There are certain items that you will usually find in my pantry, one of my basic staples’ in oatmeal. I have rolled oats in my pantry. Oatmeal is one of the most popular hot cereals but it can be used in many other recipes. I use it to make granola, cookies, bread and even in soup. You can use oats as an extender in meat loaves. When ground oat flour makes rich thickeners for soups, gravies and stews. Oat flour will also add nutrition to your breads, muffins, crackers and desserts.
Did you know that you can use 25% oat flour in making bread and the natural vitamin E in oats will help keep your breads from going stale so quickly? It also has numerous health benefits such as lowering your cholesterol due to its soluble fiber content. Oats are also rich in the B vitamins, contain the anti-oxidant vitamin E and oats are mineral rich as well. Oats contain high levels of complex carbohydrates, which have been linked to reducing the risk of cancer and the better control of diabetes. Oatmeal is ground oat groats, it can also be ground oats, steel-cut oats, crushed oats or rolled oats. The process of heating produces a nutty flavor to the oats.
Perhaps you are familiar with instant oatmeal, which is precooked and dried, usually with a sweetener, and flavoring added. You can eat oats uncooked as in muesli or cooked as in porridge. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to cook regular rolled oats. Quick rolled oats, being thinner, cook much quicker in 2-3 minutes. The instant rolled oats are the least nutritious, you should think seriously about using them in your every day cooking habits. However you decide to eat oats you should definitely have some on hand.
You may wonder how long oatmeal can be stored? When properly stored, oatmeal lasts far longer than you might think.
Oats are much like barley with a hard outer shell that must be removed before it’s ready to eat. If you want to purchase oats you usually purchase them already hulled. Because of the antioxidants in oats, they are a good storing grain. For best storage conditions, pack them in airtight containers and store them in a cool place. Proper storage is the key to extending the shelf life of the oatmeal.. You do not want to create any moisture in the oatmeal. You can use the popular method of dry oven canning and your oatmeal will store even longer!
I use oats in many recipes. Here is a simple muffin recipe that I adapted from a recipe found on the epicurous.com website.
Oatmeal Muffins
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup dried cranberries (mini chocolate chips would be good too)
In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F and butter twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins. Add egg, sugar and butter to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.
Into another large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and add to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in dried cranberries or chocolate cups. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake muffins in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Makes a dozen muffins.
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