i use steelcut oats (‘groats’) as well, but i have a way to cook them that doesn’t require ‘soaking’ overnight (tho it is an overnight process), and doesn’t leave a messy pot.

the night before, boil your water (like 3 cups), add your oats (like 1 cup), turn off the stove, and when the boiling has reduced to where it won’t boil over, put the lid on the pot and go to bed. in the morning, lovely ready-to-eat cooked oatmeal that dumps cleanly right out of the pot! divvy out as many portions as you want to reheat, put the rest in the fridge.

i’ve found they keep for at least a week; enough to have oats every day for breakfast. easy eating the rest of the week, after the first night’s cooking!

hope this helps! (and maybe helps others, too!) :)

@ Salekdarling – Well, porridge is so customizable, it’s really whatever you can imagine. Any nuts, any dried fruit, spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, actual pumpkin pie filling, etc. I also love extracts like almond or vanilla. Coconut milk or dried coconut. For teas, any yummy black tea (irish breakfast? peach ginger? whatever!). People also really love chai, which I think sounds amazing.

Possibilities are endless! =D

@ Eric Normand – Thanks, that probably uses a lot less energy. I’ll try that from now on!

On a practical note: in the Peace Corps I learned that for oatmeal you don’t really have to boil it. Just boil water in a kettle, pour it over oatmeal to cover, then put a plate over it to seal it in. After 3-5 minutes, it’s ready to eat. Saves sticky oatmeal at the bottom of your pot!