Savory Golden Oatmeal - A Sidedish for Lunch or Dinner.

Dear Folks,

I've shared recipe ideas on using oatmeal for meals other than breakfast.

Oatmeal makes an great economical, tasty, good-for-you option to rice as a side dish and it is FAST to make.  Once you have your ingredients ready it cooks up in 5-6 minutes.

I recently entered a contest Quaker Oats is having on finding new flavors for their instant oatmeal varieties.  I entered 3 flavors - maybe I will win, but whether I do I want YOU to know how good oatmeal is as a fast and easy side dish (or meal if you add in a protein - think Paella for meat etc ideas and flavors).

Here I decided on turmeric, ginger and pistachios as the base.  I added shredded red lettuce from my garden for texture and color.

Savory Turmeric, Ginger, Pistachio Oatmeal

Serves 2

1 teaspoon of butter or oil (I used my homemade butter / avocado oil spread)

1 cup of old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric (or more to taste or 1 teaspoon fresh grated)
1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger (or more to taste or 1 teaspoon fresh grated)
1 teaspoon dried onion (1/2 teaspoon of fresh)
1 3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons of pistachios (or more)
1 1/2 cups of shredded lettuce

In a pot, melt butter/oil stir salt, turmeric, ginger and onion for 1 minute.  Add water, stir, add oats and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until thickened, while stirring, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, fold in lettuce and serve in bowls topped with pistachios (or you can fold in the pistachios).

2 Servings each has 6.5 grams of protein, 4.75 grams of fiber and 190 calories.


! cup of this oatmeal/pistachio has about the same amount of protein as brown rice, more fiber, less calories (218 compared to 190 for the oatmeal), and cooks up faster.


What rice dishes do you make that can be changed out with oatmeal?

One of the contestants in the Quaker contest showed an "oatmeal burrito bowl"!  I thought that was a wonderful idea.  Made like the filling for a burrito and topped with fresh shredded cheese and diced tomatoes.


If you enjoy my recipes, check out my cookbooks on the side bar.

Have a great day!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Sprouted Corn for Salads

Dear Folks,

A while back I read about some chefs sprouting corn to include in their dishes.  Hmmmm, I thought, I need to keep that in mind.

Fast forward to last month and I suddenly got the bug to sprout some beans for use in our salads, soups and stews and I had my beautiful harvested Glass Gem Corn.

I had not actively sprouted foods in a long time because I had so much to choose from either in my garden or at the farmers market.

But cold and damp weather got me thinking about sprouting.  There is something soothing about having something growing on your counter in the middle of bleak weather that is reassuring.

I finally started some on January 9th, and with one thing and another, other than rising twice a day, I did not get to use them until yesterday. About 20 days - FYI you will probably want to harvest and use at about 10-12 days because the roots get a little to tangled to pull freely of each other (I like the roots in sprouts).  If you don't want the roots then just cut them off and use the tops as I did in the salad below. (I used 1 tablespoon of corn to sprout -- that is a pint mason jar.)

The results were fun and surprising.  Sprouted corn is sweet with a mild taste of corn on the cob flavor.

In the early part of January I posted on sprouting beans etc. where I discuss getting back into growing real food - fast - beans take about 2-3 days and they are ready.  By combining some bean types together you also increase the nutrition.  Also if you or your family want beans in the diet but have 'issues' with them, sprouted anything are easier to digest.

Harvesting from the garden is absolutely my favorite thing to do. Having said that, there is a lot of be commended about sprouting on your kitchen counter.  If the weather is dismal or you are too over-loaded to go out and pick, clean and prep salad, sprouted beans, grains and corn are truly easy-peasy.  Soak, rinse, repeat, eat!!

Yesterday I made a salad totally from our garden and the sprouted beans and corn.  Red Romaine, Green Ruffles and Arugula Lettuce, Sugar Peas, and a Red Scallion along with the Garbanzo and Green Lentil sprouts with the corn, pulled it all together. Just awaiting my limequat vinaigrette dressing.

Folks, if you enjoy my posts, please share.  Thank you.

Have a great week, watch your tender plants, protect them while we are in this cold spell and get ready to sow and plant after the system moves out.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Disclaimer: Clicking on links on this blog may earn me a small commission if you purchase something. Your price does not change.