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[SJC <indexer AT localnet.com>]

Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:
> The flakes have been parboiled (steamed) and flattened between rollers and 
> then dried.  Good for oatmeal cookies but little else.
>   
I'm curious, why do you think they are no good?  You think they've lost 
nutrition or you/your crowd don't like them?   Or maybe you just mean 
the storebought ones?

I've always taken a portion and steamed them and put them thru the 
rollers.  Doesn't take very long, and they dry pretty fast just in the 
oven (gas with pilot) or the warming oven of a woodstove.  They still 
have a good bit of body and are nice and chewy that way. 

Some of them I toasted a bit and the kids used to eat them like popcorn 
or other dry snack, plus we used them in other various ways and we liked 
them.  I'm not much of a snacker, but I still do about 10 pounds or so a 
year.  I do even more wheat that way than I do oats, as that I sometimes 
add into bread dough at the last punchdown for some 'nuts' in the bread, 
which is a personal favorite.  Some I cook as in post previous, some I 
use with butter atop baked goods, or sometimes sprinkle some onto 
something I want some "crunch" on, or stir them into yogurt or fruit for 
a snack or light lunch on a hot day.

I've never used the storebought ones, maybe those aren't the same?  I've 
been spoiled by my once-upon-a-time-inlaws sending me a good supply of 
organic grain every year and have always been able to do them here.

SusanJane, in Maine