The most important meal of the day
Years ago, I used to skip breakfast every morning. I don’t know why I did - not organised enough I guess. I stopped as soon as I realised that I was doing myself out of 30 per cent of the meals I was entitled to eat in my lifetime. There’s no way I’m going to pass on a legitimate excuse for a meal!
I guess that’s the problem with breakfast. Most people think it’s impossible to whip up something nutritious and tasty while also juggling a hairdryer, a pack of screaming children and a hot iron. I mean, I didn’t even have the screaming kids, and the only type of iron I ever encounter is the kind found in a spinach pie or a good slab of wagyu beef, and I still found it a challenge.
That was, until I discovered porridge.
Well, I guess I re-discovered it. My first foray into the wonderful world of porridge was led by my culinarily-challenged dad, who had an uncanny knack of making porridge closely resemble a bowl of two-week old wallpaper paste.
But I redicovered porridge through O, who loves a steaming hot bowl of porridge first thing in the morning.
Like all the best things in life, porridge is a dish best cooked slowly with lots of the bad things in life. Like full cream milk. And lashings of cream, like in an Enid Blyton story. However in the interests of my waistline, and to save on a few precious moments in the morning, I usually make mine with low fat milk and nuke it in the microwave for a few minutes.
Sacrilegious, I know.
The most important thing about cooking porridge is to get the oat/milk ratio right. Too much milk and the porridge is too runny and thin (like the porridge in the photo - I overdid it with the milk). Too little and it gets gluggy and, well, gross - like the way my dad used to make it. The best porridge consistency is enough milk to make it soft and creamy, with lots of comforting porridgey curds.
As for flavouring the porridge, nothing beats a sprinkle of cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, a dusting of brown sugar and a banana. Unless of course it’s real Canadian maple syrup, as supplied by the lovely K & T.
I can understand why Goldilocks was willing to take on three bears to get a bowl of the good stuff.
************************
Vaguely relevant aside:
Even though I am largely politically ambivalent, for some reason I have always thought there was a striking resemblance between Alexander Downer (Australia’s Foreigh Minister) and a bowl of porridge with two raisins floating on top. What do you think?
9 Responses to “ The most important meal of the day”
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kitchen hand says:
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:17 pm
That’s our breakfast every day! It tastes even better in bed with lots of hot tea and the papers. Despite toddlers crawling over you.
suze says:
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Lady L - have you experienced Bircher Muesli?? It’s so great - good for summer as it’s uncooked, soaked oats. You can soak the oats in milk or apple juice and then add fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, and dried fruit on top - whatever tickles your fancy. Yummmmmmmmmmmm
eMi says:
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:13 am
same as me…years ago i just counldnt eat at all when i just got up..but now…i have to have my big breakie everyday~~
i like porriage~i love oats~~~
I usually add strawberries into warm milk or make a smoothie with strawberry+milk+oats~~~yummy~~~but i love banana toooo~~
Lisa (Homesick Texan) says:
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:01 am
I, too, have recently discovered the joys of breakfast. I love your logic that if you skip it then you’re missing out on 30% of the meals available in your life!
Mr Valvasori says:
May 12th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I nearly fell off your couch. Very Funny.
zz says:
May 15th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
My Dad (Sir Serge) has been raving about the joys of popping figs under the grill for a mo then chucking them on the top of steaming oats. Sounds great to me but I only just have time for coffee in the minutes between bed and the train.
Amelia says:
June 16th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I LOVE porridge! My golden syrup and raisin porridge is pretty good, but it can’t top the cinnamon and sultana porridge with rhubarb at Mr Tulk’s on La Trobe St (cnr of swanston). Another good one is at Birdman Eating on Gertrude St. They use quinoa instead of oats, coconut milk instead of normal milk and top it with toasted coconut and banana.
ben says:
June 21st, 2007 at 10:50 am
Porridge is the business! It is great for lots of energy when I go cycling. It helps me avoid bonking.
The term “bonk” in cycling does not mean what you may think.
Alex Millier says:
September 26th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Dear Lady Lunchalot,
I am an active member of the facebook group “Alexander Downer is made entirely of Pudding”. We are 186 strong and devoted to finding the proof of this pudding theory.
I think we are of like mind here, even though porridge is technically NOT pudding. Yours however looks good enough to be one though!
If you or any of your devoted followers would like to join our group, all are welcome. We’re a broad church.