Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal

Life is about how you view your experiences, not just what those experiences are. You can change your entire life simply by changing your perspective.

I went to Arizona this weekend to visit my friends from the ant biology lab at ASU. We used to work together in the ant lab at FSU, and they all stuck together and stuck with ants (I know-nerds), while I ran away to CA alone. One of them, Dr. Adrian Smith, received his PhD on Friday, and I got to be there to see it! I took Aimee with me as a road trip buddy, since her sister-in-law lives in Phoenix as well.

Most of the weekend was spent hanging out and catching up, but my friend Clint and I made a point to go on a hike on Sunday morning before I drove home . We hiked up Camelback Mountain and it was a nice (steep) little “mountain” close to town. This is not the kind of hike I think to appreciate very often. I have them around. In fact, there’s a trail like this minutes from where I work that I’ve never even been to. Many of you have them too, whether its a mountain, creek, or a stretch of beach in your neighborhoods- even a nature trail in a city park. These hikes aren’t necessarily the most scenic, difficult, or interesting. Their allure is that you can hike on a weekday. After work. Before work. With anyone- a close friend, an old friend, someone you barely know, someone you barely like- even alone. They are the ultimate excuse eliminators- I hiked even though I was tired, hung over, and had to drive all day starting at lunchtime- and they are always more satisfying than a few miles on the treadmill. I use hiking to forget that I’m exercising and trick myself into doing it. This time, I also got to have a nice conversation with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. We spent a lot of time talking about the state of our lives, and where we want them to go next. I actually had this conversation with quite a few people. Then I went to to Wes’ class yesterday and he talked about art being just a transformation of regular old everyday boring old life. I realized that I can turn my life into anything I want simply by looking at it and talking about it in a different way. So I’m going to try to do that more often. Hopefully you’ll benefit. You all need to hear the funny stories of the things that happen to me! My life is hilarious! The good news is that I bet your is too!

So, to bring this around to the oatmeal…Most people view oatmeal as boring and overdone breakfast food, especially if you’re camping. Yes, you can change your perspective on this, but we’ll help you by teaching you about Steel Cut Oatmeal. We ate this during the detox (thanks to these guys) and I couldn’t believe how different and awesome the flavor was. Its nutty, its chewy, and its something even I can eat- the girl who hasn’t touched oatmeal since I started working at camp 5 years ago! Oatmeal was the reason I wanted to start DG! I hated it! So, change your perspective and try this stuff.

Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal

Yield

2 servings

Prep Time / Cook Time

2 minutes, plus soaking time / 5 minutes

Activity Guide

Backpacking, Bike Touring, Car Camping

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup steel cut oats
• 3 cups water
• Big pinch of salt
• Toppings of your choice: our favorites are raisins, walnuts, and blueberries

Tools

• Small pot
• Spoon

Method

1. Bring water and salt to a boil. Add oats, and boil for about a minute. Remove from heat and cover. Keep the oatmeal covered overnight in a safe place (don’t let the critters get it!).
2. In the morning, uncover the oats and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oatmeal is cooked and creamy. It should still be a bit chewy.