Steel-cut oats are simmering now, with a dash of salt and some dried cranberries.
Another kind of porridge I like is Cream of Wheat (farina). Haven’t had it in ages though, since the steel-cut oats bin is right at the entrance of the supermarket. Hm… I wonder if they have farina in the bulk bins? Or maybe even semolina?
And then there’s the good ol’ Southern porridge, grits. In the immortal words of Mr. Horse, ‘No, sir, I don’t like it!’ Of course, I’ve never had it home-cooked.
Dad used to like a porridge of leftover white rice with milk and sugar.
I like steel cut or quick cooking oats, can’t abide instant anymore. I like oats sweet or savory but tend to go sweet most of the time. I also like cream of wheat.
I more recently acquired a taste for grits and I think the key is never ever eat instant grits. Grits are made much better with the addition of cheese but are still tolerable with just butter and salt. Some people like them sweet, I don’t.
I have instant oatmeal three mornings a week on my commute. Actually, it’s often not porridge. It’s gruel. With gruel, I don’t need a spoon and can just drink it as I drive. That gets imitation, low-cal maple syrup.
I love steel-cut oats, quick cooking oats and I can even eat instant if there’s nothing else. For instant or quick cooking, I prefer them with butter, extra milk and some preserves mixed in. That’s how I was raised. For steel-cut oats, I prefer fruit (either cooked with dried fruit–blueberries, cranberries–or fresh mixed in at the end) and/or some honey.
I adore grits with the same accompaniments as instant oats. I have been known to eat savory grits with cheese at times but I prefer them sweet.
One of my favorites is leftover short-grain rice, mixed with a bit if milk and either butter and sugar or fresh fruit–usually peaches and/or strawberries.
For a long time I preferred Cream of Wheat to oatmeal. But Cream of Wheat needs milk and sugar. Steel-cut oat porridge only requires a bit of dried fruit cooked in (or jam added after).
At Christmas we have rommegrot, a Norwegian porridge. It’s similar to a very thick, very rich bechamel (white) sauce. Butter, cream, flour cooked and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
If we ate it more often than once a year we’d be chubby folks indeed.
I like Cream of Wheat and its chocolaty sibling, Cocoa Wheat occasionally. I grew up on both, as they are made in the county where I’m originally from. We were actually a test family for new product introduction for Little Crow Milling.
I like oatmeal just about any way you fix it. I had oatmeal with dried strawberries for breakfast this morning.
I love grits! A breakfast with eggs just isn’t complete without them.
Rice and cornmeal mush round out the porrige family for me.
I haven’t seen CoCo Wheat since I was a kid. I didn’t even know it was still available.
Cornmeal mush is great. I like it better sliced and fried, with maple syrup. They used to sell it in blocks, like Velveeta, ready to slice and fry. I miss it.
This was my first thought too. Love Ronnie.
On topic, instant grits are only fit to be used as spackle. Stone-ground whole grits simmered low and slow for at least 30 minutes 'til nice and creamy are the way to go. I prefer savory to sweet myself. Chilled until firm then sliced and fried they are very tasty indeed.
