Vegan Mofo #10: Irish Weekender Oatmeal...

I’m going to break away from France for a moment and go back to Ireland because I want to talk about oatmeal. I know, you’re thinking oatmeal, boring! But it’s not! Not if you do it right anyway. Oatmeal or porridge is a pretty common breakfast staple in Ireland, Scotland, and England, it’s been eaten in various ways for centuries, and there’s a reason why people have relied on it as a staple food for all that time. It’s easy, it’s hearty, and it’s filling, best of all it’s cheap, and healthy too.  Of course no one really likes plain old cooked with water oats, and so it can be more or less healthy depending on what you add into it.

In reading about Irish cooking I came across a paragraph discussing oatmeal in which it said oatmeal is usually cooked with water and salt and served with a bit of brown sugar or honey, though on the weekends oatmeal might get ‘dressed up’ as a treat, or if it’s being served to guests it may be made a bit fancier. It also said that when staying in an Irish guesthouse you’re bound to get treated to a bowl of oatmeal loaded up with ‘the works’ and so it was these additions that I found particularly interesting and decided to combine them all in one bowl for what I think is hands down the best, and most delicious oatmeal I’ve ever eaten.

Honestly, I’ve eaten it three times since I’ve made it, though I wouldn’t recommend you eat your oatmeal quite like this every day, it’s certainly nice for a treat, a weekend, guests, or just a simple change of pace from your daily routine. Give it a try, even my husband liked it and he's never been a fan of oatmeal.

Irish Weekender Oatmeal 

Basic Recipe

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
2 Cups Water
Pinch of Sea Salt

Optional to Serve 

Nondairy Milk
Nondairy Cream (Either store bought such as Silk, So Delicious or Califia, or thick homemade Cashew cream)
Bee Free Honey (or Agave if unavailable but I really recommend Bee Free)
Brown Sugar
Irish Whiskey

- Combine Oats, water and salt in a medium sized pot on the stove and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir a few times and then reduce the heat and let simmer 20-30 minutes until oats are cooked and most of the water has been evaporated.

- Make sure to keep an eye on the simmering oats and to stir from time to time to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pan.

- Scoop your oatmeal into individual serving bowls and top as desired with optional serving ingredients.

- For my oatmeal I added a good amount of Soy milk, then sprinkled the top with a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. Then I drizzled a bit of Bee Free Honey over the bowl, swirled in a spoonful of Califia Cream, and topped it off with a thimbleful of Irish Whiskey. So damn good! Try it!

- Enjoy your Irish Oats with some fresh baked scones, and a large steaming mug of Irish Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey, or Coffee.