My Chouchoux: Overnight Quinoa and Oat Porridge with Apple Pecan Pie Topping

I love cold cereals, but on freezing cold days like we have in Quebec (when it starts to go below -5C), it's no fun to wake up shivering and then have to swallow a big bowl of cold cereal first thing in the morning! I'd say it's time to make some adjustments in our habits to fit the winter. What do you say? As we all know, a good breakfast is an important start to the day. Especially when the weather is cold, my body often screams for hot food in the morning. Growing up in Taiwan, I was always given warm or hot food by my mom in the winter. There's something comforting about that, and further, I was told that eating cold food would only make your body work harder to stay warm.

I'm sure many of you are already familiar with the cold soaking method using milk and yogurt. The method I'm going to introduce you to today is more or less the same, except that I'm using the hot water to soak. All that's left to do in the morning is to add some milk and reheat it. ( ´ ▽ ` ) I've been doing this for many years, and I often make a big batch that lasts for several days in the fridge, so I don't have to worry about it everyday. And if you have some extra time, I urge you to prepare this amazing topping to go with it, instead of plain cut fruit. It's so easy, and just like the porridge, most parts can be prepared the night before (see recipe below). In the morning, simply pop the mixture in the oven. You see how simple the recipe is! So why not make this tonight and start tomorrow with this cinnamony, yummy hot porridge. It'll give you the energy, warmth, and comfort you need in the winter!

Overnight Quinoa and Oat Porridge with Apple Pecan Pie Topping - hot method (4 servings)

For the porridge:

A: 2/3 C   quinoa flakes *If you don't know where to find it, here are some brands, Ancient Harvest or Shiloh Farms
    1 C      old-fashioned oats
    3 C      hot boiling water

milk or your choice of vegan milk

1. The night before, stir ingredients A together. You can either soak the mixture in the fridge or leave it out if your kitchen is as cold as mine (about 10 C (´⊙ω⊙`)！

2. Right before serving, spoon the portion you'd like into a pot, add some milk and reheat it over the stove. *Don't worry if the soaked porridge became stiff overnight. Simply add the amount of milk you desire and it'll slowly loosen up while mixing.

3. Serve it with the roasted apple topping, sprinkle with some roasted pecans and enjoy!

For the topping:

B: 3 large apples, cut into medium chunks
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 C + 2 T maple syrup

1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 T water

1/3 C pecan

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Roast the pecans in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Take it out and let cool. Break them into smaller pieces, then store in an airtight container. *You can do this the night before or even a few days before, and with a larger amount, and store in an airtight container.

2. Mix ingredients B together and transfer to a baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. *If you prefer, you can just prepare ingredients B in the morning.

3. In the morning, preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C.

4. Take out A from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Transfer it to the preheated oven. Roast for 12-15 minutes until the apples are getting soft and the maple syrup is slightly sticky. *You can store the portion that's unused in the fridge and reheat it on the stove or microwave the next morning.

*T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, C = cup

- Yvonne

You can roast the pecans the night before or even a few days before, and with a larger amount, then store them in an airtight container.

可以在前幾天將山核桃烤好，並可以增加份量儲藏起來備用

平時早餐最常吃的是烤燕麥片(granola)，只要加些牛奶或豆漿與一些新鮮水果就可以食用，非常方便。但是當溫度轉為0C以下時，要我清晨起來就吃冰冷的食物真的很難。除此之外，從小在台灣長大的我，就養成冬天必定要吃溫熱食物的習慣，所以早上起床當體溫還很低的時候，就特別會想要吃些熱騰騰的食物來暖身。

最近這一年來，在國外很流行免煮麥片，但很多食譜的做法都是採取冷泡法，也就是將麥片與牛奶或豆漿及優酪乳、奇亞籽等等浸泡一個晚上，隔天從冰箱拿出來直接使用。今天要為大家介紹的食譜，做法其實與冷泡法非常類似，只是我使用的是熱水，而隔天早上起床只需要加一些牛奶加熱就可食用。我通常一次會做多一點的份量，這麼一來就可以連續吃幾天。當然，如果你願意再多花幾分鐘的時間做那上面的蘋果派topping，就可以使平凡的燕麥粥更加好吃，做法簡單又不花時間，是冬季必備的早餐喔！

蘋果派免煮燕麥粥 (4人份)

燕麥粥：

A: 燕麥片 1 2/3 杯 *在國外的朋友們可以參考英文版，我其實還加了藜麥片 (英文是quinoa flakes，可參考AncientHarvest or Shiloh Farms)
煮沸騰的熱水 3 杯

牛奶、豆漿或杏仁奶等

1. 食用的前一天晚上將A料混合於玻璃容器中，放置冰箱讓它浸泡一個晚上。

2. 隔天早上將需要的份量取出，與一些牛奶放入鍋子裡加熱，或放入碗裡然後以微波爐加熱。*冰涼並浸泡熟的燕麥片自然會結塊，只要與牛奶加熱後混合就會散開了。

3. 加熱後只要加上烤好的蘋果派topping就可食用了！

蘋果派topping：

1/2 C pecan

B: 大顆蘋果 3 顆...切塊
    肉桂       1 小匙
    楓糖漿    1/4 杯 + 2 大匙
    香草精    1/2 小匙
    水         1 1/2 大匙

山核桃或核桃 1/3 杯 *我用的是山核桃

1. 食用前一個晚上，將烤箱預熱至 175 C/350 F。將山核桃放入預熱的烤箱烤約5分鐘。拿出來冷卻之後用手稍微將山核桃撥小塊，然後放入容器中保存。*這個步驟可以在前幾天將它做好，並可以增加份量儲藏起來備用，但是若沒有時間，也可以不烤山核桃。

2. 將B料混合好放入有深度的烤盤中，蓋上保鮮膜後放置冰箱。*這個步驟也可以在烤之前做，但我建議早晨比較趕時間的朋友們在前一天晚上完成。

3. 隔天早上，將烤箱預熱至 200 C/400 F。

4. 將B料從冰箱取出，拿掉保鮮膜後放入預熱的烤箱中烤10-15分鐘至蘋果稍軟且楓糖稍微變黏。*若有吃剩的，可以將它放置冰箱儲存，隔天早上再拿出來加熱食用。