Hello everyone, today, Sunday, January 14, 2024, (well, almost finished), the day in which a very important Marian devotion is celebrated in Venezuela, such as the Divine Shepherdess, patron saint of the Lara state. This procession is the second largest in Latin America, surpassed by the celebration of the Virgin of Gudalupe, in Mexico, however, the celebration of the Divina Pastora does not take place in her temple, located in the small town of Santa Rosa (nearby to Barquisimeto), but the image leaves the temple and is taken to Barquisimeto, capital of the state of Lara, Venezuela, where it reaches the Cathedral, and in subsequent days, tours a large part of the Catholic Churches of that city, and after a few months, return to her niche. It is such a large procession that in 2016 more than four million people attended. In this year 2024, which corresponds to the 166th procession, I do not have the exact number of attendees, but there are millions of faithful attendees. And after this introduction, I'm going to talk about my drink today, which I titled: SPECIAL OATMEAL , and you'll see why.

Hola a todos, hoy domingo 14 de Enero 2024, (bueno, ya casi finalizado), día en el que se celebra una advocación mariana muy importante en Venezuela, como es la Divina Pastora, patrona del estado Lara. Esta procesión es la segunda más grande de América Latina, superada por la celebración de la Virgen de Gudalupe, en México, sin embargo, la celebración de la Divina Pastora no se hace en su templo, ubicado en el pequeño pueblo de Santa Rosa (cercano a Barquisimeto), si no que la imagen sale del templo y es llevada hasta Barquisimeto, capital del estado Lara, Venezuela, en donde llega hasta la Catedral, para en días posteriors, recorrer gran parte de las Iglesias católicas de esa ciudad, y transcurridos unos meses, regresar a su nicho. Es una procesión tan grande, que en el año 2016 asistieron más de cuatro millones de personas. En este año 2024, que corresponde a la procesión 166, no tengo el número exacto de asistentes, pero son millones de fieles asistentes. Y luego de esta introducción, paso a hablar de mi bebida de hoy, la cual he titulado una: AVENA ESPECIAL , y ya verán por qué.

In recent weeks I have seen very frequently on social media a recipe based on oats to which passion fruit is added. I found this combination interesting, since it is a contrast between the softness of the oats and the power of the passion fruit, and I was thinking of making it, however, on Friday when I went shopping I found some very old and deteriorated passion fruits for almost $3 per kilo, and I didn't want to buy them. At home I have not planted passion fruit, because on one occasion I did (a long time ago), and I saw some huge, hairy, stinging caterpillars on that plant, and see that I did not want to continue growing it, so I bought them. However, as you already know, yesterday I shared a drink that I called Tropical Delight, and since for that recipe I only used two of the guavas that I had harvested from my patio, I decided the same day that I made that drink, make the rest of the fruits with oats, since the flavor of these yellow guavas is also powerful and citric, similar to that of passion fruit, and I have to tell you that the result was VERY GOOD. With that said, let's get to the recipe!

En estas últimas semanas he visto con mucha frecuencia en las redes sociales, una receta a base de avena a la cual se le añade maracuyá. Esta combinación me pareció interesante, ya que es un contraste la suavidad de la avena con la potencia del maracuyá, y pensaba hacerla, sin embargo, el viernes cuando salí de compras encontré unas maracuyás muy viejas y deterioradas a casi 3$ el kilo, y no las quise comprar. En casa no he plantado maracuyá, pues en una ocasión lo hice (hace ya mucho tiempo), y vi en esa planta unas orugas enormes, peludas y urticantes, y al notar eso no quise continuar su cultivo, así que las compro. Sin embargo, como ya sabrán, el día de ayer compartí una bebida a la cual llamé Delicia Tropical, y como para esa receta sólo usé dos de las guayabas que había cosechado de mi patio, decidí el mismo día en que elaboré esa bebida, hacer el resto de las frutas con avena, ya que el sabor de estas guayabas amarillas también es potente y cítrico, similar al del maracuyá, y he de decirles que el resultado fue MUY BUENO. Dicho esto, ¡vamos a la receta!

• Preparation time: This is a very simple recipe, as long as you have all the ingredients already ready, so you will only need 30 minutes maximum to make it, and most of the time will be for cooking the oats with the fruit.

• Quantities may vary according to availability and individual taste.

• Servings: 2 liters of this delicious drink.

• 90 gramos de avena en hojuelas.

• 100 grams of guava pulp. I used yellow guavas, but you can use pink guavas, it will give them more color, although the flavor should be less powerful.

• 1.8 liters of water, of which 1.5 liters will be used in cooking. The remaining 300 ml are added when blending the drink.

• Spices to your liking. I used half a teaspoon of grated sarrapia (tonka), although you can combine it with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

• Sweetener to taste, I used 100 grams of white sugar.

• Ice cubes (optional).

• Water to wash the fruits.

• Pot, knife, spoon, grater, blender, plate, glass, stirrer, measuring cups, etc.

• Tiempo de preparación: Esta es una receta muy simple, siempre y cuando tengas todos los ingredientes ya listos, así que sólo requerirás 30 minutos máximo para hacerla, y la mayoría del tiempo será para la cocción de la avena con la fruta.

• Las cantidades pueden variar de acuerdo a la disponibilidad y el gusto de cada quien.

• Raciones: 2 litros de esta deliciosa bebida.

• 90 gramos de avena en hojuelas.

• 100 gramos de pulpa de guayabas. Yo usé guayabas amarillas, pero pueden usar guayabas rosadas, les dará más color, aunque el sabor debe ser menos potente.

• 1.8 litros de agua, de las cuales en la cocción se usará 1.5 litros. Los 300 ml restantes se añaden al momento de licuar la bebida.

• Especias a tu gusto. Yo utilicé media cucharadita de sarrapia rallada, aunque puedes combinarla con vainilla, canela, nuez moscada, etc.

• Endulzante al gusto, yo utilicé 100 gramos de azúcar blanca.

• Cubos de hielo, (opcional).

• Agua para lavar las frutas.

• Olla, cuchillo, cucharilla, rallador, licuadora, plato, vaso, removedor, tazas medidoras, etc.

The first thing to do is peel the guavas (previously washed, but not disinfected because they will boil). They are peeled and the seeds are extracted. They are chopped into quarters to speed up cooking.

Then the sarrapia is finely grated. Place the water, oats, guavas, and grated sarrapia in the pot. Mix and cook, over low heat, with the pot covered, for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the cooking time has elapsed, when the oats are well cooked, remove from the heat and let it rest. Transfer the mixture to the blender glass, add the sweetener, the rest of the water and blend well for one or two minutes.

Once the mixture is well blended, it can be served in a tall glass, with several ice cubes, and the Special Oatmeal is ready.

This drink, like the previous one, PLEASANTLY SURPRISED ME. It is a different oat smoothie, dairy-free, that combines wonderfully with the flavor of this fragrant and delicious guava. It is a drink that can also be taken very cold, taking into account that when it rests in the refrigerator it tends to thicken, and has the advantage of being very satiating. I have nothing left to say: Cheers!

• These photos are my own, and were taken with a Xiaomi REDMI 9 NOTE A phone / Estas fotos son de mi propiedad, y las tome con un smarthone Xiaomi REDMI NOTE 9 A

• The separators are my own and have been made using the CANVA application; and I DO NOT authorize its use in other publications, except for community publications and my own.