Porridge Oats

Porridge and Lyle's Golden Syrup.

It's been pretty cold here recently so today I felt like having a hearty bowl of porridge oats. Oats are widely available for sale, usually in large plastic jars they are either grown domestically or often imported from Australia.

A few yeas ago I spent some time attempting to learn Chinese at Capital Normal University in nBeijing and just out side was a wonderful restaurant serving a staggering array of rice porridge. My particular favourite was with Chinese dates (zao).

To make extra money while living in Beijing I taught English at a nearby high school, One question in the end of term English speaking test for 450 pupils was 'what did you have for breakfast"? Answer from 450 pupils:
"Eggs, milk and bread"
Why? "Because the government tells us it's good for our health"

Working down here in Shenzhen it's not too uncommon to see adults with discloured layers in their teeth from calcium and mineral deficiency during childhood. Yep, drink your milk!

Problem is China doesn't have enough cows to keep up with the ever increasing demand for milk. Plus, Chinese cows are not very efficient. The average Chinese cow produces around 5000 litres of milk per year compared to the average Australian cow produces 8-9000 litres.

(I know there's too much syrup but the can's corroding due to the humidity)