My first real post.

I have been trying to change the way we eat around here. I have been at it for about three years. Turns out it's a little harder than I expected.
I'm looking for simple, cheap, healthful foods that we all like. Easier said than done. But I'm no quitter.
So I'm exploring oatmeal. I know, I'm all fired up about it too. It's cheap, and healthful. But not without it challenges. Take skirlie for example. That's it there in the little skillet. Skirlie is a Scottish invention. Basically, it's oats sauteed with onion, salt, and pepper. Sounds good. And simple. Probably is if your Scottish.
The recipe calls for Scottish oatmeal? What's that? Where do they think I am? My first batch of skirlie was done with regular rolled oats, all the way from the pantry. The recipe says it's good with gravy. I make chicken gravy. Turns out we like the skirlie better without the gravy. But do we really like the skirlie? It has promise. It's warm and has a nutty flavor, but it's kind of crunchy. Too crunchy.
So the second time I use more onion thinking that the juice from it will help to soften the oats. Some improvement but still too crunchy. Hmm.
Some months go by as I consider skirlie. It sounds so good.


So recently I was reading that we should soak whole grains, like oats, overnight before cooking them. This is supposed to make the nutrients more available. Sweet. That's it! It has to take some of the crunch out too, right?
So I get some Irish oatmeal. Ireland is near Scotland right? How can their oats be so different?
The skirlie and the water go in the bowl. Overnight. Together. Guess what we had for dinner?

I baked some eggs. and made some skirlie of course. It made the skirlie noise in the pan. It looked just like the picture. It tasted pretty good. It was chewy. Chewy is better than crunchy. Right?
So I went to Jungle Jim's. I got Scottish oatmeal. Guess what we're having tomorrow. I told you I'm no quitter.