Cambium's baked apples recipe got me to thinking about something else we used to have as a main part of our diet when we were growing up; specifically oatmeal and porridge. Now I have never been particularly fond of either given that the only thing we could add was milk (Avalon milk of course) and brown sugar ( not too great for the teeth). I learned that if I ate it slow enough, I could stretch it to the time when I had to leave for school then run out the door. The downside being that sometimes it was there waiting for me when I came home and had to be finished.
Somehow despite my dislike for oatmeal it was able to make it's way into my top ten foods for backpacking primarily due to convenience when using the Quaker instant flavoured variety. I generally liked to eat light in the morning before starting off as apposed to loading up and trying to digest everything on the trail. I was able to improve on the quality by rehydrating some dried apples and pears and adding it to mixture in order to make it more palatable.
Circa 2011 and the quality just doesn't get any better and to make matters worse it has been assertively encouraged into my daily diet sans sucre, transfats, or anything else dangerously good to eat. It was either plain oatmeal or a continuation of cholesterol busting statins and Metformin; both of which really aren't that great for the body.
So after many trials of what is good for you but still tastes reasonable I happened to stumble upon this combination which oddly enough is very tasty.
Paul's palatable gruel for two
combine 1 generous cup of rolled oats (not quick oats) with two cups of water, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup of mixed raisins & dried cranberries and cook over medium heat untill cooked.
Combine two tbsp of roasted ground sesame seed, 1/4 cup of ground hemp hearts (Costco), and 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley and mix well. Spoon over top of each serving and blend into the oatmeal. The chopped parsley was an accident when I was making Tabouli and breakfast at the same time one morning. As it turned out the taste and texture of the added parsley was pleasant and rather refreshing.
So there you go. enjoy or not and add your favourite version of this simple breakfast staple.