A Filling Porrdige to start the day!

 

This is a multi-cereal based porridge that I like to start my day eating! It consists of fresh fruits, stewed fruit, nuts, steel cut oats, buckwheat groats, cornmeal, and semolina. It’s very filling and will keep you going until lunch. I stew the apples with brown sugar and whole cloves, allspice berries, cashew nuts, almonds, dried cranberries, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods. The fresh fruits I like to use are raspberries and blueberries, but any fruit of your choosing can be substituted. The basic directions for the porridge are:

1.       Toast 1 tablespoon unsalted, raw pumpkin seed and 1 tablespoon of puffed millet. I use a wok and toast until the seeds start to brown slightly and “pop”. Remove and set aside.

2.       In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon cornmeal (I use the type used to make Polenta or Arepas), 1 tablespoon Semolina (cream of wheat), 1/8 teaspoon each of cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

3.       In the same wok or fry pan, toast 1 tablespoon buckwheat groats until the start to brown slightly. Do not burn. Place that in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon steel cut oats, 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, 1 tablespoon raw, unsalted cashew, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for 9-10 minutes.

4.       Mix in the cornmeal and semolina, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer to thickness you like, using milk (any kind) to thin it out.

5.       Place in a bowl and top with stewed fruit, fresh fruit and toasted seeds and millet!

Very moist Lemon Blueberry Muffins

 

These are jumbo sized, very moist Lemon Blueberry muffins that are delicious with a cup of your favorite beverage. They can be frozen and reheated. 

Ingredients

 ⅔ cup  sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup sour cream

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup applesauce

⅓ cup Plain, unsweetened Kefir

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

2 large lemons, zested and juiced

1 1/2 cups +1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup  blueberries, fresh

 

Instructions

 Preheat the oven to 375° and line 8 muffin cups with paper liners (I use jumbo foil muffin cups with paper liners).

In another bowl, blend together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Rinse the blueberries, drain then dust with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside

In a bowl, mix sugar, egg, sour cream, oil, kefir, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk until pale in color and slightly frothy. Mix in the lemon juice.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. There may be a few lumps. Don’t try to mix until smooth.

Spoon batter into the muffin cups until almost full.

Bake for 30-35 minutes on an upper-middle rack in your oven, until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in foil muffin cups for 10 minutes, then remove foil, leaving the paper liner behind. Cool on a rack.

A Decadent Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

 

This is a delicious breakfast treat. It's very filling, creamy and delicious. If you are worried about carbs and sugar, this may not be for you. 

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats

¼ cup oat bran

¼ cup Tapioca or Arrowroot flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup maple syrup

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1 ½ cups milk or Half and half

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1-2 tablespoons puffed Millet

2 cups blueberries

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons raw cashews

 

1.      

2.     Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Grease the sides.

3.     Mix together in a bowl flour, oat bran, oats, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside

4.     In a mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, maple syrup, eggs, milk, and melted butter. Add the oat mixture to this and mix together.

5.     Let stand for about 5 minutes for the dry ingredients to absorb the liquid and thicken up. Stir in 1 cup of blueberries and pour the mixture into the dish.

6.     Sprinkle the coconut sugar, blueberries, puffed millet and whole cashews over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

7.     Heat oven to 350 degrees F, pour the coconut milk over the top of the mixture in the baking dish and then bake for about 35-40 minutes until the sides are browned and a tester inserted comes out clean and the internal temperature is above 174 degrees F. Broil for about 3 minutes if you like a caramelized top.