This morning I am making oat groats.

Actually, I should say...

This morning I am making OAT GROATS!

It's kind of exciting for me. Oat groats don't have the instant satisfaction of my regular morning bowl of thick cut oats, but they have a different kind of satisfaction. Several, actually, today, in particular. I've never made them before, so yay. Also, they're the whole form of oats, so I'm venturing out into whole grain breakfast cereals. When I muster up my courage (or when I run out of groats?) I will make hot teff cereal.

Oats, though, are good for a number of things. I eat them every morning because they are yummy, have lots of fiber, and are filling. But they also have anti-depressant properties that are enhanced by cinnamon. I usually also put cardamom in with my oats (I just ran out of ground cardamom, and need to grind up some more, as I grind it fresh in small batches about once a week... time consuming but so much better flavor-wise), and cardamom is also recommended as an anti-depressant. So for me it's a great way to start the day when I'm in the thick of my PhD exam-driven isolation hell.

This is my first time making oat groats, and I found a recommendation to cook them in a 3:1 water:groats ratio, for 45 minutes. I treated them like rice - I rinsed the groats first, added the water, then added a bit of cinnamon and salt, brought them to a boil, and finally turned the heat way down to a whisper and set the stove timer. They're cooking right now. You can apparently also cook them easily in a rice cooker. If you have one with a timer, you can probably just set it at night to soak in the water, and then have it turn on an hour before your normal breakfast time.

I'm cooking just one batch on the stove... I don't like to reheat things, so I'm seeing how this turns out. In the meantime, I'm drinking elaichi chai (cardamom black tea) with milk (no sugar) and working on my comprehensive exams. When the groats are done, I'll add milk and dark raw agave nectar, which is my usual treatment for oats.

Have you ever made oat groats? If so, what are your favorite recipes? 

 UPDATE: The oat groats took about an hour total to cook, and they were delicious and different. Crunchy, nutty, slightly sweet. They separate completely into individual grains, much like rice, so if you like the texture of regular oatmeal (like I do), it will take some getting used to.  But still yummy and satisfying.