No frills porridge
The other day we met with some friends for brunch. We are a family who love brunch, seriously love brunch. Our son chose porridge as he really loves his porridge. Imagine his dissatisfaction and utter disappointment when something resembling gruel turned up at our table! Finn asked "What's that?" Reluctantly we informed him that was his porridge. To be fair to Finn he tried it but not surprisingly he didn't like it. As our plates were full of food it wasn't too much of a disaster but I still got a refund stating "That's not what I call porridge!"
It got me thinking "Who does know how to make porridge?" If a restaurant can get it so horribly wrong and bring out a bowl of milky soup with a few oats floating in it what do others expect? In this world of instant meals porridge seems highly advertised as such but the truth is you can make good porridge in less than ten minutes. I remember my dad used to make it in a massive pot on the old-fashioned solid-fuel stove.
[caption width="719" align="alignnone"]
Left is plain porride and right is porridge with golden syrup[/caption]
Now I make it for my kids and here is my super easy recipe. I've not edited the colour of my porridge pictures so I can give you a good ideas of what it really looks like. Let's be honest porridge isn't pretty but it tastes good and there's nothing like it in a cold winter's morn.
No Frills Porridge
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
2 cups milk
2 cups water
Sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon (to taste) or mixed spice if you prefer.
Method:
Put all ingredients in a large pot, heat gently and stir occasionally until mixture starts to bubble but don't let it fully boil. If the mixture is well combined and thick but can still be stirred then it's ready!
[caption width="541" align="alignnone"]
All ingredients in the pot[/caption]
This recipe can be altered for more or less people. Simply increase or decrease the amount of cups as its equal amounts of oats to water and milk. I find 2 cups of each does well for 1 adult and 2 hungry kids or two adults. I increase it to 3 cups if it's my husband, myself and the two older kids who are breakfasting.
I like to add a dollop of golden syrup to mine. My daughter loves adding different things every time, from blackberry jam to marmalade (both homemade of course). My husband adds sultanas to his. If you want it healthy you can simply add fruit. If you want it lower in fat use skimmed milk but I wouldn't add water if you do that.
Enjoy it best on a frosty winter's day.
It got me thinking "Who does know how to make porridge?" If a restaurant can get it so horribly wrong and bring out a bowl of milky soup with a few oats floating in it what do others expect? In this world of instant meals porridge seems highly advertised as such but the truth is you can make good porridge in less than ten minutes. I remember my dad used to make it in a massive pot on the old-fashioned solid-fuel stove.
[caption width="719" align="alignnone"]
Left is plain porride and right is porridge with golden syrup[/caption] Now I make it for my kids and here is my super easy recipe. I've not edited the colour of my porridge pictures so I can give you a good ideas of what it really looks like. Let's be honest porridge isn't pretty but it tastes good and there's nothing like it in a cold winter's morn.
No Frills Porridge
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
2 cups milk
2 cups water
Sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon (to taste) or mixed spice if you prefer.
Method:
Put all ingredients in a large pot, heat gently and stir occasionally until mixture starts to bubble but don't let it fully boil. If the mixture is well combined and thick but can still be stirred then it's ready!
[caption width="541" align="alignnone"]
All ingredients in the pot[/caption] This recipe can be altered for more or less people. Simply increase or decrease the amount of cups as its equal amounts of oats to water and milk. I find 2 cups of each does well for 1 adult and 2 hungry kids or two adults. I increase it to 3 cups if it's my husband, myself and the two older kids who are breakfasting.
I like to add a dollop of golden syrup to mine. My daughter loves adding different things every time, from blackberry jam to marmalade (both homemade of course). My husband adds sultanas to his. If you want it healthy you can simply add fruit. If you want it lower in fat use skimmed milk but I wouldn't add water if you do that.
Enjoy it best on a frosty winter's day.
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