Porridge!

Edible Harmony's awesome-looking apple pie energy bars: how they're supposed to look.

This weekend, after we'd been to a very damp (read: monsoon-engulfed) farmers' market and liberated what we could from the smattering of soggy stalls that were open, Aunty Em came round and made these. She substituted sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and linseeds for the nuts, because we're still not convinced about the safety of nuts. They were delicious and we will certainly be making those again!

This morning I valiantly attempted to replicate the recipe. The fact that we had virtually none of the ingredients in no way deterred me from my quest. Unfortunately, the lack of ingredients was a significant deterrent to the success of the recipe. Instead of solid, chewy, brownish bars, we got off-grey sludge. With bits in it. Hmm ...

I tried firming "them" up in the fridge. If anything, that made matters worse. So I tried baking the jolly things. The only differences now were a roasty-brownish colour, and elevated temperature (predictably). So, mother being the necessity of invention and all that, I plonked it into bowls, poured honey on top, and called it "porridge". It was delicious, and even the notoriously picky Red Riding Hood wolfed hers down and declared it delyummy! (Which is a good thing).

So if you're feeling adventurous and you need something - anything - besides eggs for breakfast on a dairy-free SCD diet, here's the porridge recipe we tried. Let me know if you experiment with anything similar.

Porridge Ingredients
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins (or more, to taste)
Honey to taste (we used at least 1/2 a cup)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
Salt (I swear it!)
2 ripe bananas

Method
Keeping the seeds in a cup, pour liquid over them to just cover them. (I used brewed coffee, but I think a good tea, juice or even water would work just fine).
In the morning, turn the seeds out into the blender, then add all the ingredients.
Purée until "porridgey".
Line a small baking tin with baking paper, and empty the blender into the tin.
Bake at about 180°C (roughly 350°F, I think) for about 20 minutes, until it's golden brown. (I always use the smell test: if it smells ready, check it: it probably is ready).
Serve the goop into bowls and top with honey if you want to (it's very sweet). Yoghurt or your choice of milk would also be very nice, although it actually doesn't need anything at all.
Enjoy!

Just a note: this can be made into a very low GI, diabetic-friendly breakfast by omitting the raisins and subbing the bananas for a sugar-friendlier fruit. Have fun experimenting!