Cold morning, HOT cereal

[stellabella]

I love hot cereal. I buy bulk ingredients and keep a batch of cereal in the fridge: the combinations always change, and to this day I still haven't hit the PERFECT mix. Suggestions would be appreciated...

I start with rolled oats and cracked wheat and add any or all of the following:

wheat germ

quinoa

cous cous

sesame seeds

sunflower seeds

dates

chopped nuts

oat bran

While it's cooking [i use milk and water, usually], I add some pure vanilla extract and grated nutmeg, and if I have it some chopped crystalized ginger and shredded coconut. A pinch of coriander adds excitement.

I eat hot cereal with "cajun crystals" cane sugar and vanilla yogurt.

[Jinmyo]

Congee.

Any kind of congee.

[Dave the Cook]

OKAY! I GIVE UP!

What the hell is congee?

[Jinmyo]

Dave, juk (jook)?

Rice porridge?

It's rice (preferably Japanese gohan or calrose) cooked in a large quantity of water so that the starches release and create a rice soup. Just a few drops of sesame oil and a bit of ginger, salt and white pepper somehow become explosive in flavour. Add whatever meats or fish or vegetables or nuts and it is extraordinary.

Easy. Cheap. Will never ever be bad to you, will always be kind to your system.

[Dave the Cook]

Jin,

Thanks. This is perfect--jargon for something I already do. My favorite sort of discovery. (It is great, by the way.)

[FoodMan]

a grated green apple and a sliced bannana

[Steve Plotnicki]

Stellabella - I'm an oatmeal man. I could eat it every day. It's a trait I picked up from my father who ate all sorts of hot breakfasts. But if you like hot cereal for breakfast, when you are here next month, if you are able to get to the Chinese Noodle and Dumpling shop on Mott Street, I think it's called Mee Fong II, they have a tub of soft steamed tofu that they serve with a sweet mollasses based sauce that I love eating. It's $1.50 for a large container and they'll give you a spoon.

[Kim WB]

Congee was very difficult for me to get used to during my two week stay in Southern China. And I was embracing every other food I came across...just couldn't love the congee. Then, I had it at dinner, embellished with scallion and fine shredded greens, it was a revelation. I was just LOOKING at it wrong...I am now a big fan of congee, and my dry cleaner has it in a warmer in the mornings..if I get there early enough, I am graciously offered some.

[mamster]

Maybe this would be the place to mention that I think a good name for a Japanese cooking column would be "Gohan or Go Home."

[wawairis]

Do grits count or are they too low class? I could have them everyday with butter, salt, pepper. Unfortunately I live in the North East and it's almost impossible to find them served in restaurants.

[bushey]

stellabella --

Do you add the additional ingredients before you cook, and if so, how do you adjust the proportion of liquids?

This thread is coincidental to my buying some Irish oats yesterday at the supermarket. Now that the cold weather is here to stay it's the time my mind turns to hot cereal also. I went grocery shopping alone yesterday and decided I was worth the splurge for a cut above Quaker . I had some this morning for breakfast and it had great chewy texture. I cook it in the microwave at work, with milk instead of water, and drizzle it with real maple syrup. Meant to bring in some almonds to top it off, but I forgot. It was just as yummy without, but now you're inspiring me to experiment.

[Dave the Cook]

Alton Brown has a nice slow-cooker recipe here. I cut back on the water a little and add maple syrup or brown sugar. It's a great aroma to wake up to.

And no, wawairis, grits are not low class. They're the more refined version of polenta.

[bushey]

wawairis, I'm with you on the grits. In fact I stood in the cereal aisle for a long time staring at the grits as well as the Irish oats (now wondering why I didn't buy both). I love to make my grits on the thicker side, then dot with butter, salt and pepper, sprinkle on some grated sharp cheddar cheese and run it under the broiler. Great with a side of scrambled eggs and hot sauce.

[BigMac]

If I am not having some sugary kids cereal (love the Lucky Charms), then it is Oatmeal, with brown sugar and raisins. I recently have found that the method for cooking the oats on the can (tube?) is garbage, again How to Cook Everything comes to the rescue.

[Nick]

I used to be into oatmeal, but lately it's been "Penobscot Porridge" 4-grain cereal - wheat, corn, rye, & rice. Organic. When it's close to being done I throw in some "flame" raisins. Quick, easy, and good if you're into hearty grains.

[Toby]

John Thorne has a lovely piece about eating oatmeal for breakfast in the winter (in Simple Cooking, his first collection). I was able to conquer a lifelong hatred of oatmeal by roughly following his directions, cooking McCann's Irish Oatmeal in milk with a pinch of salt and a small banana sliced into it, for about 25 minutes, and then eating it with butter, heavy cream and brown sugar sprinkled on the top.

[stellabella]

bushey, i just follow a basic principle of one part mix to two parts liquid, more or less.

grits are not low class. i like stone ground coarse yellow grits with cheese, and i only eat grits if i'm having eggs. i have tried grits with syrup and it doesn't taste right to me. makes me sad since it sounded so good when laura ingalls wilder described her "hasty pudding" in her first "little" book.

[KMPickard]

Steel cut or Irish oats are a wonderful weekend treat. I use the Cook's Illustrated method which calls for toasting the oats (1 cup) briefly in a tsp of melted butter before stirring them into a mixture of simmering water and milk (3 cups water, 1 cup milk). They then simmer, uncovered and unstirred for twenty minutes. At that point add salt to taste and , in my case, dried cherries and toasted almond slivers. Stir occasionally for another 10 minutes. Then remove from heat, cover pot with a folded tea towel under the lid, and let stand for 5 minutes. Top with a bit of brown sugar and milk and mmmm...

K.

PS. I tried the overnight slow cooker method and did not like it a bit.

[Sandra Levine]

I love oatmeal, even plain old Quaker Oats. I use water and add raisins at the beginning, so they plump up. Usually, I cut a banana into the bowl and just pour the finished oatmeal over them. They heat up just enough. I finish with a puddle of milk. No sweetening other than the fruit. When I was in college, oatmeal on the breakfast menu was enough to get me up that early. I used to take a side order of bacon and cut that up into the cereal. I haven't had that treat in years, but I just may this weekend. OH NO -- Atkins!

[Jinmyo]

Do grits count or are they too low class?  I could have them everyday with butter, salt, pepper.  Unfortunately I live in the North East and it's almost impossible to find them served in restaurants.

No no no. Grits are great. The polenta of America. Wonderful with sauteed collard greens and slabs of ham.

[southern girl]

Grits with crisp bacon crumbled in them....sharp cheddar cheese blended in (too) is optional depending on my humor

[Nick]

No no no. Grits are great. The polenta of America. Wonderful with sauteed collard greens and slabs of ham.

This from someone that insists on the correct preparation of miso soup?

[Jinmyo]

How do you like your grits, Nick?

[cakewalk]

Cream of wheat. Mmmm. Still my favorite. I make it with water and then when it's finished I like to add a bit of milk. And now that it can be made in the microwave, even better.

[Nick]

How do you like your grits, Nick?

With miso soup?