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Home
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WHAT'S COOKING?
Feeling Your Oats - Oatmeal, as
Bubby (I) Made
It
by Yaffa Shepsel
Oats, or `quaker', as the Israelis call it, gets its Hebrew
name after
the round cardboard Quaker Oats container depicting the
`chossid',
pardon me, Puritan Quaker, holding a box of Quaker Oats, with
a Quaker
holding a smaller box with a Quaker holding a smaller box...
you remember
the picture?
Oats are the most healthful grain, being the least processed
and containing the `germ,' or essence, which is often
extracted from
other grains in the processing, like polished rice and
processed bread
and even farina. Oats IS the germ. It is chock full of iron,
minerals
and fiber, and prepared as oatmeal, is an excellent way to
start the
day if you don't have time to wash for bread.
It has been proven that children perform considerably better
in school, in classroom and in tests, when they have eaten a
good
breakfast. Mothers, probably, too. And no dry breakfast
cereal can
beat oatmeal.
Oatmeal comes in pre-cooked tins or in plastic bags, as raw
rolled
oats, by far more economical. It can be bought in the open
market,
shuk, and if it is too large, can be quickly milled on the
`pulse'
button of your food processor or in your blender for quicker
cooking.
Make a huge potful of cereal, during the coming winter
mornings,
and watch it go! For easy cooking, warm up water in a
saucepan and
add checked oats plus farina and salt. Cooking in water
prevents scorching.
Plenty of milk can be absorbed after it boils. (This is not a
recipe,
so you'll have to arrive at your optimum measurements for the
consistency
you like.) Farina can be bought cheaply, unprocessed, in
large kilo
bags, like flour, or smaller packages of 100 grams. This is
the best
kind. Oats do not need extensive checking, but farina does
not keep
as well, and it might be better to buy fresh small bags if
you don't
have storage space in your freezer.
The farina thickens the oatmeal. Stir in the cereals and
bring
to a boil, then lower the fire to simmering, stirring
occasionally.
At this point, you can add milk, enough to reach your desired
consistency.
Your cereal should be ready in less than five minutes. Add
some
butter, if you like, and more milk now to cool it off. Let
the children
pour on sugar themselves, or shake on some cinnamon, pour
some maple
or chocolate syrup, even ketchup! Don't laugh until you try
it. If
you don't want it sweet, ketchup is a great flavoring!
If you like this cereal, you may want to combine oats, farina
and
salt in a plastic container, ready for quick breakfast
cooking.
OATS are an excellent thickener for soups. Add at the final
stage,
2-3 tablespoons, and cook another 3-4 minutes.
To your Good Morning health!
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