Dessert Porridge

Christmas is a time of family and food that is both sweet and stodgy. This has made me think of an old family recipe. This kind of porridge was developed by my Mum possibly with the tastes of my Dad in mind. I refer to it now but it is, if anything, much more of a cold weather food.

Ingredients

Oats, Milk, Raw Sugar, Cinnamon, Vanilla Essence

Preparation

Rather than cook the oats in water we cook them in milk (rather than adding a dash of milk at the end). This necessitates monitoring and stirring the porridge constantly lest the milk start to burn. Putting in sufficient milk to just cover the top of the mound of oats suffices. However one can always add extra milk during cooking if it is looking a bit too firm.

Cook on a low heat as this gives the oats and milk the most time to slowly become one creamy unity. Once the porridge looks porridge-like then start throwing in generous dashes of raw sugar and cinnamon and stirring them in. Do this till the whole mix looks more beige than white. Alternately one can add the raw sugar and cinnamon to separate bowls of porridge to the liking of particular guests. I also have taken to throwing in a small dash of vanilla.

This dish can be made vegan by substituting a nice brand of soy milk. If one uses (for instance) the Vitasoy Vanilla Delight then one can even forego using the vanilla essence. It works rather well as both soy milk and porridge are like a suspension of grains in water.

This is a very yummy way of having oats.