, vanilla and nuts because that's what I had and what sounded good. I chose goji berries, dried cranberries, walnuts and flax meal for their nutritional values as well as taste, and the resulting bowl tasted good and happened to be vegan and low fat. Everyone has heard over and over how wonderful oatmeal is for lowering cholesterol as well as being full of fiber and a whole grain, so this particular breakfast is one that is both filling and ridiculously good for you.

Steel Cut Oatmeal
3-4 servings

Ingredients:
-1 cup steel cut oats
-3 cups water
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/8 tsp cinnamon (a few shakes of the bottle)
-1/2 to 2/3 cup of mixed dried fruit (my blend is equal parts raisins, dried gojis and dried cranberry pieces)
-walnut pieces
-brown sugar (dark, if you're doing this my way, or straight molasses if you don't want it too sweet)
-vanilla soy milk

Directions:
Put oats, water, vanilla, cinnamon and fruit into a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice to keep the oats from sticking to the bottom. When cooked to your desired texture, remove from heat and stir in the flax. Scoop into bowls and top with a tablespoon or two of walnut pieces and as much brown sugar and soy milk as you'd like. If only using one serving, allow the remaining oatmeal to cool for a few minutes before decanting into a separate container and store in the fridge for up to three days.

Notes:
-You can add the fruit at the beginning or the end of cooking. I like the beginning because it imparts a little sweetness to the rest of the oatmeal while the fruit cooks and the berries soften during the process.
-Some people like to add salt to the oatmeal. I don't. It's up to you, but start with a very little bit if you've not tried it before, as a little goes a very long way here.
-Some people also sub out some of the cooking water for milk at the beginning. I don't particularly find that it adds anything, and the one time I tried it the batch burned badly to the bottom of the pan, so if you do try it, stir a bit more often. I like little soy milk when I'm topping it at the end, but as always, it's entirely optional and regular milk would be just fine, it just wouldn't be vegan anymore.
-Other options for add ins are endless. I'm also a fan of stirring in a spoonful of almond butter and a spoon or two of apricot jam, with or without the rest of the fruit added. The only things I've found that I don't like are tart apples (add at the beginning and they cook, add at the end and they stay crunchy) and bananas. Can't really explain the bananas, just did not like that one.
-If you don't like sweet breakfast foods, subbing some molasses for the brown sugar is a great way to get the taste without a whole lot of sugar. Molasses is sweet by itself, but it's more malty and smoky than anything else, and it doesn't take a whole lot to get a lot of flavor out of it, so start with a little and see how you like it. Maple syrup is also good here, but sweeter than molasses.
-To reheat, place however much you want into a bowl and mash it up a bit, then heat for a minute or two until it's reached your desired temperature. Dress it as you like and enjoy.
-In case you're keeping track, this breakfast has whole grain, fiber, antioxidants from the fruit (depending on what you choose), unrefined sugar and protein from the nuts and milk, making this comfort food that is good for you and way better than a donut. Add a cup of tea, milk or orange juice and you'll be set for hours.