It seems that we have officially transitioned into the fall season from an extremely warm summer. Even though the sun is still warm during the daytime, the mornings are getting a bit chilly. The savior of these brisk mornings is a very traditional Finnish dish, morning porridge.
It was only 5 degrees out this morning, so I figured to warm my coworkers up with some porridge during our coffee break. A part of the reason to make porridge was a jar of homemade apple sauce, that Pirkko, the wife of our coworker Jokke, had made for us. The apple sauce on its own was to die for and I would probably eat it every morning if I could. Cardamom has this cozy fall flavor to it and the lemon adds a perfect amount of sour to balance out the sweetness.
You can easily switch up the traditional porridge recipe by adding some seeds in the mix and by replacing water with milk, soy milk, or oat milk. Porridge prepared with just water won’t fill you up as well as when you add some nuts and seeds to it. Almond milk is also a great alternative to make the porridge a bit sweeter.
Apple Sauce
500 g apples
1 1/2 dl light syrup
2 dl water
1/2 squeezed lemon, lemon juice
200 g jam sugar
1 tsp cardamom
Peel and dice the apples into small bits. Mix the apples, syrup, water, and lemon juice in a pot and let boil for about 10 minutes. Add the jam sugar and cardamom and let boil for another 3-6 minutes. Pour the apple sauce into warm glass jars, let it cool down a bit, and store in the fridge. This apple sauce is perfect with porridge, crepes, and yogurt, but feel free to try it out with anything!
Almond milk porridge
1 l almond milk
4 dl oat flakes
2 tbsp flax seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds
0,5 tsp cardamom
hint of salt
Pour the milk into a coated pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring the mix to a boil and let simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Enjoy your porridge with some yummy apple sauce and good company. <3
Ihania syysaamuja!
