I’ve been using a tiny little one-serving crockpot to make my morning breakfast this past week. It’s turning out pretty well. ¼c steel cut oatmeal, 1¼c liquid, and a pinch of salt. Plug it in and let it sit all night. I’ve been putting dried fruit in, along with a splash of fruit juice. I tried putting chopped pecans in, but I think they’re better when you add them in the bowl before you eat it. I find the end result does require a little sweetener, so I add a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. It’s definitely a little tricky to clean. To help in this end, as soon as I scoop out the oatmeal, I fill the little crock with water, because once the oatmeal dries, it might as well be cement. Others, I’ve heard, use a little souffle ramekin, slightly smaller in diameter than the crockpot.
Update, 4/11/08 : I’ve settled on a standard recipe. 1/3rd plus 2T of oats, plus 1¾c of water, a pinch of salt, and a small handful of Trader Joe’s dried orange-flavored cranberries in the little crock pot. I let it sit overnight, and in the morning, I line the bottom of the bowl with black raspberries, and I cover it with the oatmeal, and I add a splash of grade-b maple syrup to slightly sweeten it. As for cleaning the little crockpot : as soon as I empty it, I take a butter knife and slide it underneath the band of browned oatmeal that forms over the heating element. It’s sort of a game to try an make it all come off in one long piece. I imagine I could eat it, but I just toss it out. The the remainder of the residue left in the little crock is easily cleaned out with a little water. According to the label on the oatmeal, this quantity of it is heart-friendly and more apt to help you lower your cholesterol.
