tastes like home

I took a week's vacation with my parents recently. We stayed in a nice hotel, with one of those big breakfast rooms with a hot breakfast provided: pastries, eggs, sausages, make-your-own-waffles... The only thing wrong with it was the porridge. They had those packs of instant oatmeal that you mix with hot milk or water. It looked like porridge but it didn't taste like the porridge I love.

One morning, instead of having breakfast at the hotel, we went out to a fancy brunch place. They had french toast, omelets, eggs benny... Guess what I ordered?

Yup! and guess what my Dad ordered? YUP! They had steel cut oatmeal, cooked properly. It was like heaven to eat this delicious, substantial, and nourishing bowl. I make it at home all the time. At the brunch place, I opted for grilled bananas on top, which was rather fancy and quite delicious. At home, I throw in a handful of dried cranberries and mix them through. My favourite topping is unsweetened coconut, toasted pumpkin seeds and chia seeds. I don't put milk or cream on my oatmeal. If I want to be really decadent, I put a wee bit of real butter right into the middle of the bowl and slowly discover its buttery goodness as I eat. Most days though, it's just the oats and the crunchy, nutty toppings and sweet berries inside.

Here's the recipe:

Steel Cut Oat Porridge

1/2 cup steel cut oats (the real kind, not quick-cooking)
just a little less than 2 cups cold water
slim little pinch of salt
small handful of dried cranberries
unsweetened coconut
toasted pumpkin seeds
chia seeds

Put the oats and the water into a bigger saucepan than you think. This stuff likes to boil over. Throw in the salt. Turn the heat onto high and bring it to a boil with the lid off. Turn the heat down and stir the porridge. When you are really, truly sure that it has settled down, you can put a lid on, just a bit askew because it's less likely to boil over if the steam can escape. Cook it over low heat, so it's just bubbling lightly, for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. It's done when the oats are mostly tender, and most of the liquid has absorbed into the porridge. Throw in the cranberries and take the pot away from the heat. Plop the lid on tightly and let it sit, off the heat, for 5 minutes. This gives the cranberries time to plump, and somehow counteracts the tendency of the porridge to stick to the bottom of the pot, so it's much easier to scoop the porridge out, and easier to clean the pot after breakfast. Serve the porridge up into a bowl and top it with the coconut, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds. Pour on cream or milk if you prefer it that way. Do that thing with the butter if you are feeling buttery.

This makes one generous serving, or 2 dainty servings. To make porridge for more people, just scale it up.

Wherever you are, try to find a taste of home. If you are home, take the time to cook real things for yourself. Nothing much good comes out of a small paper package. The real porridge will always be worth the wait.