Three ways with porridge.

Porridge and I- our relationship’s been a long time in the making. A tumultuous one. Love-hate, if you will.

My Mum used to try and feed me porridge when I was a tot, and I used to hate it so much it would make gag. She gave it up as a lost cause, and I didn’t voluntarily touch it for years. When I got a bit older though, I always loved the idea of waking up on cold mornings to a bowl of warming porridge, and eating it whilst wearing a thick dressing gown before the sun has even risen. That part in Harry Potter when J.K.R writes about Hermione ‘spooning liberal amounts of jam onto her porridge’ captured my imagination even more so than that already fairly idealistic and dreamy image. I still couldn’t bear eating it though, not until Jason came along. He somehow has this special way of making the most delicious oats you could imagine. I remember him making a bowl of porridge for his breakfast one Saturday morning during the first few months we were together (during the months when I lived in London, and used to travel home each weekend to stay with him), and after tasting one tiny spoonful, loving it so much that I ate more than half of Jason’s breakfast and left my toast to go cold! I’m not quite sure what he does to it, but porridge made by Jason is, and always will be, my favourite winter breakfast.

And so because of that, these recipes here are for toppings and flavourings alone. We’ll leave the oats and milk and stirring up to those who know, but toppings? That I can do. These flavour combinations are some of my absolute favourites. They’re sweet enough to satisfy the sweet tooth I always wake up with (and have all day long and go to bed with…), but don’t feel at all sickly or like you might need to eat salads for lunch and dinner as compensation.

As a breakfast to wake up to on frosty mornings, they’re about as spot on as you can get, if you ask me…

O N E :: Fig, almond, honey porridge.

Make porridge to your favourite consistency (I have it on good authority from Jason that a mixture of semi skimmed and skimmed milk works well, and is what I like best!), then top with fresh sliced figs, almonds, and a drizzle of honey. Almond milk in place of regular might work well here too!

T W O :: Cocoa orange porridge.

For a single serving of porridge, stir in a half dessert spoon of cocoa powder, the same amount of soft brown sugar, and top with sliced, skinless orange segments. Grate over some 100% chocolate (I used the Willie’s 100% Indonesian bar, which is delicious), and serve! This one’ll need more milk than normal to loosen the consistency, since the cocoa does such a good job at thickening it all up.

This one might just be my favourite of all favourite porridge flavours! It’s like dessert for breakfast, and there’s not a single thing wrong with that.

T H R E E :: Maple pecan porridge.

Add a dash of maple syrup to the porridge in the pan when it’s cooked through, and then another drizzle over the top when it’s been served up. Top with a crumbly handful of pecan nuts, and eat right away.

Shall we have a sharing of porridge topping ideas in the comments below? And will you be trying any of these three suggestions? :)