Dorm-dash: Pacers, eat your oats!

Oh, what to do with those bacon mooching roommates?—eat breakfast that frightens them, go outside the box, try savory steel cut oats.

In spite of living a much healthier lifestyle than most of my associates, I had a heart attack at age 49.

The college student with me called 911, and five days later his mother gifted me a can of McCann's Steel Cut Oats as I left the hospital.

These oats look and taste different than ordinary oatmeal. I tried them with the brown sugar, raisins, typical sweet stuff on top and found them quite repulsive.

Then an impulse grabbed me: why not eat steel cuts oats with something savory?

My journey began with green tomatillo salsa and hot pickled okra. Just look at YouTube and find hundreds of recipes.

Mine?

Boil water and add oats (3:1 cups water to oats) and a pinch of salt, turn down to simmer about 30 minutes and make enough for you—and enough to dare your friends. 

If you’re short on time, start them the night before and set them aside to save half the time, and add whatever savory side you prefer.

If you’re an artist, let the beige bowl of steaming heart-healthy goodness be your canvas.

There’s no limit to what you can create and share with the world.

Although McCann’s and Bob’s Redmill have both won the prestigious Golden Spurtle  Award for the world’s best steel-cut oats, all brands are good.

McCann’s in a can is priciest, but that container once empty is perfect to reuse when I gift traditional Vanishing Oat Meal Cookies with my added touch of chocolate chips, walnuts, and a roll in coconut flakes on the way to the oven. 

And when those bacon moochers look in your bowl, they will freak!