the best breakfast dish – scottish porridge

In my constant quest to healthier eating I recently discovered the most awesome breakfast dish ever – porridge.

I first had porridge on my Scotland holiday two years ago and loved it. As with so many holiday treats we enjoy and promptly forget again I never thought to try and make my own until a few weeks ago. It takes no more than a few minutes to prepare and once you get into the habit porridge is seriously addictive.

I wonder how I lived without a warm breakfast before. There’s something incredibly comforting and satisfying about starting the day with a warm bowl of oats with a burst of flavor and vitamins from fresh berries.

My recipe (serves 1):

Berry porridge

• 1/2 cup fine oat flakes (I believe they are called oatmeal in the US)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk (cow’s milk is the usual, but I use oat milk)
• a pinch of salt
• a bit of cinnamon (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of honey (or more to taste)
• fresh or frozen berries (I like blueberries best but you can use any kind)

Combine oat flakes, water, milk, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring, until a thick consistency is reached (this happens very quickly, be careful to keep stirring to prevent burning the porridge). I like to add the cinnamon at the very end actually because it just makes it all smell divine.

Put the berries in a small bowl, pour porridge on top, add the honey and mix well. If you use frozen berries the porridge will thaw them and the whole mix will be cool enough to eat nearly right away.

Actually I would recommend thawing the berries first but I never seem to find the time for that in the morning.

There are nearly endless variations of this dish – you can vary the berries or try chopped apples instead, add nuts and seeds or a bit of linseed oil if you want to go super healthy. In Scotland it was often served with cream (yum).

Speaking of Scotland – wow, what a week! I freely admit to being only moderately interested in politics. I hardly even read the news. It feels like there are so many terrible things happening in the world, it would take more caring and thinking and feeling horrified about than I can muster in my life. Does that make one a bad person? To consciously decide not to become emotionally invested in all the suffering going on in the world?

Anyway, back to Scotland. Maybe it’s because my next Scotland holiday is already booked (yay!) or that I’ve fallen head over heels for the Outlander book series (there’s a TV adaptation, too!) but this week leading up to the referendum had me all excited. I’m a sucker for history and it felt magical watching history in the making. I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t go through with it in the end, but it is reassuring in this violent world that decisions of such importance can still be reached peacefully, democratically.

Did you follow the scottish referendum? Is porridge the greatest breakfast dish ever invented?

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