Instant oatmeal is pretty popular, with such flavors as Maple and Brown Sugar, Raisins and Spice (what spice?!?), Cinnamon and Spice (again, what spice?!), Apples and Cinnamon, Strawberries and Cream, Apples Crisp just to name a few. There are different types, such as Classic Favorites, Weight Control with Classic Flavors, Lower Sugar with Classic Flavors, an oatmeal just for Women, one for just for Kids (none for Men??), Oatmeal with Crunch, classic flavor, an oatmeal that is for your heart, a Supreme version(?!?), and an (wait for it, you know it’s coming…) “Organic” version. The list is long, and strangely.. disturbing. Does “Oatmeal for Women” mean that it isn’t a classic.. and if it the ingredients aren’t organic in some form (I mean, really..did they make the rolled oats out of cardboard), then what the hell is it made out of?!?!?

And to top it all off, Instant Oatmeal tastes like pre-chewed, pre-digested, flavored kindergarten paste.

I’ve always bought it for him, basically because I really didn’t care for oatmeal, and figured it was a quick and easy breakfast for him.

Until this morning.

He made a lump of Maple & Brown Sugar concrete. If you decide to follow the cooking directions on the little packet, it clearly states that you should add 2/3 of a cup of water, mix in the instant oatmeal and flavor clumps (okay, it doesn’t say clumps :P), and stir. Microwave for 2 minutes.

Try # 1:

He used about 1/3 of a cup of water, instead of the 2/3rds, and instead of the pre-digested goo he usually ends up with, out came the maple & brown sugar concrete.

Try # 2:

He used about 1 cup of water, instead of the 2/3rds, and accidentally put the microwave on for 5 minutes. Again, no pre-digested goo, but a lump of concrete.

Try # 3:

He used the correct amount of water, and the correct amount of time… but the bowl was now so hot, that he dropped it .. all over my kitchen floor. Oh yeah. 8 Minutes until we have to drive 30 miles to get him to school, in suburban NYC traffic. Jussst great.

So, instead of oatmeal, it was PB Toast in the car on the way to school, a grumpy Mother with an attitude and, apparently, some oatmeal stuck to the knees of my jeans from cleaning the floor.

(In case you may wonder why I did not help him in the oatmeal making, he is “almost FOURTEEN”, and can “DO IT MYSELF, MOM!”.)

Luckily for him, he is with his father this evening. ;)

Tonight, I decided to try to make oatmeal porridge myself. This time using regular the rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick cooking), I had left from making oatmeal cranberry cookies. What I had always seen my father do was add water, salt, and the oatmeal at the same time, and stir it until it was .. well, slimy goo.

Blech.

Funnily enough, when you read the back of the Quaker Oats box, it says to use either water or milk, bring it to a boil, adding salt, and then sprinkle in the oats, while stirring.

I used 1 cup of milk, a bit of salt, 1/2 cup of oats – the recipe right off the back of the box.

I taste tested after 4 minutes — this was definitely not what Dad made. This stuff actually tastes.. almost good. I added a bit of brown sugar, and finished cooking it. I tasted once again.. and added a bit more milk, and damn!! It’s not bad at all.

Who knew?!?!

I honestly don’t know what kind of things can be added to oatmeal porridge, but I’m sure I can figure out something to make this palatable to my son, and wean him off of the instant crap.. err..stuff.

Even if I can’t figure out how to make “Cinnamon and Spice”, I do know that this is a lot better than the pre-digested stuff. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it, and seeing what I can come up with.

If you’ve got a favorite way to make oatmeal, post it here – I’d be interested to see what others do with it.

Oh, and I do know what organic means — but I was in the middle of a good rant, and it can’t be helped..heh

(Updated November 27, 2008)

Buckwheat used to be hugely popular in the United States - it was grown on more then 4000 km² in 1918, but then its popularity declined sharply. It is still extremely popular in North and East Europe.

If you live in the U.S., it might be a problem finding buckwheat at the market – most markets don’t carry it or have just the pre-cooked stuff – stay away from that, it tastes like someone already ate it once and didn’t like it. You might get lucky in stores that specialize in health foods or Russian/Eastern Europe food; ask for full buckwheat groats, not flour.

Easiest and most common way to prepare buckwheat is to make buckwheat porridge – which is really, really delicious.

What you’ll need is 300 grams/10 ounces of buckwheat, some salt and butter. Heat an empty pot on the stove, wash the buckwheat with cold water and pour it into the empty pot. Add a big spoonful of butter and roast the concoction for five to ten minutes while mixing it every few minutes – it will smell delicious while you do that. You can skip the roasting, but that way the porridge doesn’t become too soft – babies will like it without roasting more, I think.

Add salt and then carefully pour water into the pot. I recommend that you pre-heat the water, that way it will boil faster. You?ll need about 1 liter/0.25 gallons of water.

Boil the porridge for about 30-40 minutes, mixing it every once in a while, especially towards the end. You can add some more butter, too. The porridge is ready when all of the water has been absorbed. Let it sit for five minutes or so and serve with butter on top.

This amount will serve 3-4 people, but you may want to make more of buckwheat porridge than that. Not only does it stay fresh very well in the fridge or windowsill, it will taste even better afterwards when fried in a pan – you can add bits of sausages when frying. I recommend frying it with corn oil, but try it with bacon as well.

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Besides the porridge, you can make buckwheat pancakes, buckwheat noodles (both require buckwheat flour, not full groats) – and they even do gluten-free buckwheat beer.

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This recipe was shared, and picture taken, by DukeLupus (Sander Säde) – his blog …meie igapaevast IT’d anna meile igapaev… and..pühapäevafotod..