I haven’t had the opportunity to be a primary source for recipes on this blog so far, so when I got the chance to cook with our Couchsurfing host in Achacachi, Bolivia I was excited to say the least. Milton is an ecologically-minded and health-conscious individual who is strongly in favor of the organic movement and his family has a small plot of land where they harvest their own quinoa, chia, and yucca. While staying with Milton, he told stories from his experiences trekking in the Cordillera Real and mentioned a delicious porridge that he makes to maintain energy on the trail. One morning we ended up recreating it in his home kitchen, and it was just as wonderful and nutritious as you can imagine something containing the following ingredients to be. In typical Bolivian fashion, everything was added to taste and so I had to make my own estimations of the ingredient measurements. This is Milton’s own concoction that he describes as a breakfast cereal that’s “Better than Kellogg’s!” Amen to that.
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup black quinoa flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup cooked kaniwa, quinoa, or amaranth (optional)
- 2 bananas, sliced
- Small handful chia seeds
- Large handful walnuts
- 3 cacao squares
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tbsp. whole cloves
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon bark
- 2-3 tbsp. raw sugar or honey
1. Combine first six ingredients in a large pot: quinoa and wheat flours, banana slices, chia seeds, walnuts, and cooked kaniwa/quinoa/amaranth.
2. On the stove, bring water to a boil. Add cacao squares, cloves, and cinnamon bark and then mix until combined (remove clove and cinnamon pieces after several minutes). Pour spiced chocolate mixture onto dry ingredients and stir thoroughly until it reaches a paste-like consistency
3. Add raw sugar or honey to the porridge per your preference before serving. Enjoy!
Wholesome Harvest 