just a quickie.....

it was a little chilly when I woke up this morning, so I decided to make some delicious porridge.  It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I never understand when I hear that people don't like porridge, it makes me think that their experience was marred by substandard, gluey porridge that was cooked wrong.

What I say to those people is this:  Make yourself a bowl by following the next few simple instructions and you will never look back.

Basic Porridge

serves 1

Ingredients

1/3 cup wholegrain oats (you can use any type of grain here, and quinoa/brown rice works well for those with a gluten intolerance)

2/3 cup non-dairy milk 

1/3 water

pinch of sea salt

Method

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil on medium heat.

Stir whilst cooking to avoid sticking on the bottom and to make it super creamy.

Remove from heat when it thickens and becomes creamy.

Serve with your favourite topping.

Now, my favourite combinations are:

• grated apple and cinnamon 
• stewed pears and vanilla
• berries and cacao powder
• cacao powder and coconut
• banana and cinnamon
• pumpkin spice with pecans/walnuts

I also love it with nut butter and some delicious jam.

Here's a recipe for jam I came up with by accident but it's a good one.

Berry Chia Jam

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups of strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

2 Tbsp chia seeds

3 Tbsp maple syrup

Method

Place berries and syrup into a saucepan and cook on low-med heat until berries begin to soften and break down.

With a fork or potato masher, mash some of the berries but leave some chunky also.

It should be a little bit syrupy by this stage.

Add chia seeds and stir.  Mixture will thicken after a few minutes.

Turn off heat when it reaches your desired consistency.

Easy peasy!

Cashew butter

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups of roasted and unsalted cashews

3 Tbsp dairy-free milk

2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)

1/4 tsp of sea salt

Method

Blend until smooth in a food processor.  You may need more milk if you're not using syrup.  You could also use water but do it a bit at a time so you don't end up with a liquidy mess.  The desired texture and consistency is up to you so adjust as you go.

I store both in a glass jar and so far, they keep pretty well.

The cashew butter is quite thick, like almond butter, so what I like to do before I add it to my porridge, is mix it with some more dairy-free milk and pinch or more of cinnamon.

Here's what I had this morning.

Have it on  some crusty sourdough or homemade bread that's fresh out of the oven.

Or use it to make some Berry Chia gelato.

YUM!

    








And here's a photo I took of the pumpkin spice porridge.

It was my send off to winter, and it was delicious.

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb