Morning oatmealPeter A Have you tried it as cookies? That's the way I've been getting my oatmeal recently...
I don't know what prices woudl be normal in your part of the world, but a search on ebay or amaozon or google might help.
I think the size of a pan/pot depends on how many peple the eprson in quesiton typically cooks for. I cook for one, and use big pots most of the time. Creuset pans are fantastic for pasta sauces, stews, chili, soups or cooking legumes. Slow simmering is easy in a creuset (and similar pots from other brands). Those foods are the types of things I cook in large quantities (I freeze left overs). I use 4-6 quart pans for those things.
The only things I use my smaller pots for are the starches to go with my dinner: potatoes, rice, pasta, couscous etc. For such things, the quality of the pans s less important (because these things are boiled in lots of water). IF I boil veg, I sometimes use the smaller pots, too. But I rarely boil veg.
In other words, if I were to get a pot/pan, I'd get a biggish one.
I think ginving someone a good pot is a wonderful gift! They'll last a lifetime and make cooking more fun and easier (lower risk of burning things, ofr water boiling over the top). The attention that is not needed for rwatching things as much is then redirected to the quality of the food. My meals have improved since I own a creuset-style pot.
