Autumn is in full swing where I live, and I absolutely love this season. Trees are dressed in brilliant colours from bright yellow to deep red. Early autumn mornings are my favourite: the air is crisp, grass and leaves are dotted with cold dew, and a soft mist often hovers over the nearby park. I cherish those quiet walks with our beagle Raja — watching her bound through the grass, sniffing, wagging her tail and occasionally licking a berry as she explores. Those short walks clear my head for the day, but what I truly look forward to afterward is returning home to a steaming cup of tea and a warm bowl of oat porridge topped with fresh berries.
Although I’m a fan of hot summer evenings spent in the garden with a cold drink, autumn has a special place in my heart. The season offers so much to enjoy: long weekend walks through forests and parks, colourful scenery, and — if you’re even mildly interested in foraging — an abundance of wild food. Even if foraging isn’t your thing, autumn is perfect for capturing stunning photos or simply taking a moment to appreciate nature’s transformation.
If you’ve never tried foraging, consider giving it a go. This time of year presents an incredible variety — from mushrooms to nuts and wild berries. We don’t have a large garden where we live now, so we’re grateful for the nearby forest. The first time I went berry-picking there, I didn’t expect much. To my surprise I found the tiniest, sweetest blackberries I’d ever tasted. They’re small and take time to collect, but every moment spent picking them was worth it.
Last weekend we went foraging again and came home with a generous harvest of berries. We followed the simple etiquette of not overpicking — leaving plenty for wildlife — yet still filled two baskets. Some patches were covered in berry bushes as far as the eye could see. I froze part of the haul, turned some into jelly and cordial, and ate the rest straight away. Freshly picked wild berries are simply incomparable. If you can’t forage yourself, frozen or store-bought berries work well too, but if there’s even a small chance of finding wild berries near your home, I encourage you to explore — you won’t regret it. In the oat porridge recipe below I used wild blackberries, but feel free to use any berries you prefer.
Oat Porridge with Berries & Pistachios
The Greedy Vegan
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 ml almond milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 50 g instant oats
- 50 g fresh blackberries or frozen
- 3 tablespoon rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon pistachios crushed
Instructions
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Place the almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract (or scraped vanilla bean) and cardamom into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and leave the pan on the hot plate.
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Stir the instant oats into the hot milk, mix quickly, and let it rest for about 3 minutes so the oats absorb the liquid.
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Just before serving, add the rolled oats and the fresh or frozen berries, stirring briefly until combined. Adding the rolled oats at the end lets them absorb some remaining liquid and improves the porridge’s texture.
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Top with crushed pistachios and, if desired, a little extra maple syrup. Serve warm.
Nutrition