Porridge - your best friend

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In case you haven't noticed, I really like porridge. I would even go as far as saying it's one of my favourite meals on this planet.
I love how you can dress it up, dress it down, eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, eat it hot, eat it cold, put it into scones or bread - the options are endless.
While I am very fond of plain porridge my all time favourite porridge is with peanut butter and berries. It will keep you going for hours and hours and it just tastes amazing :)
A lot of my German friends (yes, you know who you are! Don't even pretend ;) ) keep making fun of me because they equate porridge with something called Haferschleim.
Haferschleim (at least the stuff I grew up on) tastes about as good as it sounds...it's the kinda stuff my mum would feed me when I was really sick and 'because it's gonna make you feel better' you make it fairly salty or, even worse, use vegetable stock instead of water or milk, for me that was always the kinda stuff that would make me feel better in an instant because even pretending to feel good when you've got the flu is better than eating that stuff.
So, if that's the kinda stuff you're thinking off when I'm talking about porridge, then I wholeheartedly agree with you.
But if you've ever had 'proper' porridge mad by an old Scottish lady somewhere in a B&B in the middle of nowhere (and we're not talking about the places that give you instant, it has to be the 'real' stuff!) you will probably understand (if you still don't then I'm not sure whether I can continue being friends with you ;) ).
Anyway, while I really like plain porridge with a pinch of salt in it, let me tell you about the peanut butter and berry one.
It's super easy, super yummy and even fairly good for you (though, if you eat the whole thing yourself you might want to go for a run or spend some more time in the gym tonight).

Katharina's Favourite Porridge
1/3 cup of either Rolled Oats/Barley Flakes/Rye Flakes (or a mix of them, which is what I normally do) - that's just under 30 grams for the metric people amongst you
400-500 ml Water
A pinch of Salt
1tsp Peanut Butter
1 handfull Fresh or Frozen Berries or two...or three....it's berries, you can't ever eat too many berries :)
1 tsp Agave/Maple Syrup

Bring the water to a boil, add the salt and mix in the oats. Cook over a low heat for 20 to 30 minutes (yes, you could also microwave it but that won't be as nice, and if you're really in a rush, just have muesli or instant porridge instead, seriously...)
If the mix looks very dry towards the end, either take it off the heat or, if the oats are still quite chunky and you want them really well done :), add some more water or some milk and keep going until you feel they're done the way you like them.
Take the porridge off the heat, stir in the peanut butter and the berries and drizzle with the syrup.
Now, enjoy your porridge and then get back to work ;)