What would you call this breakfast?

"Pilaf", "porridge", or "mash"... whatever you'd call it, I find it tasty, satisfying, and nutritious.

A friend who visited me recently requested my breakfast "mash" recipe. Recall I'd posted about it some time ago, though I see I'd not given recipe details in the earlier post. Here they are:

• Total cooking time is 30 minutes (plus the time to bring water to boil.)
• Begin with a 3-quart saucepan approximately half full of boiling water. See notes.
• Then, slowly add 1-1/3 cups of steel cut oats. Bring again to a boil, being careful it doesn't boil over!
• Reduce heat to simmer.
• While continuing to stir, have kettle full of boiling water at the ready.
• After 10 minutes, add 1-1/3 cups of bulgur wheat.
• Adding more boiling water as needed, continue stirring.
• After another 5 to 10 minutes, add 1-1/3 cups of wheat bran.
• Adding more boiling water as needed, continue stirring. (At this point, usually I bring the water level to within 1 inch or less of the top of the pan.)
• Finally, I mix together about 1 cup of flax meal with ground cinnamon and ground ginger (to taste.) I like these spices, so I'm a bit heavy-handed with them!... a teaspoon or more of ginger, half again as much of cinnamon.
• Then, approximately 5 minutes before the timer goes off, I add the flax meal mixture, continuing to stir!

Notes:

1) If your pan size differs, just adjust quantities accordingly. It is essentially 1 part oats, 1 part bulgur wheat, 1 part wheat bran, 3/4s of a part flax-spice mixture.

2) Once fully cooked, I let the breakfast pilaf rest, covered for about five minutes.

3) Leftovers, when cool, may be stored in containers in the refrigerator. With additional moisture from berries and/or applesauce, it is easy to reheat a portion at a time in the microwave oven.

Above is a photo of the summertime version. Mix ins: thawed, frozen raspberries and a couple of tablespoons each of applesauce and raisins. Toppings: a sliced fresh peach, walnuts, pecans or sliced almonds, and plain non-fat yogurt. Generally, sweet enough as is for me. My visitor enjoyed a sprinkle of brown sugar with hers. Allow myself a drizzle of maple syrup or agave nectar for a special treat. When stone fruits are not in season, I add blueberries to the mix ins. This is a healthful, hearty breakfast to send me out for a day of gardening. Yum!