Our local grocery store has gone out of business, and although a Trader Joe’s is moving in, we’re going to be in limbo for a few months while the transition is in progress.  In the meantime, I’ll have to do my grocery shopping in a more fragmented fashion… fresh produce at the Asian Veggie Mart, dry goods and paper items at the market on Polk Street, household items at Walgreens, and for meat and other quality food items, I’m trekking to Whole Foods a couple blocks away.  I’m not complaining–a couple blocks is not a huge inconvenience, it’s just longer than I’ve had to walk, and with heavy grocery bags it can seem a bit tiresome on the way home.

All that to say, I’ve never shopped much at a Whole Foods, but I’m going to have to get a lot more familiar with the store in the next few months.  Since Thanksgiving, Sam and I have tried their ready-made lunch buffet, purchased a few of their prepared-in-store frozen pizzas, and of course bought lots of new cheeses and olives–my favorite snacks!  My latest experiment from Whole Foods is with a new-to-me breakfast staple: steel cut oats.

I’ve heard about their crunchy flavor, and of course their claim to fame: steel-cut oats are an excellent source of fiber.  So during my last trek to Whole Foods, I bought a tin of steel cut oats and tried them out.  Success, two ways!

First, as oatmeal, I used the basic recipe on the package, but added some milk and a little vanilla extract.  I made a big batch, kept the leftovers in individual-proportion containers, and had breakfast prepared for a week!

Steel Cut Oatmeal 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 3 ½ cups water
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• optional toppings: cinnamon & raisins, honey, etc.

Directions:

1. Brings water to boil.  Add oats and salt.  Stir.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. When oats start to thicken (around 30 minutes), add milk and vanilla.  Stir and cook 10 more minutes.
4. Add in cinnamon or other toppings.

Yields 4-5 servings

To reheat, I added a splash of milk and microwaved it for 2 minutes.  Then I topped it with honey–yum!

Next, I wanted to make some oatmeal cookies.  I looked around online, and finally found a recipe with ingredients I already had on hand.  I halved the recipe and loved the results!  The oats make these cookies crunchy, with a nutty taste, and the cinnamon really stands out.  Soo yummy!

Chocolate Chip Steel Cut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup steel cut oats
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) together.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.  Add oats and chocolate chips.
   
   
5. Drop by tablespoons onto lightly greased baking sheet.

   
   Bake for 15 minutes.

Yields 12-20 cookies

Do you have any advice for preparing steel cut oats?  I’d love to know!