Savory Oatmeal – A Twist on a Breakfast Classic

One of the dishes served at ONCE in Valhalla was a cheesy oat porridge that was served with ham.  It was delicious, and entirely unexpected.  Soft, creamy, with hints of onion and smooth melted cheese throughout.  It was a stick to your bones type of food, bland but really desirable, like an oat cake with melted cheese on top in a pudding form.  It may sound weird, but it really appealed to us. We eat so much oatmeal with gusto, we had to give it a try on our own.  It didn’t turn out like the luscious, delicate porridge JJ served, but it was probably not cooked for nearly as long as hers.

Cheesy-Oniony Oatmeal with Bacon and Spinach.

Tasty gruel, for sure.  Onions sauteed in a wiped bacon-greased pan, chicken broth, oats, and spinach near the end, topped with cubed cheddar cheese and a crumbling of bacon.  Mixed all together and it was warming and filling on a damn cold day.

Our Plate of Pickles that we made over the summer: Cucumber, Dilly Green Bean, and Beet, with a watermelon radish garnish.

For a sharp taste contrast, we busted open a few jars of pickles we made over the summer, and ate all you see here and more.  I am seriously addicted to pickles right now, and was uber dissapointed that our Whole Foods didn’t have the Real Pickles Garlic Dill Pickles (or any other cucumber pickle by this company).  Our are just as tasty, and we ate nearly a whole quart jar of pickles in one sitting between the two of us.  That’s a lot of pickle.

Bacon and Cheese awaiting their oatmeal fate.

The whole meal: Cheesy Porridge with Pickles and Toasted Rye Bread with Cheddar.

With some rye bread with more cheese on the side, we had a warm meal that spoke of cold wet days in Northern Europe.  Laura wants to have the savory oatmeal again, but for breakfast, maybe without the bacon, but with a poached egg on top.  So many ideas to sift through on the internet, too.  Oatmeal has shifted from solely a breakfast food in our house, to something bigger.  Look out tummy, here comes the oatmeal.

Marion Birdy liked the toast with cheese best.

Dessert: Apples with honey and nutmeg.

And we have another Nor’easter heading our way.  Yay for more shoveling the driveway, once we find a place to put the snow!  Hang in there everyone, we can make to June!