Chris, congratulations on getting the knack of making tasty gluten-free
meals! One little tip I could add for flavourings: vinaigrette on any
vegetable, raw or cooked. Just mix olive oil and vinegar (preferably wine
vinegar) in equal quantities - the official recipe is 2/3 oil and 1/3
vinegar, but half and half is much healthier and hey I like it that way,
gives it a strong "bite". Then just add salt and pepper to taste, and
that's basically it, but you can also add some mustard (if that's gluten
free, I don't know) and herbs as you like. Just very simple and tasty.
Then you wrote: "Having said all that, I have discovered one thing I
cannot cook to save my life: porridge. Although why
anyone would actually want porridge is beyond me, but
hey, there's nowt so queer as folk, as they say over here."
Chris, porridge has been my favourite comfort food from when I was 10. I
used to make a pan full for myself every day after school, and then curl up
on a comfy chair with a book and the pan on a thick towel on my lap -
heaven! Especially when it's raining outside... I suggest you try it one
more time, see if you like it my way!
Now my way of making it is: put milk on the boil (yes, milk! don't bother
with that boring water variety, it may be the traditional Scottish way but
give my Belgian tradition a go!, I think it tastes much better), you can
choose skimmed or semi skimmed if you like, then add the oats when the milk
gets to boiling point and turn the gas right to its lowest point. You need
to experiment with the proportion milk-to-oats to get it right, but when you
throw them in the mixture should still be very runny.
Then as the oats start boiling, they swell and the mixture gets thicker and
stickier. By then you must keep stirring it with a wooden spoon, scraping
the sides and bottom of the pan to avoid the stuff sticking onto the pan.
When it's ready, the oats should be all soft, not chewy any more, and the
porridge should be quite thick Otherwise add milk or more oats until you
get it right. If you use "proper" oats, not pre-cooked, then I guess they
need to boil at least 10 minutes, so be patient!
Close to the end, you add some sugar to taste. (Again, don't bother with
sprinkling it on afterwards as per the official recipe, this is much better
as you can get consistency and don't end up with some bland and some overly
sugarly mouthfuls), just mix it in. And that's it! Then arrange for some
good music, a good book, a towel and comfy chair, and enjoy!!!
Once you are comfortable with this basic method, you can move to the
Advanced Lieve Porridge stage which involves throwing some raisins or
sultanas into the milk from the start (to give them time to absorb the milk)
and then you need to add less sugar.
In fact, I'm just wondering: aren't oats gluten free? And buckwheat? I
certainly know that a friend of my kids who was allergic to wheat, could eat
those, but I'm not a gluten expert. COLIN???
About nice places to visit: well I still get a kick from living in Greenwich
(the London one). Maybe in summer, if I can get it organised, I will have a
Greenwich Porridge Jonifest! But without rain, if possible!
Gosh, I must be losing my marbles, posting porridge recipes when a) we may
be facing a war soon b) I am working in one of the main target areas for
terrorist attacks i.e. the London's financial centre, and c) yes I should be
working!
I guess writing about it, in these worried times, is my surrogate for eating
it, so this is my comfort post of the week!
Lots of love to you all,
Lieve.
PS Special message for Susan and Bob etc: I've booked myself on an Ethel
Merman show in Greenwich theatre this Saturday. I'll try to send you a
report next week!
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