Ode to Porridge

If I had an ounce of poetic prowess, I would write an ode to porridge. Unfortunately I possess nothing of the sort so a blog post will have to do.

First though, I owe my mother an apology. For years she tried to convince me of the brilliance of porridge but, being a stubborn child, I refused to ever try it. Sorry Mum for never listening to you on this matter - you were right, as ever. There’s a lesson to be learnt there.

I made my first bowl this summer after being intrigued by this video. At the time I, rather foolishly, hadn't realised that porridge and oatmeal are exactly the same thing. After many, many years of stubbornness, it was an Americanism that finally won me over. Naturally this provoked a reel of (deserved) sarcastic comments from Mum.

Name issue aside, I took a liking to the stuff. It’s incredibly versatile, tastes amazing, is good for you and, importantly, cheap! Even when topped high with seeds and berries (frozen, usually) it comes in wildly cheaper than a sugary cereal. My budget as a volunteer is fairly similar to what it will be as a student and porridge perfectly fits the bill. Usually I make it with water, got to save those pennies, but occasionally I’ll switch that out for almond milk. It’s become a daily staple for me with an abundance of ways to serve it so that I don’t get bored. A new favourite is to mix in a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter à la Essie Button:

My Instagram has recently become overrun with photos of porridge; I've included a few of my favourite examples below.

To think of all those gorgeous breakfasts I missed out on, for so long unwilling to try something new. Outrageous!