So I love breakfast.
It just is the best meal of the day.
I was very tempted to make this whole blog just a breakfast blog, but then thought maybe it would be good for me to branch out a little. If I could I would eat breakfast foods for every meal. Think about it, breakfast can be cereal, toast, porridge, bagels, muffins, smoothies, fry up, eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado, granola, fruit, veg...the list goes on and on! Sweet and savoury combinations are what breakfast is all about.
One of my fave breakfast staples is porridge, it is just so so versatile. Ask any of my housemates and they will tell you I love porridge (I've even experimented with savoury porridge, but maybe that should be for another day). I have been known to regularly eat porridge for lunch - Rosie Gardner will testify to this during my Geology lectures, cracking open my flask! Also thank you Rosie for the porridge mug you gave me for my birthday - love it! I often have midnight/11pm porridge fests. Again Emi, my housemate, has spent many nights with me having late night debriefs whilst I concoct my porridge.
Megan, my other housemate, is also the porridge queen. Her along with my dad have taught me all about how to make the best porridge, so here is their combined knowledge for all the read. The key: long and low. Long cooking time, low heat. This makes the creamiest porridge you will ever, ever try! Also a tip my dad taught me is put salt in, sounds strange, but it transforms it.
As I say, porridge is so versatile so there is no one recipe. It's just a case of trying out lots of different flavour combos - that's why I love it. Each bowl is different, new and yummy. Despite that, this one I have to admit really did hit the spot, hence why I put it on here. Caramel porridge, sounds grim right? But it's not the butterscotch-sickly sweet caramel taste (although be my guest to try that), it's more of a subtle deep, rich caramel flavour. Simply, it's the date and cinnamon combination that do it. That's it. Truly. Anyway you must try it. It's so so comforting and warm! Go on and let me know!
This is a perfect student breakfast. Buy the quick cook oats from any supermarket - they are so cheap, like 75p for 1.5kg or something. I have used walnut milk, which I made from scratch, hence was cheap, but do replace with any other milk. I think the nuttiness adds to the caramel flavour but feel free to replace it. Also cinnamon is key. I have a massive jar in my student house. We as a house of 5 got through three of those little spice jars in one term! So we decided to bulk buy cinnamon for the rest of the year.
Caramel porridge
Serves 1
(notes and variations below the method)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 pinches of salt
5 dates chopped into quarters
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 spoonful of natural yoghurt (can be left out)
optional: granola, chia seeds, other sprinkling bits.
Method:
Place the oats, milk, water, salt, cinnamon and two thirds of the chopped dates into a saucepan on a low heat.
Leave, stirring occasionally, until it starts to simmer. Continue to leave to simmer, checking every few minutes or so that it doesn't stick to the bottom, topping up with milk or water so it doesn't become too dry.
This process usually takes about 20 minutes or so, so sit back, read the paper, write your diary or grab your books for the day while the creamy magic works.
When the oats have soaked up all the liquid and are plump and chewy you are ready to go. Pile it into the bowl, stir through the remaining dates and also the yoghurt. I find this gives another hit of creaminess which transforms the porridge.
Sprinkle with granola and chia seeds if desired.
Notes and variations
Oats: quick cook porridge oats are my favourite. Firstly because I'm impatient and they cook quicker, but secondly because I love the creamy texture they give. Courser oats work too, they will just have to be cooked longer and soaked form minimum 10 minutes beforehand.
Milk: any milk works here, nut milks do add to the caramel-like flavour but I generally just have normal milk in my fridge.