The Charm of Oatmeal

I was reminded of life’s frazzling moments on a recent trip to New York. For all the glories and excitement of the big city, too much stimulation can wear one down.

One morning in the hotel dining room, feeling tired and dull, I ordered a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Hot and creamy with brown sugar and milk, it was a wonderful soul-soothing restorative. Cures can come in the plainest forms from the least expected sources.

In our country, boxes of oatmeal gather dust on many kitchen shelves, remembered only once in a while for a batch of cookies. We should take a lesson from the Scots, who fully appreciate the splendid, humble oat.

Most Scots households begin the day with oatmeal porridge, and they have, over many centuries, given lots of thought to creative uses of oats.

They also have firm rules about cooking and eating it. They insist that it should always be cooked in salted water, and it is their custom to serve hot oatmeal porridge with cold milk in a separate bowl. Each spoonful of hot porridge is dipped and cooled in the milk before being eaten.

They still prepare a very old and primitive form of oats called “crowdie,” which is raw oatmeal stirred with fresh spring water or fresh buttermilk. They also have “crowdie-mowdie,” a milk and oat mixture; “cream-crowdie,” toasted oatmeal folded into fresh whipped cream; and “butter-crowdie,” made by mixing toasted oatmeal with soft butter, fresh from the churn, and sugar.

In the U.S., the most readily available form of oats is rolled oats, which are made by rolling the groats (oats with the hulls removed) into flakes and steaming. Regular and quick-cooking oats differ only in the thinness of the flakes. They are generally interchangeable and take very little cooking time.

OATMEAL MUFFINS (LOW-FAT COOKING)

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup rolled oats

2 eggs

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons oil, plus extra for greasing pan

Combine buttermilk and oats, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.

Beat eggs just until yolk and white are blended. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth and well blended. Add buttermilk-oatmeal mixture, then add flour, baking soda, salt and oil and beat until well mixed.

Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 400 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove muffins from tins and serve hot or let cool on rack.

2 dozen. Each muffin:

91 calories; 128 mg sodium; 18 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.21 gram fiber.

OATMEAL SOUP

This is one of those “dull reading, delicious eating” recipes. Tasters in The Times Test Kitchen were skeptical about the dish . . . until they tasted it and asked for seconds. It’s very much like a good chicken and rice soup.

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, plus 1 cup cooked

6 cups chicken broth

Salt, pepper

3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Melt butter in large skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, just until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add uncooked oatmeal and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly and adding more butter if needed, until oatmeal is sightly golden, 3 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste, bring to simmer and add cooked oatmeal, stirring until well mixed. Simmer 5 minutes. Add parsley and serve.

4 servings. Each serving:

226 calories; 1,329 mg sodium; 25 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 0.50 gram fiber.

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Napkin and bowl from Sur La Table, Pasadena.