h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Porridge for me is always made in my smallest saucepan. I use a plastic cup to measure roughly a cup of oats and a little more of water. These go in the pot and on the hob, porridge is the only thing I ever put salt in, quite a large pinch of salt. Boil the porridge then put it in a bowl, a small squeeze of honey or a tablespoon of sugar give a lovely salty sweet taste and milk must be added if it is available.

mini

Maybe you should Flash-petition them to increase the quantity of gloop to match 200ml of liquid, or reduce the quantity of gloop to match 150ml of liquid.

Pleased it's only oats and lecithin. Pretty tame.

MMF

As they had these on the shelf of "foreign food" this week in my local supermarket, I got some, just to see what the question was about (I hadn't forgotten it after all this time!)

I had no problem filling milk into the sachet, but it was far too much. The porridge turned out just very very runny. Now I've got to eat the other sachets, but I'll use less milk next time. Even 150 ml would be too much, I suspect.

150 ML, sounds like a small amount of milk, for making porridge.... I guess it must be a pretty small amount of porridge? I use my rice cup to measure porridge... of course... ; half full rice cup weighs 35 grams basmati or aborio rice (dried weight), roughly... so dunno how much porridge that is, one and a bit cups of oats, and two cups milk, and then a bit of water if its looking too stodgy...
I do keep meaning to try make porridge using the microwave; cooking it, with the oats, and milk, in teh bowl I plan to eat it out of; as the transfer from saucepan to the bowl I eat it out of, is a constant source (sauce?) of annoyance, as its never possible to scape it all out, into the bowl, and I don't want to waste any

hmmm.... you know how some people eat cerials, like cornflakes, for supper?: can I do the same, and make myself a 10.15 PM, bowl of porridge for my supper?

I have a rice cup as well It's the only remaining tea cup of a set that was my parent's wedding present. Bizarrely, it doesn't actually measure the right amount of rice. For two of us, I have to have a full cup plus *that* much judged by eye. One day, after years of using the rice cup, I decided to put the measured amount into a measuring jug. It was exactly 10 fl oz. I still use the rice cup for measuring rice. It just wouldn't be right otherwise.

I used to eat a lot more rice than I do now, but cut my portion size down... a full cup of the rice cup is enough for say a single serving big* rice meal for one, with not too much else with it, cept rice... or enough for two meal portions, if its going with a bunch of other veg/meat to make up the meal and a full cup is the right amount of aborio to do a decent sized chicken and veg risotto for two (and again half is about right for one person)...

I still stuggle to use the rice cup though, for estimating the right quantitys of bulghur wheat to use in a meal its almost* but not entirely about the same as for basmati rice in the cup... but i always seem to get it overestimated as to how much I need*

I've no idea what my rice cup actually is; It isn't a cup... Its plastic... almost like a 'lid', off something, cept it clearly isn't a lid... I've no idea where it came from... it just sort of appeared, one day, circa the turn of the last centuary I've thought I've lost it a few times, and the merest inkling of such fills me with dread.... I'd have no idea how to measure out rice without it
and the 'half filling' it thing, is actually based on not* half filling it, but filling it up, high enough, so my first finger, on my right hand, bent into the 'cup', just* touches the level to which the rice has reached within the cup... sounds over complicated but its pure instinct now after ten plus, err about 13 or more in fact, years of doing this...
and... I just realised... I have absolutely no idea, whatsoever how I used to measure rice before I had the rice cup... I should probably come up with an alterntive method/cup just in case it ever does* go missing

Well I did it this morning with 150 ml directly in the cereal bowl, to save washing up. Result: it boiled over and made a terrible mess in the microwave. So far lose/lose.

oooh, I use a pyrex bowl with a lid, it catches all the splashes but beware when removing the lid, tilt it sideways away from you because the steam is hideously hot

I use a Pyrex jug and add the milk(180 ml) and oats. No boiling over and I don't spill the milk.You can even eat it out of the jug to save washing up.

ahh... yes, the eating it direct from the jug/bowl its been cooked in, in the microwave, less, in my case to save on the washing up, and more, in my case, to mean there is no 'pan loss' of the porridge, is my aim

With the boiling over in the micro incident; Were you using the microwave on full power?; Yes, it is always the temptation with a microwave to use on full power, but for a lot of things, the other 'power settings' can actualy be better... especially I've noticed for things like defrosting, whcih is about the only thign I regularly use the microwave for (cept for heating milk, in the mug, when making hot choc) I must try this, with the porridge oats

So "Quick" oats in a pan is not an option? Or soaking regular oats in milk in the fridge overnight?

I normally just use regular oats, done in the saucepan on the stove, but, if* I can microwave them, in the bowl I'll eat em out of, I'll create less oat wastage...; I can never scrape it all out of the pan once I've cooked it and that is such* a waste

A4888858

not sure about using porridge as a facial scrub thing though I'd be too tempted to eat it before I managed to coat myself in it although....

Oats in a sock in a bath is a good idea, though. Good for sunburn, eczema, etc.

I normally make porridge in a Pyrex jug in the microwave. I just thought that, as it was one neat portion in the OSS bag, I could use the bowl.

The instructions were for full power in a microwave of 800W or over - for lesser wattages, the cooking time would have been longer.

Whatever. I'll go back to the way I always do it, but use up the OSS flakes first.

As an aside, isn't Pyrex fantastic?

I've never had any problem with Oatso Simple, I must admit. The measuring from the bag IS pretty random, I seem to get different results depending on how much it bulges out at the sides, but when I was eating it regularly (only access to a microwave at work, where I eat my breakfast) I got used to measuring it straight into the bowl by eye. I always left the microwave on the full setting and it never boiled over.

I like mine stodgy so I always use less milk than they recommend.

Deb

It should* be stodgy.... afterall, one is meant* to use a knife and fork to eat it, not* a spoon

"one slice or two dear?"

I used to use Oatso Simple. Then a lady I was with pointed out it was expensive and full of rubbish, so I stopped using it. Before I did, I measured how much stuff there was. It came to 40g of oats (&rubbish...) and 140g of milk, for a total of 180g.

Morning routine now:
1. Get out 2 bowls.
2. Put one bowl on scales. Switch on scales.
3. Add about 35g oats to bowl.
4. Top bowl up to about 180g.
5. Microwave for 1 minute 47 seconds.
6. While microwave is running, add raisins that have been soaked in rum to second bowl.
7. When complete, decant piping hot porridge from incredibly hot bowl into cool bowl containing raisins/rum.
8. Add sugar.
9. Put first bowl in to soak.
10. Eat.
11. Put second bowl in to soak.

Simple enough, and once you've got the weights and times right, never fails.

As for adding milk to the Oatso Simple bags - yes, every morning, never failed. Decant oats, then put a kink in the bottom of the bag so it can sort of stand up itself. You then can just hold it gently on the countertop while you fill with milk.

What sort of rum? I guess we're not talking Malibu here?