Nana’s Swiss Porridge

I am about to share  Nana’s Swiss Porridge  recipe.

This is not a Secret Recipe, nor even Deliberately Exclusive, but a recipe til now enjoyed by just a few.  The “few” being  a remote, obscure clan of hillbillies , plus a smattering of their friends and relatives and random passers-by.  Julia Child missed this one.  I’m pretty sure.

Aside:  This clan, an intelligent, caring, mostly responsible  bunch,  reluctantly conceded  to  our sister Mara Lee’s assertion  that we are hillbillies.  None of us are typically willing to  file into any category at all without a struggle, and most of us dismiss the notion of stereotyping  altogether (personally, I think it’s  abominable).  Nevertheless.  After my sister  enumerated  a long list of qualities  universally  accepted in our culture as  Hillbilly, and showed us all  with her usual savoir faire how we moved in that groove,  we (the clan), were disinclined to further argument (especially after relishing a generous helping of Nana’s Swiss Porridge).  Agreed.  Yes.  We are hillbillies.  What is more, we aren’t (not one of us) Swiss.  Further proof.  

Similar to yogurt parfait, Nana’s Swiss Porridge is  our  most requested breakfast dish.

It is perfect for birthdays, holidays, weekends, particularly bright Wednesdays…any day that might end up being celebratory.  Since the porridge is full of luscious berries, it generally turns out pink and always looks quite toothsome*…in some contexts even elegant.  It would be a sweet option for Valentine’s Day.  We love it.  And so does anyone else who has tasted it.

Recipe: Nana’s Swiss Porridge

(this will make enough to serve  a small crowd, which is consistent with how we hillbillies like to prepare our cuisine on special occasions):

5  or more cups  frozen fruit (berries, especially raspberries /strawberries/blackberries, are best…on their own or combined with peaches.  Blueberries are good but need another fruit to lend tartness to the porridge)

1-1/2 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped (start with 1-1/2 cups unwhipped; volume increases of course when you whip it.  You can use a lighter substitute; though it will still be tasty-ish, I don’t recommend it)

4 c. good yogurt (rich, calorie high Greek is my fave)

3 or 4 c. uncooked dry rolled oats, preferably quick)

1+  c. brown sugar (or any equivalent combination of honey, agave, pure maple syrup, raw sugar)—this ingredient is to taste.  Some like much sweeter, some like less.

teaspoon of cinnamon, possible dash fresh ground nutmeg

vanilla to taste (I like about 2 tsp-vanilla bean would be divine)

raisins and nuts to taste, if desired (I think  2/3 c of each is a good idea…I like almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds…and have thrown chia seeds in, which look like poppy seeds and plaster themselves ornamentally to your teeth

Mix the sugar/sweetener and vanilla and cinnamon (and optional nutmeg) into the yogurt.  Add yogurt to whipped cream, fold together.  Add berries to cream/yogurt, and then oats  and optional raisins/nuts to  berries/cream/yogurt…mix thoroughly.  Keep chilled till serving.  We serve it almost immediately… letting the porridge sit just long enough for the gathering of  spoons and bowls and people.  Swiss porridge keeps for a couple of days, though most of us agree it is best eaten  right away.

I garnished my little bowl of Swiss porridge with a dollop of cream, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.  

*Once, I blended spinach into the yogurt , hoping marionberries in the porridge would mask the green with a deeper purple.  It didn’t work; the porridge was still green.  But I thought it was tasty.