Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal

The girl who sits next to me in physics is the best. She introduced me to Agent's of SHIELD and Marvel (and now I'm hooked). She explained to me just exactly how cashews grow on trees (who knew they didn't grow inside the fruit like a peach stone or apple pip), she is a fellow vegetarian and so sat in solidarity when the rest of the class were eating the spoils of the M & M experiment. (Yes, that is an actual experiment that A level physics students do). She revises with me. She gets DVDs (Captain America) out of the college library for me so I don't have to explain why I have still got books from almost 2 years ago (I was off ill and then...). She is interested in a lot of the same things as me and so we can have good conversations which I enjoy having (education, second languages, coconut oil etc...) She's awesome. 

And she doesn't like raisins so this is probably not the oatmeal for her. She could always just leave them out I guess...

For some reason early sunday morning at the gym they have CITV on the big televisions. And early sunday morning's on CITV are currently sponsored by Kellogg's cereals- including.... wait for it.... Coco Pop porridge!!!!! How cool is that!!!!

What is not cool is that you can't get it in Sainsbury's yet. :( 

I wanna try Coco Pops porridge. :(

So- as soon as I can get my hands on a box expect a review of it on here. 

But until then- I decided that I would just make some Coco Pops porridge- which as far as I can tell is basically just sweetened cocoa flavoured porridge- which is officially 300% cooler because it is in a yellow box with a monkey on the front. 

No I am not joking. That monkey should not be allowed to advertise on children's TV. He makes me want to buy oatmeal never mind poor defenceless children who do not know the cruel tricks of advertising! (Although if he get's kids to eat oatmeal maybe we should let him for just a little while longer...) 

But then I was munching on chocolate raisins (and yes, if you hadn't already gathered from this post I am going through a chocolate raisin phase. Next stop- chocolate raisin cookies.) and I thought- chocolate raisin oatmeal.

Happy days.

I tried something new here- I wanted some really creamy oatmeal- I didn't want to add any cream (even any non dairy cream) because really- (non dairy) cream is for special occasions- it's expensive and once you open it you then have to face making sure you use up the rest of the carton before it goes off.

So I added instant hot cereal. As in Ready Brek, but the cheaper version. When I told Mom that I wanted to get some- she said that it would make a mess. She was right. That stuff is like icing sugar- it creates this cloud of oat dust- like some sort of chemistry experiment gone wrong - but without the nasty smell of the chemicals. And despite how careful I was- I managed to get oat dust on the table. I didn't get it everywhere- but I don't think I can count this as being a no mess breakfast.

And no Mom, I did not want to get the sachets because a) I am trying to reduce packaging and b) I only want a tablespoon at a time and so trying to get a tablespoon out of a sachet is probably harder than trying to get a tablespoon out of the big box. Plus, the big box is cheaper.

Win win win on using a box rather than the sachets.

Although the sachets do come in gingerbread flavor. And who doesn't love gingerbread?

And they made the oats so creamy. They are supposed to make super smooth oatmeal (which is nice sometimes) but because I was mixing them with oats (that are not super smooth but have some nice texture) it made some sort of best of both worlds oatmeal. (If you want to start singing the Hannah Montana song at this point, please feel free. I've just got it up on Youtube).

Add the dry stuff to the pan

So if you want super creamy but still textured oatmeal and don't mind a bit of mess (which to be honest- I think if you transferred it to a jar would be reduced because you wouldn't be dealing with the inner bag)- then add a bit of quick oat cereal to your oats. If this isn't your thing- this oatmeal will still be totally awesome without it.

Because all oatmeal is awesome- right?

Add the milk and stir

I need to start an oatmeal is awesome club. They said at the uni's I've visited that if there is a club that you think should exist and doesn't - you can start one. Do you think they'll pass an oatmeal club? Because- oatmeal!!!

Seriously- when is oatmeal appreciation day?

Start it cooking slowly

I didn't add any sweetener to my oatmeal- but the cocoa can be quite bitter so if you want to add some- feel free- just taste as you go. I used my favorite milk- almond- here- but you can use what ever you have in - I haven't tried any others- but it's oatmeal. It works perfectly with whatever milk you want. (although I would suggest thinning down canned coconut milk if you really want to use that). Sometimes I've added a whole tablespoon of cocoa to one portion of oatmeal before- but here I've used less- 1 teaspoon. I wanted a more chocolate-ly taste- rather than a dark cocoa-y one. I love both- but I think using the lesser amount is preferable here. If you want a really dark cocoa-y taste (that won't be at all like Coco Pops porridge) then go ahead and add more cocoa. No one will give you funny looks- because who can blame you for wanting more chocolate?

It's really hard to take a picture of bubbling oatmeal! 

On that note- hopefully I'm going to be getting some cacao today. For some reason the prospect is making me feel all grown up. Like drinking coffee for the first time.

One tablespoon of raisins is a serving (according to the governments five a day leaflet)- and I added a  tablespoon- then decided to add a few more (maybe, like, 6-8 more) because raisins are so yummy.

If you don't like raisins (hello fellow coconut oil loving friend)- then leave them out. But still call it chocolate raisin oatmeal- just to mess with peoples mind. (Like this week's episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. I mean- wha...) Or put them in- and then painstakingly pick them all out. But as far as I'm concerned- that would be a bit pointless. But each to their own.

If you want- I would suggest that soaking your raisins in the milk before cooking would make for really plump and amazingly 'juicy' - but please stop before you resort to adding grapes to your oatmeal. They plump up some whilst cooking anyway.

Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal

Serves 1

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 Tablespoon instant oat cereal (or oat flour- just blend/process up some oats and measure after blending)
• 1 Tablespoon raisins 
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix or drinking chocolate)
• 1 cup milk of choice

• Measure all the ingredients into the pan and give them a stir. You don't want a clump of oat-y oatmeal and a clump of hot oat cereal-y oatmeal. Not good. 
• Put the pan on the heat- you want a gental heat because there is a lot of milk in there so it will need to cook for a bit longer than normal. 
• Keep stirring while the oatmeal cooks- it makes washing up a lot easier if the oatmeal doesn't stick!!!! (I guess you could always use a non stick pan if you have one.)
• Cook it at least until it's bubbling. Then cook it until your happy with the texture. I wanted it quite thin here- but not runny. I thought this thinner texture went well with the milder, creamier oatmeal. But its up to you how you like your oatmeal best. 
• Transfer to a bowl and eat it whilst it's hot! and if you want some 'real' chocolate raisins- then chocolate for breakfast every now and again can only be a good thing - right?

Try eating when listening to Bright by Echosmith. It's awesome. 

"oooh, la, la, la."