The name of this is a portmanteau of barley and oatmeal. It’s a very hearty, whole-grain breakfast that is made in the crockpot. It’s similar to oatmeal made with steel cut oats, except that the grains are kept whole and the barley adds a nice flavor and springiness to it. You can add other grains, fruits, and nuts as you like. Just make sure that any grain you get is hulled, or you’ll have a bunch of chaff floating on the top of your boatmeal. The grains can be found at any natural food store and most grocery stores. You can make large batch of this at the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge to eat over 5 days or so.

If you increase the recipe, just maintain the same ratio (but you don’t need to increase the salt as much).

This makes a ~4 cup batch.

1/2 c. pearled barley
1/2 c. hulled whole oats
4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in the crockpot before bed. Put the crockpot on low. In the morning you should be awakened by the comforting aroma of boatmeal. Stir it up so it’s well-mixed. I like to put molasses or maple syrup on top, and sometimes a little cream.

When you refrigerate it, boatmeal will become semi-solid. Add a little water when you heat up the leftovers (microwave or stove top) to loosen it up.