Windy Weather

It's windy here, crazy rocking our little tin can windy. Gale force mother nature is roaring off the ocean and throwing herself at us and to tell you the truth, it's a little bit scary. My neighbour is out in full hazard gear battening down the hatches and I'm just holding on tight to my cup of tea. Granted it's nothing like the terrible storm that hit the east coast a few weeks back, but it sure is an odd feeling to have your home move about while you're sitting in it!

Wild winter weather calls for a good warming breakfast. Today's is a bit of a mash up. I saw a recipe for a breakfast smoothie and not being much of a smoothie drinker, plus not having a blender, it prompted me to turn the idea into a tasty hot porridge. This is a plan ahead breakfast as it needs to soak overnight, a perfect distraction when you're not sure your home is going to be where you left it when you wake up in the morning!

Recipe

Ginger and Cinnamon Oats 
serves 4

1 -2 pears, apples or favourite fruit of your choice ( berries would also work)
1 cup milk
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tbsp syrup (maple, honey, agave etc)
2 tbsp nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew etc)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

Peel and core the pear. Chop into small pieces and put in a blender with the milk, buttermilk, syrup, nut butter, ginger and cinnamon. Blend until well combined and the fruit is well pureed.
Pour into a large container and stir in the oats. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
When ready to use, stir in any extra milk if needed and heat gently until the oats are tender.
Serve with extra syrup and cinnamon if desired.


If, like me, you don't have a blender and your mini mixer can't handle all of the above. Blend the fruit, milk and nut butter until smooth,  then transfer to your container and stir in the rest. If you don't have any machine to speak of, you can always lightly steam or cook,with a splash of juice or water, the fruit first to soften it, then mash it into the rest of the ingredients in your container. Of course you don't have to soak the oats overnight if you don't want to and you can blend it all together in the morning instead before cooking. Soaking your oats is better though so do try. Why? Well oats contain something called phytic acid which inhibits the absorption of key minerals such as iron contained in the oats. Soaking helps to break down the phytic acid. There is a bit of a twist here where dairy is not the best liquid to use, as calcium can slow down the rate at which the phytic acid is broken down. For maximum phytic acid breakdown use water, but soaking in dairy is better than not soaking at all.