Porridge in the microwave

[fred_mouse]

The post by mathnerd about cooking pasta in the microwave reminded me of my microwave porridge recipe. I don't use it anymore, because I can't stomach oats, but hopefully it will be useful for others!

ingredients - oats, water.
equipment - microwave, microwaveable pot/jug (I use a 4L pyrex jug with nice chunky handle), spoon.

pros:

• quick - less than 10 minutes if you can do it without forgetting it is there.
• good for those with attention issues - you can afford to forget and come back.
• childsafe - my microwave is set on a low table, and the then 4 yr old could make it without mishap.
• oats digest reasonably quickly, so it is good when blood sugar goes wrong
•  

cons:

• carrying the pot may require two hands (I wouldn't lift it with one, but then I have a tendency to unexpectedly drop things)
• needs stirring multiple times, which may require moving pot out of the microwave
• needs a large pot or it boils over and then sets like concrete.

take one part 'quick cook oats' to two parts water - I recommend 1/2 a cup oats to 1 cup water for two average adults for breakfast. For a family of 5, we used to use 16 fluid ounces of oats to twice that of water, but this is because eldest just eats until it is all gone, and this was how much we needed to ensure ze wasn't grouchy.

put oats and water in pot. If you have time, or get distracted, leave to soak. this can be hours - no harm will come. put pot in microwave. cook for 2-3 mins (this is to heat the water). Stir. cook for a minute. Stir. Repeat last two until you like the texture (forgetting to come back and check just means that you need to do this more times). Wait to cool, eat.

I've never tried this with milk, but I know that other people believe that porridge should be made with milk. We pour the milk on afterwards, so it wasn't a problem. We've added bits of fruit, dried fruit, and cooked it exactly the same way. We've used rolled oats when we didn't have quick cook oats, and they take longer, and the texture isn't as smooth.

Comments

One-person version of this

[kayloulee]

Oooh, that reminds me, I have a one-person version of microwave porridge.

Porridge for one person, in the microwave:

ingredients:
- quick cooking oats
- water
- milk
- brown sugar
- (optional) raisins, apples, dried fruit, etc

pros:
- very fast, five minutes total cooking time;
- if you mess up somehow, you've not actually used much of anything compared to making a big batch;
- easily salvageable if it does boil over.

cons:
- since you make it in a cereal bowl, the liquid plus oats before cooking are more likely to spill than if they're in a big jug;
- you have to first have a programmable microwave and second remember to program it properly.

method:
- take three heaping spoons of quick cooking oats and place them in a microwave-safe cereal bowl.
- add a mixture of half milk and half water until the oats are covered with about 1/2 cm between the oats and the liquid level. The mix of milk and water makes it creamier.
- if you want to add raisins or apples or cinnamon, do so now and stir them in.
- microwave for 2 minutes on high and 3 minutes on low. These times are for a 600-watt microwave. In my new 800-watt one, it needs to be 1 min on medium high and 3 min on low. You'll have to juggle the times until you get it right. The first high-power bit is just to get it to bubbling, so once it's done that you can turn it down.
- once cooked, add milk if it needs it, and brown sugar.
- if it's very liquid, it helps more to just stir it a lot and let it steam instead of microwaving again, which is more likely to make it boil over.

Add boiling water

[neqs]

I've never had to stir to porridge while it's in the microwave, but then I only make the one-person version. Nowadays I just pour boiling water over the "oats" (of the three-grain variety) and leave it for an hour or two and *then* stick it in the microwave just to heat it up - this makes the porridge much smoother.

Anyone interested in how to make bread in the microwave?

Re: Add boiling water

[fred_mouse]

I would be interested in the bread recipe. I might not be able to use it, but my kids would probably have a ball making it.

I also have a meringue recipe for the microwave - best suited for kids as I find the results less than oven baked ones, but the process is lots of fun.