PORRIDGE!!! A dish made by cooking oats in boiling water and milk.
Add some type of sweetener, maybe a little fruit as well, and you're in business. You have a super breakfast. In England this is porridge. In the US, it's oatmeal.
Here are some quick facts about porridge or oatmeal: eating a bowl of oatmeal every day can lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. That's because oats are high in complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fibre. They also contain more protein than any other cereal.
Oats ready for harvesting
To make rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats), whole oat groats are steamed and flattened.
Quick oats are rolled oats that have been cut into small pieces.
Instant oatmeal is oatmeal that is pre-cooked and dried.
Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats that have been cut into pieces or have been broken during the de-husking process. They are chewier and have a nuttier flavour.
Gruel is a thinned-out porridge made by mixing oatmeal (or other cereals) with cold water. The oatmeal is then strained out and the water is heated and sipped. Once upon a time gruel was used for medicinal purposes and was also a staple food during hard times.
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| Here, Charles Dicken's character, the orphan Oliver Twist, who is starving, dares to ask for some more watery gruel. A famous scene from the movie "Oliver!" 1968, Columbia Pictures. |
I have oatmeal for breakfast several times a week. I prepare it much the same way as in the recipe below. The difference is that time doesn't permit me to add the apple topping every day. Instead, I mash a banana and mix it into the oatmeal to make a perfect, warm, and delicious weekday breakfast.
Recently, I read a study that convinced me of the importance of breakfast. Research presented at a scientific session of the American Diabetes Association showed that there is a relationship between morning eating habits and the development of type II diabetes. The research revealed that people who ate breakfast 5 times or more per week had a 31% reduction in type II diabetes risk. They also gained less weight. So make sure you eat breakfast and choose oatmeal often. Breakfast, and oatmeal for breakfast, have too many health benefits to pass up.
Here's my recipe for PORRIDGE or OATMEAL with RAISINS and FRUIT:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup milk of your choice
2 cups water
a little salt to taste
1/2 cup steel-cut oats
3/4 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)
1 tablespoon honey (or how about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup? That would also be perfect)
1 banana, chopped into small
pieces
If it's the weekend, make stewed apples!
Directions:
1 or 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup water
a pinch of cinnamon
a few raisins
a few blueberries (they will give a pink colour to the apples)
the juice of half a lemon
The apples get a lovely pink hue that's imparted from the blueberries as they cook.
Mix all the ingredients except the blueberries into a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat stirring
frequently. In about 20 to 30 minutes the liquid should be absorbed, the
raisins will be plump, and the apples will be soft. Your oatmeal topping will be ready. No sweeteners are needed here because the fruits themselves are plenty sweet. How about the blueberries? Add those at the last minute, otherwise, they will dissolve as they cook.
Cooking the oats:
Into a
medium saucepan, add the water, milk, and salt to taste. Bring to a
simmer.
Add all the oats and lower the heat. Cook the oatmeal for 20
minutes, maintaining a slow simmer and stirring frequently. Near the end
of cooking the oatmeal will start to thicken and bubble. That's the time
to add the banana. Throw it in there and mash it up. Stir until the oatmeal is cooked, and turn off the
heat.
Add the honey and mix again. Spoon the porridge into bowls
and let it sit for about a minute.
Rolled oats, steel-cut oats, and a mashed banana. This is oatmeal perfection!!!
If it's one of those days when the stewed apples have been made, use them as a topping.
Drizzle with a little more milk. Ready to eat!
