Savory Oatmeal....Part I (possibly)

Mark Bittman's Savory Oatmeal
It all started with my housemates' girlfriend's suggestion that I try a savory oatmeal. This conversation came on the heels of a recent recipe success with a fantastic Pumpkin Oatmeal "...And a Cookie" I'd been extolling about.

Yes, I made some adjustments to the recipe... 1/3 cup oatmeal & fiber cereal instead of 1/4 cup. I used maple/agave syrup as a sweetener and omitted use of the no calorie sweetener. And most importantly, adapted it for cooking in the work microwave by putting all dry ingredients in one container and all wet in another and mixing together right before microwaving. Delicious! The idea of a Savory Oatmeal sounded so inspired.

Thus, I was on a mission, and low & behold Mark Bittman, famous foodie & cookbook author, had a savory oatmeal recipe with his name plastered all over it as the second hit on Google.

Monday morning, bright and early I eagerly opened my newest breakfast concoction, took a bite and wanted to SPIT. Ewww, it was like eating a soy sauce flavored salt lick with green onion tossed in. And even if I had not added "A couple shakes of sea salt" it still was disgusting...I cook enough to know this. Okay, so let me give this meal a full disclosure...I did use quick the cooking oats + fiber cereal combination (the same that works so well in the pumpkin oatmeal). And I did cook it in the microwave since I eat breakfast at work...but still, Mark, you can do better than this!

Monday evening, I weighed my options, there was no way I was going to continue eating Mark Bittman's Savory Oatmeal disaster, but I still wanted to experience the flavorful possibilities of a savory oatmeal I knew existed. It was time to experiment...

I am writing this on Thursday, having had two back-to-back days of savory oatmeal success. And the interest this oatmeal has generated among my coworkers is unprecedented. Perhaps, because it is beautiful and unusual.

Savory Mushroom Oatmeal - To Go
• 1/3 cup Quick Cooking Oatmeal Oats
• 1/3 cup Bran Cereal*
• ~3/4 cup Unsweetened Soy Milk** (I like enough soy milk to make it a bit soupy)
• 1/3 cup cooked down Mushroom (boletus edulis or standard white, others probably also excellent)
• ~1/8 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil/butter
• 1/4 tsp of sweetener, I used stevia but believe a dash of honey, agave, or sugar would work just as well
• Pinch of salt
• Couple shakes of "Herbs de Provence" (This particular blend includes basil, sage, majorum, etc. Use any spice mix you have laying around that you think might compliment mushrooms & onions.)

These directions are specifically for home assembly and to microwave later (ie, at the office).

Slice then cook down your mushrooms over medium/high heat in olive oil or butter, this takes me approximately 6-8 minutes. While mushrooms are cooking, pour ingredients straight into microwave safe travel container in the following order: bran cereal, oats, salt, herbs, green onion. When mushrooms are done, put them on top and close the container. In a second container, pour soy milk, add sweetner and close.

When ready to cook, pour soymilk mixture in with oatmeal and microwave until oats are cooked, but not mush. For me, this is the magical number of 55 seconds.

*I really like using Bran Cereal because of a noticeable positive effect I feel; I also believe it to be very filling & nutritious. I purchased generic Trader Joes, but essentially you want your Bran Cereal to look like Fiber One or All Bran (not flakes like Raisin Bran). That being said, you can easily double your usage of quick cooking oats and not alter the character of the dish too much.

**If you find soy milk creepy, go ahead, use dairy milk. But consider nixing the sweetener.

This Savory Mushroom Oatmeal is delicious! I cannot wait to try more experiments along these lines. When you branch out, I recommend thinking of your favorite omelet combinations...I suspect many will translate well to savory oatmeal blends.