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Why Bohos are Eating their Oats:


Like stew, porridge is a great way to use up a variety of ingredients. This makes porridge easy to adapt to your tastes and circumstances.

The story has it that the Scots were able to fend off the wheat-eating Roman empire thanks to their hearty oaten diet. In recent news, a Boston Globe article describes oats as "one of the best foods you can eat."

While not the lightest of foods, dry oats are easy to pack in small quantities. When you get to your destination, you only need to add water and heat.

Even organic oats are relatively inexpensive, at about $1.69 per pound.

Finally, porridge is easy to stretch and share, gifting your friends sustenance for the day.

Porridge 101

rolled oatsOats come in several forms, including instant and quick oats, rolled oats, steel-cut oats, and oat groats.  Rolled and steel-cut oats are Rambler's personal faves - they're less processed than instant, and cook in a convenient 8-40 minutes.

Fill in the blanks:  
To make porridge in its most basic form, all you have to do is heat up ___ water in a pot, add ___ oats, and simmer for about ___ stirring frequently.
Rolled:  1 1/2+c. H2O / 1 c. oats / 8 min.
Steel-Cut:  3-4c. H2O/1 c. oats/40ish min.

The Odds and Ends

Spice it up with cinnamon, or experiment with nutmeg and other flavors.

Sweeten with honey, agave, maple, molasses, cane sugar, jam, or fruit (e.g. a banana sliced up and cooked with the oats).

Seeds and nuts add texture, protein, and other nutrients.

Fruit (fresh, dried, or frozen) adds flavor, texture, and color.  Experiment with adding the fruit at the last moment as a topping, cooking it in from the beginning, and anything in between.  Berries, apples, and bananas all work well, but don't be afraid to try other fruit; a ripe kiwi, for example, is surprisingly good in porridge.

Dairy and substitutes make porridge rich and creamy.  Use milk (cow, rice, or soy) instead of water, or just add a dash of cream before serving.  Or try...

The Breakfast Sundae

Start with a bowl of hot, extra-thick porridge. (Cook it with a 1:1 ratio of water:oats.) Breakfast SundaeAdd a generous dollop of cold Greek yogurt.  Top with honey, maple syrup, or agave.

The oats - hot and almost gooey - stand in for a brownie, while the Greek yogurt has a texture as rich as ice cream, and the topping adds the final touch.

Want to get even fancier?  Actress and marathon runner Catherine Eaton says that before a tough workout, she'll make her breakfast sundae with coffee-infused oats. Now that's getting creative.

Breakfast sundae is featured in a bowl by Doolin Pottery, Doolin, County Clare, Ireland.