Mornings are my favourite time of day. I like the calmness that lingers in the air, the drowsiness, and the feeling that the whole world is slowly waking up, not just the heavy-eyed people wandering the streets, but the trees and soil too. The air somehow feels different, and the light feels freshly born. There’s something naked about mornings; people seem their purest selves and their minds somewhat still stuck in the dreams they dreamt last night; their bodies still tucked up in bed, longing to be back there under the safe embrace and weight of duvets.
Mornings feel pure and exposed to me and I like to make the most of them; prolong them, if possible; hold onto that purity and quiet just a little longer. That means making myself a proper breakfast, sitting down with it at my kitchen table, lighting a candle or two, and listening to a record while watching the world wake up outside my window. As a child, growing up in the Swedish woods, my mum made me porridge every morning. She would wrap me in blankets, carry me out of bed and put me down in front of a steaming hot bowl of porridge. That ritual is something I have carried with me into adult life. I don’t always get as creative as it may seem. Sometimes I eat the same bowl of porridge every day for 2-3 weeks in a row. But this week I tried my best to switch it up and I hope these recipes can inspire you for the cold mornings ahead.
I make my porridge using oats, lots of oat milk, a pinch of cinnamon and 1-2 bananas. When the oats start getting mushy, I add the chopped bananas into the pot and smash them a bit with my wooden spoon to make them mushy as well. The baked banana adds a lot of sweetness to the porridge and makes it taste a bit like banana bread or banana pancakes. I like to use a lot of (oat) milk so that the porridge isn’t dry. You could use any type of milk you like, of course. I don’t mention the baked banana in all of these recipes, because it’s not always necessary, but I do think it’s a nice touch and goes well with most combos.
Baked banana porridge with raspberry coulis, peanut butter and dates
For this one, I add the bananas into the porridge while it’s cooking. Then, having emptied the pot of its porridge, I use the same pot to heat up some frozen raspberries. This may sound funny, but it makes for the perfect raspberry coulis. When the frozen raspberries have defrosted and taken on the soft texture of jam, I pour it onto the porridge. This only takes about 2-3 minutes. Lastly, I add a scoop of peanut butter and a handful of chopped dates. Simply pit 2 dates and chop them up into little squares. It’s a lovely addition.
Porridge with cardamom, caramelised peach and/or pear, crumbled cornflakes and fresh raspberries
This one is heavenly. It’s a tiny bit more time consuming than the others but the only “tricky” thing – which isn’t really very tricky at all – is to make the caramelised peach and pear. Here’s what you do.
Now, cook your porridge with plenty of milk, so it doesn’t turn out dry, and a teaspoon of cardamom to give some flavour, add all the toppings as seen in the picture, and enjoy! For the caramelised fruits, I’ve only ever experimented with peach and pear, but it could be any fruit you’ve got lying around, I think. Peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, apples, apricots– I think they’d all work really well.
Porridge with blueberry coulis, dates, a scoop of vegan coconut yoghurt (or Greek) on top, a splash of honey and some crumbled cornflakes
For this one, it’s the same procedure as with the raspberry coulis. Having emptied the pot of its porridge, I use the same pot to heat up some frozen blueberries. This may sound funny, but it makes for the perfect blueberry coulis. When the frozen blueberries have defrosted and taken on the soft texture of jam, I pour it onto the porridge. This only takes about 2-3 minutes. While the porridge and coulis are cooking, prepare the dates. Pit 2 dates and chop them up into little squares. Then, when the coulis has been poured onto the porridge, I add a scoop of vegan coconut yoghurt (the Coconut Collaborative one is great, but for non-vegans, Greek yoghurt would work really well), a slash of honey, the chopped dates and crumbled corn flakes (the easiest way to do this is simply to crush them with your hands) on top.
Porridge with cinnamon, cardamom, raisins, grated apple, almond butter and roasted almonds
This is real simple. First, roast a handful of almonds in the oven on a baking tray for about 5 minutes, then chop them up and set them aside. Now, make the porridge. Before adding the milk to the pot, stir in some cinnamon and cardamom with the oats. I like to be generous so that I’m really able to taste it. Then, cook the porridge. While it’s cooking, grate 1 apple. When the porridge is done, add a scoop of almond butter, the grated apple and the roasted almonds. Voila!
Porridge with vegan nutella, roasted hazelnuts, banana and coconut flakes
I call this the dessert porridge. Yum yum yum. Perfect for Fridays when the weekend is upon us! First, roast a handful of hazelnuts in the oven on a baking tray for about 5 minutes, then chop them up and set them aside. Now, cook the porridge. For this one, I like to cook 1 banana or half a banana, depending on how hungry you are, with the porridge, and leave the other one/the other half to be added fresh on top. The rest is very simple, really. Add a scoop of vegan nutella (or real nutella if you prefer, but I find that the vegan one is a bit less sickening because it’s less sweet), the roasted hazelnuts, coconut flakes and the fresh banana on top. Mix it all together and make sure you get a mouthful with all the components working their magic at once! The coconut and chocolate combo is divine.
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