Oatmeal Pottage Pseudo-Oriental
Make steel-cut oats according to package directions. After 40 minutes:
Saute 1 chopped onion in butter until golden. Add to oatmeal.
Add a splash of soy sauce and a glob of ketchup. Stir to mix.
Add dried shitake mushrooms and top up water until oatmeal is the consistency of (lumpy) syrup.
Let simmer on low until thick.
Just before serving, stir in one tin of smoked sardines, breaking up as you stir them in.
Serve.
Just right as a hot "stew" for a fall evening. Good peasant fare.