Porridge - plain and simple

If you’re ever here in Mole Creek for Sunday breakfast, you’ll never need to ask what’s on the menu. It’ll be porridge. Every Sunday. Plain and simple. This ritual began years ago. I’ve loved porridge since I was a nipper. Most likely because it’s simple, nutritious and filling. Another factor could be my Scots name (i.e. Ross). Porridge’s the traditional breakfast of Scotland, of course. During our 1998 bicycle tour, Sweetheart Vivienne and I stayed in a B&B in Thurso. The owner asked what I’d like for breakfast, and I enthusiastically replied ‘porridge’ to which he retorted ‘we don’t have that here – I’ll give you Coco Pops’. Fie! Last week Dorothy, who lives in Glasgow, visited us for lunch. She said she eats porridge for breakfast every single day. That’s the spirit. Scotland the Brave rides again. Even though Scottish porridge oats are steel-cut whereas in England and Australia they’re flattened between rollers, anyone who eats porridge is a mate of mine. As I said, I like my porridge plain and simple: per person ½ a cup of oats and 1¼ cups of water heated gently (naturally a wood-fired stove’s best) and stirred frequently (I yearn for a spurtle) until the right texture’s reached. I don’t add salt. Once it’s in the bowl, I sprinkle on currants and raw sugar; and I sometimes add chopped fruit and/or a spoon of honey. Yum.

P.S. Bonney has oats each day. Hers are raw. She loves them. Is Bonney a Scottish name?

This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. planet green argued eloquently that, for several reasons, free parking’s not free [1]. Not to mention free lunch, of course.

2. cnet published the breakdown of global web browser usage during March [2]. Chrome, which I use, increased 9% during March, but it's still only 10% of Internet Explorer.

3. indeed at midnight last night, fire permits were lifted throughout Tasmania [3]. It’s bullshit that 2009/10 was ‘one of the worst fire seasons for many years’, however.

4. researchers reported that the disparity in mortality across the socioeconomic spectrum was largely explained by health behaviours [4]. Until now it’d been thought there was an innate social class disparity. This study shows it’s acquired, i.e. health behaviour’s related to social class.

5. my darling sister Sue sent me a memorable quote from LA Times columnist Burt Prelutsky [5]. There's more than a grain of truth in it.

6. a study concluded exercise reduces the risk of postnatal depression [6]. This adds weight to Sweetheart Vivienne’s view that exercise helps many psychological problems – including writer’s block.

7. wombat Bonney arrived at the Wombat Hilton [7]. Welcome to you, Bonney.

8. Sweetheart Vivienne received her first cheque for royalties on her book sales. Fantastic news. But what’s mine is ours, and what’s hers is hers [8]. (Just joking.)

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.