Grex Cooking Conference

Item 133: Comfort Foods

Entered by denise on Thu Jan 30 15:56:22 1997:

25 new of 64 responses total.


#40 of 64 by keesan on Wed Dec 6 02:31:33 2006:

We suggested chicken soup and rice.  He brought us pizza and fries (which sort
of implies that is what he also cooked for himself).    I suggested spaghetti
but he can't eat tomato sauce and did not want it plain.  I thought cheese
would be hard to digest.  I offered some dry baby cereal - not interested.
Cream of wheat works for me.


#41 of 64 by mary on Wed Dec 6 13:23:16 2006:

Re: #38  I'd forgotten that.  How cool you remembered though.

Mostly, when people are feeling sick, if they stick to what they
feel like eating, they do okay.  Even if this means not having anything
but water.  The body pretty much knows.  The trick is to listen and
not be influenced by what others feel we should be eating.


#42 of 64 by keesan on Wed Dec 6 15:07:28 2006:

The neighbor feels like eating pizza when he is sick.


#43 of 64 by mary on Wed Dec 6 15:55:32 2006:

Then he should have pizza.


#44 of 64 by keesan on Wed Dec 6 18:04:25 2006:

He recovered anyway.


#45 of 64 by void on Thu Dec 7 03:03:06 2006:

Ginger tea is great for nausea.  Take a piece of ginger about the size
of your thumb.  Chop or grate it.  Simmer it in about 3 cups of water
for 20 minutes.  Strain and drink hot.


#46 of 64 by edina on Thu Dec 7 15:53:24 2006:

Peppermint tea is too....I give that to the hubby a lot who has issues 
with IBS.


#47 of 64 by void on Fri Dec 8 06:38:12 2006:

Ginger's supposed to be good for the whole digestive tract.  If hubby
gets tired of peppermint, you could try it.  :)


#48 of 64 by edina on Fri Dec 8 15:43:27 2006:

That's the back up...he doesn't drink carbonation anymore, and he's 
not crazy about ginger tea - but if he's feeling awful, he'll do 
pretty much what I suggest.


#49 of 64 by mary on Sat Dec 16 11:50:40 2006:

One comfort food is oatmeal.  This morning we're walking to steel cut oats 
made in a mini-crockpot.  I've made this with regular Quaker oats before 
but never the steel cut variety.  The idea comes via Alton Brown.  I 
haven't tasted it yet but the house smells oh so good.


#50 of 64 by furs on Sat Dec 16 12:30:39 2006:

I'd like to know the difference between steel cut and regular.  I know
generally, but I mean taste.  Well I think oatmeal is a great comfort
food to have!  I like oatmeal and oatbran cereal (the kind that's like
cream of wheat). 


#51 of 64 by mary on Sat Dec 16 12:57:07 2006:

Er, we're WAKING to oatmeal.  Walking comes much later. ;-)

Jeanne, I know not about the difference in oats, but John seems to have a 
handle on why steel cut are the better nurtritional value.  John or anyone 
else know?


#52 of 64 by remmers on Sat Dec 16 14:01:17 2006:

In our household, I guess I'm the resident expert on steel cut oats, as I 
freqently cook up a one-serving portion for myself for breakfast.  The way 
I do it is to simmer it in water with a tablespoon of ground flax seed and 
a dash of salt, until the water is absorbed - about 20 minutes.  I top it 
with nuts, fresh fruit, and milk.  Yummy and healthy!

The taste and texture are nuttier and chewier than conventional rolled 
oats.  I like it better.

The crockpot method that Mary used this morning (resp:49) is new to me.
Quite tasty in its own rather different way, although the underlying taste 
and texture of the steel cut oats came through quite well.


#53 of 64 by denise on Sat Dec 16 14:23:56 2006:

There was a diner in Durham that I enjoyed going to and they served breakfast
all day [plus after 10-11 am, they also served lunch stuff, after 4pm, dinner
stuff].  One of my favorites was their oatmeal breakfast: oatmeal with bananas
and/or raisins [I usually got both] with brown suger on the side and warm milk
on the side, too; plus an english muffin or toast [I would get the muffin]
and juice or coffee [I would get juice since I'm not a coffe person]. And the
oatmeal was really good, definitely not the instant kind.  I also liked their
made to order omelletes. I miss this diner! [and it was only a mile from my
house...]


#54 of 64 by cmcgee on Sat Dec 16 14:54:56 2006:

I used a 1 qt crockpot to make hot breakfast a lot.  I would put the oats in
a pyrex custard cup, along with the necessary water, put the cup in the
crockpot at bedtime, and wake to hot cereal already in its bowl.  I
experimented by putting Muesli and milk in the cup, and loved the outcome.

Just about any granola works nicely that way as well.  

Pyres cups come in an 8 oz size as well as 4.


#55 of 64 by keesan on Sun Dec 17 19:26:00 2006:

How long does oatmeal need to cook in a crockpot?  It sounds like you used
it as an oven rather than a pot.  Might work well for custard that way too.


#56 of 64 by cmcgee on Mon Dec 18 00:20:42 2006:

6-10 hours


#57 of 64 by denise on Mon Dec 18 00:59:50 2006:

I don't think I've ever had the steel cut oatmeal, though my Mom used to make
us some Irish oatmeal that was good.


#58 of 64 by void on Mon Dec 18 02:38:12 2006:

re resp:50: furs, steel cut oats are nuttier, chewier, and a heck of a
lot less slimy than rolled oats.  They make me think of chewy
Grape-Nuts.  I like steel-cut oats with honey and raisins, cooked in a
little extra water so they make their own milk.


#59 of 64 by slynne on Thu Dec 21 23:14:05 2006:

I have to confess that I like slimy oatmeal. So what is this crockpot 
method of making oatmeal. I mean, how long does it take in a crockpot?

My latest method for making oatmeal is to just put rolled oats in a 
bowl with boiling water. I put a plate over the bowl and wait 3-4 
minutes. They are good that way but not nearly slimy enough. I bet 
crockpot cooking could make the oatmeal all gooey the way I like it. 


#60 of 64 by mary on Thu Dec 21 23:35:35 2006:

They are gooey when cooked the way I described somewhere up there.  The 
dried cherries / cranberries get all plump and soft too.  But you really 
need to use a small crockpot, Lynne, like a one quart, max, for the 
proportions I gave to serve two.  

I have made crockpot oatmeal using regular, Quaker rolled oats too.  That 
recipe called for butter, brown sugar, nuts, and less milk.  It was quite 
good but due to the sugar the end color was very dark brown.

I prefer both the taste and the look of the steel cut oat recipe.  And if 
it's good enough for Alton Brown...  ;-)


#61 of 64 by slynne on Fri Dec 22 00:32:15 2006:

I have a very small crock pot! I think it is a quart size. I sometimes 
use it for making hot dips. But really, I hardly ever use it. But I 
love oatmeal! So how long do you leave it in the crockpot? Would it be 
ok to set it up the night before or would eight hours in a crockpot be 
too long for oatmeal?




#62 of 64 by cmcgee on Fri Dec 22 02:51:59 2006:

I use a 1 qt crock pot for hot morning oatmeal.  I pour the water on the oats
just as I go to bed, and eat the oatmeal shortly after getting up the next
morning.  8 hours seems to work ok in the small one, even with rolled oats.


#63 of 64 by keesan on Fri Dec 22 04:16:09 2006:

You can plug into a timer and plug the timer into the wall.


#64 of 64 by slynne on Fri Dec 22 04:34:58 2006:

Cool. I might have to try that this weekend!


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