Monday 16 March 2015

Posh Porridge- Bodrum Style.


I've been reading about a temporary cafe that has popped-up in London, dedicated to serving posh porridge. For once, I feel that I am ahead of a trend as the oatmeal I prepare every morning would pass muster on any la-di-da breakfast menu.  The following recipe will make my Scottish - oats, salt and water, nothing else - porridge eating friends shout at the screen.

I prefer the rolled oats I buy in Turkey to the UK ones as they are less processed and don't turn stodgy when boiled.  My porridge starts with oats and water and then I add:
A handful of sunflower seeds -  an excellent source of fatty acids, minerals, amino acids and vitamins, especially Vitamin E and B and folic acid
A sprinkle of dried cranberries - these bright red berries seem to prevent bacteria attachment in the urinary tract and may hinder the helicobacter pylori bacteria attaching itself to the stomach lining and so help prevent stomach ulcers. 
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon - curbs insulin spikes, improves brain function and tastes great.
A date or two - if I fancy a sweet breakfast. 
3 or 4 walnuts - a powerful antioxidant and supporter of healthy cholesterol levels

Once it is all boiled up together and in a bowl, on top goes:
A tablespoon of ground linseeds, a teaspoon of bee pollen and a cup of kefir,  just in case my bowel needs regulating (linseed), my immune or  respiratory systems are a bit challenged (bee pollen),  or my gut needs some pro-biotic help (kefir).  I should make my own kefir (fermented milk) at home to get the best mix of pro-biotics, but I'm lazy so I just buy a ready made one. 

This might sound like a decent into hypochondria, but it tastes great if it keeps my Turkish Lira out of the hands of the pharmaceutical giants who'd prefer me to pop pills, I'm happy to keep eating my posh porridge. 

19 comments:

  1. That sounds good.. I make mine with milk and blueberries (depending on finances) cherries, raspberries all available from the Natura Verde frozen range from Metro.
    ps I totally agree with the cinnamon bit.

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    1. I will have to check out these frozen berries

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  2. Wish I could eat porridge, posh or otherwise as it is supposed to be very good for you but I can't even swallow a teaspoon of the stuff. When I was in college, my landlady had a standing battle every winter morning with her three boys as the gagged and choked as they were forced to eat it.

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  3. That sounds delicious. I buy the rolled oats here and just cook them in milk and add a spoonful of honey, but I like the ıdea of all these other ingredients

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    1. If you have a A101 store near you, they sell very reasonable sunflower seeds

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  4. you'd be at home at our breakfast table, that's for sure! We do variations on a similar theme - delicious!

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  5. B to B, Hmmm. Kefir - is that like buttermilk? Mark insists that the Mongols used to bring it with them on their marauding campaigns on horseback. Seemed to work for them. But seriously folks, we've been trying to prepare an oatmeal that doesn't taste like cardboard for a while now and this sounds like a great recipe. Thanks!

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    1. It is fermented milk and it was kept in skin containers - idea for carrying on a horse.

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  6. Um....a Scot here digging its own grave in which to roll....
    I just can't face all that in the morning!

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    1. I'm so hungry in the morning - toast just doesn't cut it.

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  7. Love porridge and very good for my cholesterol too!

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    1. The walnuts, hemp seed and sunflower seeds are also good.

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  8. Ohhh, love porridge. we buy the rolled oats here to make our own muesli up. Great isn't it to make your own food up and, like you said, it stop us from having to buy pharmaceutical supplements. They really are something we look at on the shelves and our mind boggles. Surely (the right) foods should do the job. Not a pill in a box! :)

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  9. It sounds glorious. Husband Mark is in charge of porridge in our house, and I'm afraid it is pretty plain ( not salt and water though !) He uses water and goats milk as I avoid the hormones in cows milk whenever I can ( and from time to time, raspberries and blueberries get thrown in......and I love it.

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    1. I make milk from seeds some times instead of the Kefir

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  10. Another porridge fan here, but as plain as possible, I'm afraid. DH is porridge-maker in chief and has it down to a fine art. I'll have to show this to him to give him ideas.

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