I love porridge (aka oatmeal) for breakfast or even a snack. Which explains why I am just a little delighted that Autumn weather is breezing into my life with a slight chill in the air. What better way to apologise to my body for leaving the ember-cosiness of my soft bed and its layers of cotton and fleece for cold tile floors than to fill my belly with warm nourishing porridge?
Making the oatmeal is easy enough. I’ll admit, I use the quick-cook oats. I fill a bowl with 1/4-cup of the oats, generously add whole milk (oh yes, no skimping on dairy fat for me!), and microwave it all for 90 seconds. I stir it a bit then give it another 30 seconds in the microwave.
Meanwhile, I warm my everyday pan on the stove and dry toast a selection of seeds. I usually opt for a pre-mixed variety like Good 4 U Multi-seed dry roasted mix with some poppy seeds added. I keep the seeds moving in the pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes to gently toast them. Then once the porridge is done, I stir in some local honey, top with the gently toasted seeds, and dive in with a spoon.
The funny thing about the seeds I use is that I’ve been doing this for a year or more now but only recently did I pop on their radar as a food blogger enough to be rewarded with a free sampling of their seed mixes. I bet you can guess how I used some of them.
Does saying the word “porridge” just make you think of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? What does it take to make your porridge just right?
Where does your local honey come from? Mine is from West Cork though I recently was given a treasure of a jar of liquid gold from my friend Fiona. It was made by her bees!