Ten Questions

From Urban Hennery comes the ten questions by James Lipton. Enjoy!

Here are the rules:
1. If you decide to answer, please leave a comment with a link to your blog.
2. You have to post these rules before you answer the questions.

1. What is your favorite word?
Shiny. At least that's been my favorite word lately. The words I like differ from day to day.

2. What is your least favorite word?
Moist. I like what it refers to, at least when we're talking baked goods, but just the sound of it... *shudder*.

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
People who do their best to improve the world.

4. What turns you off?
People who unrepentantly do things that solely harm others and the environment, even if they're getting paid well to do it. Maybe especially if they are getting paid well to do it.

5. What sound or noise do you love?
My cat's purr, onions sizzling in butter, and the little barks my puppy makes when she's dreaming.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
My hacking cough when I'm sick. Doesn't help that it hurts!

7. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck. I think that's a given.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What qualifies as "my own?" Cheesemonger or the area of law? Because I'd gladly sell cheese for the rest of my life. But since I already do that... Animal attorney, cheese shop owner and hobbyist in cheesemaking, ideally with sheep's milk.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything that involves harming critters.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Well, I'm not religious. But I suppose "have a beer" would be nice and welcoming.

Family and Oatmeal

This past weekend, the boy's mom, sister, and aunt all got into town for the boy's niece's first birthday! As exciting as that is, it takes a lot of preparation, especially when you're expecting a couple dozen guests. The morning of the birthday party, I made oatmeal for everyone to enjoy. A nice, warm breakfast that definitely hit the spot and readied us all for the day ahead - which involved full use of two kitchens, beet juice everywhere, and myriad other amusing moments!

As for the oatmeal, it takes awhile to make it this way, earning me a quip regarding "one hour oats," but I think the flavor benefit is well worth it. This is another easy recipe, really, requiring little but estimations in amounts. Generally, for each cup of oats, you'll need three cups of liquid, but that is the estimate for cooking them with a lid on, and if you prefer them softer. I like my oats al dente.

Steel-cut oats consist of the inner portion of the oat kernel. That's called a groat, but that word is frankly kind of weird and creepy and sounds more like a crawly critter you would decidedly not want in your breakfast bowl. So I just call it the inner portion of the oat kernel. They're chopped into slightly smaller pieces with (big shocker here) steel cutters. They're also called pinhead oats, Scotch oats, or Irish oats. Steel-cut oats are a little bit more nutritious than rolled oats, and are absolutely tastier. They're nuttier and chewier and just all around awesomeness. Rolled oats should only exist for cookie baking. As for steel-cut oats, I like Bob's Red Mill brand, and I used one bag in the recipe this time around.

Creamy Steel-Cut Oatmeal

One bag of steel cut oats (about three cups of oats, a little over a pound...).
Milk. I used 2%, but you could use whatever fat content you like.
Water.
Butter, for a whole bag of oats you'll want to use most of a stick.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves.

Melt the butter in a nice big pot. Let it get foamy and almost nutty smelling. Dump in the oats, stir the oats so they get coated in the butter. Now stir regularly. Basically you're toasting the oats to bring out the nuttiness of them. Can you tell that I like nutty flavors? Hmm... feel free to use that as a commentary on my personality. Anyway, once the oats are nice and buttery and toasty (the color won't change much, so you're going by smell here), dump in a cup or a glass full of water. It will sizzle. Once the sizzling goes down, you'll want the temperature on medium. Now the oats can be cooked in a similar way to risotto - as each addition of liquid (milk or water - change the proportions however you want) is absorbed, you add the next one, making sure to stir frequently. It will take awhile. This is a good lazy weekend breakfast. Taste test along the way, adding spices as you like, though I wouldn't add much more than a teaspoon or so of the salt. Once you've hit the texture and taste you like, dig in. We served it with more butter, milk, a little more salt for me, and homemade maple syrup from the boy's family's trees. Absolutely delicious and satisfying, and a huge hit!