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I was slow to understand and apply the
timesaving which microwaving oatmeal offers
an over-burdened mother in the morning. The
only time I had microwaved oatmeal was in
the mid 1980’s during a home economics
course which made more use of the microwave
than anyone has ever dreamed of doing since.
To my recollection, the microwaved oatmeal
was a pasty goop, which spilled over the
bowl and exploded into a nasty mess that I
ended up cleaning, because my cooking
partner was cleverer than I at weaseling out
of it was. For years I eschewed microwaved
oatmeal because of this one bad experience.
Turns out, I deprived myself of a wonderful
time and energy saving method. The key to
microwaving oatmeal is to cook it in a
larger bowl than you think it needs. For the
recipes included in this book, I use a
3-quart glass casserole dish. This gives the
oatmeal plenty of room to boil, without
tempting it to bathe the inside of the
microwave with its hearty goodness.
To begin, combine all of the ingredients
called for in the recipe in your large glass
bowl or casserole. This includes the water,
the oatmeal and all of the various
seasonings. Place the bowl in the microwave
and cook it on High for about 8 minutes, or
until the mixture boils really big and
aggressively all over the dish. For
old-fashioned oatmeal you want it to
continue this rumbling boil for a minute or
so. For quick oatmeal, you just need it to
boil all the way through to the center of
the dish, and then let it sit for a few
minutes before serving. Depending on your
microwave wattage the cooking time may be
more than 8 minutes, or it may be less.
Watch the oatmeal the first time you make
it, and take note of how much time it takes
to cook.
The beauty of this method is that the
oatmeal can be left to tend itself.
Meanwhile you can run off to find lost
socks; scavenge up field trip money; and
pack the lunches for hungry heathens hell
bent on making the morning rush take as long
as possible so they miss the bus and you
have to drive them to school. Other hot
cereals can also be microwaved. Read the
package to find out how, and be sure to use
a big enough bowl for the cooking.
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