The Tomten and the Fox

The Tomten and the Fox is about the porridge that the children leave out every night for the Tomten (who shares it with the fox so that the fox doesn't eat the hens in the henhouse). So follow ups for this could be having porridge for breakfast the next morning, or leaving out a treat for the Tomten in the evening.

Other porridge stories, of course, are "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Sweet Porridge." When I was at the storytelling workshop in CO, one of the Waldorf teachers there shared that for Sweet Porridge she would build a little village of small Lincoln Log houses and have a yellow silk for the porridge, flowing out of one house and down the street, filling up all the other houses. In the text of Sweet Porridge it mentions specifically millet porridge, but I usually make ours of the old fashioned steel cut oats. To save time, you can put the oats to soak overnight and then they require less cooking in the morning. I got the recipe from the March 2006 issue of Everyday Food.

Steel-Cut Oats
serves 2

prep time: 15 minutes
total time: 30 minutes

the night before - In a 2 quart saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add 2/3 cup steel-cut oats (not quick cooking). Stir, let cool to room temperature. Cover; refrigerate in pan overnight.

in the morning - Add 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until oats are tender but still chewy, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/3 cup milk and cook until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide between 2 bowls. Spoon on light-brown sugar and toppings (such as banana chips or sliced apricots) if desired. For a crunchy texture, add toasted nuts.