All Is (Not) Lost

I have been waiting with great anticipation for the film "All Is Lost" to come out on DVD.  Well, now it has and just as I suspected it's an incredible journey!  It's the story of a man who runs into what seems to be insurmountable odds on the open sea and how he ultimately deals with both Murphy's Law and nature's wrath.  Now I'm not a sailor, (although I do greatly admire those that have acquired those skills), but regardless the story lends itself to all of us who strive for self-sufficiency and self-reliance.  My last intention here would be to provide spoilers to the film because it truly deserves to be experienced without much detail. The less you know about the film the more that you can fully experience the power of the picture.  Suffice it to say there is an incident that occurs over the course of several days that pushes him and his survival skills to their breaking point.  There are however, many good lessons to be learned from the film and the movie's lone character including preparation, repair work, keeping a level head in the face of extreme stress, and even how to make a working solar water still (a very sound process to know on land or at sea).  This small yet critically acclaimed film staring Robert Redford is called "All Is Lost", but it's NOT lost on its viewers. 

Oats-a-Meal

It was something that I hadn't really thought to try to be honest with you:  making meat from oatmeal.  OK, so technically it wasn't meat, but it turned out to be one of the best substitutes that I had ever tried!  Like most discoveries, it came from necessity.  With nothing thawed out for dinner the choices were go without or find an alternative. 

"To the internet," I said, and within a few minutes I had found a process of using oatmeal as a meat substitute.  They were using it as a sausage but mentioned how it both looked and tasted a bit like chicken-fried steak....Well, chicken-fried steak sounded good to me!!  I'll share the process with you first then the results:

* 2 cups of raw oatmeal (I used quick oats)
* 4 eggs (egg substitute could also be used here)
* Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, sage, whatever you and your family prefer in your favorite dishes)
* Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl then make your patties (This amount of ingredients will make two large steak-like patties)
* Place your patties in a frying pan and cook them as you would any like cut of meat
* Take your browned oatmeal steaks and place them in a pan of simmering bouillon broth (This can be chicken or beef whichever you like best)
* Let simmer for 20 minutes
* Pull the steaks from the broth and re-brown them for just a few minutes

That's it!  You're done!  The first time I tried this I skipped the simmering broth step.  While the steaks were still very good with a delicious flavor (they were indeed used as a substitute for chicken-fried steak),  the texture was very dense almost like a bannock.  The second round of "oatmeal meat" was used for meatballs and served with noodles and a red sauce.  This time the simmer step was not skipped and the difference could most definitely be told in the meat's texture...it was perfect!  Though you may be skeptical (as was I), give it a try.  Because if the refrigerator or pantry is running a little thin or there's simply no time to thaw something out or run to the store, just remember oats-a-meal!!!

Oatmeal meatballs