... Oatmeal

I get lots of requests for recipes and cooking advice and I find myself repeating that the key to a good meal is good ingredients. The recipe can be super simple but taste super wonderful if each ingredient is chosen with care.

If the picture you get in your head is dollar signs, thinking organic is too expensive, you'll be happy to know that oftentimes that is not the case (and, oftentimes I don't even use organic). I'm finding from personal experience that it doesn't require extra money, or even extra time, rather, just a little bit of planning.

So to those of you who have copied a recipe of mine and followed it to the letter only to call me complaining it didn't taste as good as mine, no, I did not leave an ingredient out of your recipe. I chose to go about how I made it differently.

Want my secrets? OK, I'll share. Today I think I'll talk about....

Oatmeal.

Sounds plan and mushy and un-inventive, huh? Oh but it's not. I've discovered Steel Cut Oats. Also knows as Irish Oats or Pinhead Oats, Steel Cut Oats are milled from high protein whole grain oats and cut into neat little pieces on a steel buhr mill.

What probably came to mind when I said oats are the old fashioned rolled oats or instant oatmeal paper packets filled with dried apple squares. While still a good source of fiber, these are the kind that tend to be a tad bland and mushy -- having been steamed & rolled thin.

I find Steel Cut Oats to be crunchy & flavorful, famously heart-healthy, and a great base for a variety of toppings such as:

• toasted walnuts
• natural cane sugar
• unsweetened toasted coconut
• raw honey
• half and half
• blueberries
• extra-chunky homemade applesauce
• agave nectar

Now, here comes the planning part. These take 30-40 minutes to cook well. You can cook them in 10, but they are better if they cook slower. Follow the directions on the package but boil them at a much slower rate.

This doesn't mean you're at the stove for this long, just that the Steel Cut Oats are slowing spreading their warm and toasty aroma throughout your home for this long. You are running around getting other things accomplished. It's very hands off. As an added bonus, it re-heats splendidly so you can make a large batch on Sunday night and eat it all week long.