Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad!

Have you tried 'baked oats'? They are quite trendy at the moment. I think the idea is that it saves time if you are busy in the morning, because you prepared breakfast beforehand - and you get all the goodness of porridge oats, and the sweetness of fruit in a manageable form. If you don't get to eat it in the kitchen, pop it in your bag, and eat it once you get to work [preferably warmed in the microwave]  I don't have two children to get ready for nursery, or a class of children waiting for me to teach them - but I have been eating baked oats this week. I quite enjoyed them. Liz sent me her recipe

Makes 3-5 servings.

• 200g rolled oats
• 2 bananas
• 400ml milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 120g frozen blueberries, warmed in the microwave

Mash the bananas, mix it all together and bake at 180°c for about 35 minutes. Portion up into Tupperware, store in the fridge. Reheat for 2 minutes or so in microwave

I cut mine into 6 sections. Reheating 1½mins on high worked for me. I had no blueberries, so used the blackberries from the freezer. This did make the final dish rather grey inside. It has the texture of bread pudding [which I love anyway] and was warm and filling. I can see why it is popular with busy people!

At the beginning of the week I made some quick soup,blitzing up a can of baked beans, some stock, leftover cooked carrots and a squeeze of tomato puree. I served it with Soda Bread Scones. I use Rachel Allen's recipe, but pat my dough into a big circle 1"/2.5 cm thick, which I cut into eight segments. I separate these out on the baking tray and bake for around 20-25 minutes. We had wo each with our soup. Lovely! I had a cup of soup leftover.

Next day I made a snack lunch by lightly toasting the split scones. I had butter and Marmite on mine, and for Bob, grated cheese, grilled. Two very successful recipes I thought. I found a container in the freezer labelled neatly Veg Soup. It had originally contained fresh soup from Morrisons, which Liz provided for a family lunch in Half Term. It thawed out to a creamy orange colour, and I was fairly certain it was mostly Butternut Squash.

I stirred in the leftover ½ cup of bean soup. But when I served it up for lunch, it tasted peculiarly sweet and milky. Bob asked about the ingredients. I explained. He is adamant that it was not veg soup in that container, but rather CUSTARD! 

It was a proper label, printed on the labelmaker though - and it said Veg Soup quite clearly...But I have to admit, there was a certain Bird-like quality to it!

You could say he got his just desserts!