The first norther. Time for the hot cereals.

[Dover]

Love the feel of that first norther. The brisk air makes me long for a warm bowl of hot stew in the afternoon and hot cereals in the morning.
For me that means oatmeal or cream of wheat. So this morning was oatmeal made with just a
couple of tablespoons of my favorite granola mixture added in (cinnamon/walnuts/dried apple),
a little honey and just a spot of cream. Only this morning I didn't have cream so I used a little whipped cream from a squirt can. Mmmmm....tasted so yummy!.

What's your favorite Fall/Winter breakfast?

[Paper Roses]

1. Hi Dover. Cold as heck in my neck of the woods this AM.

Was 57 degrees in my New England kitchen and I refuse to turn on the heat yet. I'm too much of a yankee!

Oatmeal or Wheateena for breakfast. When I an lazy, I use the instant with brown sugar. Love it on a cold morning. Your topping sounds good too. I'll try it.

In the meantime, I'm checking the weatherstripping on my storms and doing other pre-snow tasks. I have a feeling this year is going to be a real nasty one.

We don't use the word "norther" in this NE neck of the woods. Is that a wind that blows, bringing in the cold?

[Dover]

Yep...

check this out:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/ybb1.html#

I suppose if you already live in the northern reaches of the country it's not a term that
would get used. Maybe you get 'arctic fronts'?

Of course, after a summer in the south that rarely got below 100 degrees, with almost NO rain, a 'norther' could probably be defined as any slight movement of air below 90 degrees...lol!
Thank goodness that September was quite wet and brought welcome relief.

[Paper Roses]

3. Texas? I thought you were from Montana or another northern state.

Keep warm and thanks for the info.

[Dover]

2. dupe post...n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I don't do breakfast, but when my kids were at home I cooked hot cereal nearly

every morning throughout the cooler months. Their favorite was a family recipe we referred to simply as "Rice and Raisins". It's basically a stovetop rice pudding with raisins. We still make it when we get together for the holidays.

[Dover]

16. Sounds like one of those great childhood comfort foods that gets passed down

through the generations. I've never heard of it, but it sounds good!

There is an Asian rice soup I love in winter called Congee, with bits of raw ginger, chopped scallion and whatever else you want thrown in. It really hits the spot on a cold rainy day.

Rice Congee

This is an excellent soup when you are feeling cold, weak and
generally unwell. A crockpot works very well for this and you can
cook it all day if you choose. Add more water rather than less.
You can add other ingredients as you wish. Fish and chicken stock
make good congee too.


2 handfuls short-grain brown or white rice
4 cups (1L) water or stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 green onions (scallions), finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil per serving
2 tablespoons finely sliced ginger

Combine the rice, water or stock, and sea salt in a large pan.
Bring to a simmer.
Turn the flame as low as possible and place the pan on a diffuser.
Cook for 4 hours.
Serve in deep bowls topped with some green onions, sesame oil and
slices of ginger.

[grasswire]

17. we always had stovetop rice pudding in my home

I never saw my mother do it any other way, although now I realize that most people make it in the oven.

I love it. I can't eat it, though.

[Warpy]

5. I'm afraid hot cereal is more than I can manage

I can barely toast a bagel and smear some cream cheese on it before my pain drugs kick in.

That prefab cereal you do in the microwave tastes too strongly of chemicals for me. Even the quick grits are weird.

However, this is the time of year I haul out the soup pot and start keeping it on the stove full time.

[Paper Roses]

6. I should have qualified my response. For me, breakfast is

my first meal of two a day. I eat at 10 to 11AM, and dinner about 6PM. It was not always like this but since I have been unemployed, there does not seem to be a rush to eat.

I am one of those people that could easily have something like lentil soup for breakfast but the cereal does the trick too. Dinner, however is a different story. I try to eat a good, well balanced meal in the evening.

I was of the bagel and cream cheese crowd during my years working, sometimes bringing breakfast with me to eat at my desk. I wonder if I will ever be able to do that again.

Getting old and having no job changes the way you structure your day.

[Dover]

13. THat's also true for me. I'll either do breakfast OR lunch late morning and then an early dinner.

Although sometimes I want breakfast for dinner and vice versa...lol!

[surrealAmerican]

12. Even regular "old fashioned" (as opposed to "quick cooking") oatmeal ...

... can be cooked in the microwave in less than five minutes. You just dump some in a bowl, cover with enough milk to make the oats float, and zap at high power until the milk is absorbed. You can add fruit, or cinnamon, or honey, or nuts, or whatever you like.

[Warpy]

20. Milk? EEEEEEEEWWWWW!

My microwave cooks it unevenly, at best.

It's also more than I can manage in the morning when I wake up stiff and in terrible pain.

[Dover]

22. So sorry to hear you have chronic pain Warpy. What's the source of it?...n/t

[Dover]

23. dupe post...n/t

[buzzycrumbhunger]

7. I don't do breakfast

. . . because that's when my shift ends and I head to bed. I have to say all this talk of cold weather has me envious. We just got our first cold front in SW FL and it dropped into the 70s last night, prompting me to start jonesing for a crock pot of spicy chili and fresh cornbread. I grew up in IA and my internal clock is hopelessly on Northern Time.

Even my kids seem influenced by it, though they were born here. They ARE breakfast eaters and by far, the most requested breakfast is a fistful of rolled oats or multigrain cereal (as in coarsely-ground grains, generic) doused in boiling water with a drizzle of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. No cooking required--once it's cool enough to eat, it's cooked. Much more appetizing than that slimy porridge my mom always made.

Damn. Must go dig out my sweaters now. Surely this will be the year we get some real winter weather (for more than a week).

[japple]

8. Oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind), mixed with butter, raisins,

pecans or walnuts, brown sugar or maple syrup and cinnamon. Sometimes I mix in chopped apple. I also love grits with a topping of seriously sharp cheddar.

[Dover]

14. Ooooooo GRITS! I love them mixed up with two eggs (over-easy or poached).

I don't make grits that much but really enjoy them.

[japple]

19. I don't make grits very often either. Somehow it's not the same without

bacon or sausage, which is sadly missing in my diet these days. Oh how I miss bacon and sausage. Sniff.

[Dover]

21. I've been enjoying the turkey bacon/sausage. Not quite the same but an acceptable substitute imo

But grits/eggs/bacon is definitely at the top of my breakfast favorites list.

[hippywife]

24. I love them, too

but hardly ever make them. But I eat them "northern" as everyone down here calls it. With butter and sugar. :9

[Dover]

27. "northern"...that's a new one on me. And sugar?

So much fun to hear everyone's version of a common food...you adding sugar to grits and someone else adding pepper to oatmeal is just foreign to me (I do the opposite). Sometimes it's regional influences and other times family influences...

Have you seen that PBS special on 'the sandwich' where they track the origins of different types of sandwiches all around the country? Same thing...fascinating.

[Vinca]

9. Funny you should ask because I tried a weird one this morning.

It's a Scottish barley pudding you eat as hot cereal. I made it diabetic friendly and used chopped fresh apples instead of dried fruit and added a little Splenda. I happened to get up a couple of hours before breakfast and turned off the crock pot and it was just right. It's strange because it really is more pudding-like than cereal-like. I used a little honey and milk on mine. I actually made half a batch and replaced 1 cup of water with apple cider. Next time I might cook it a shorter period of time and reduce the liquid by a cup so it's got a little more texture.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Crock-Pot-Barley-Pudding-302857

[Dover]

15. Mmmmm....gonna have to try that. Thanks for the link...n/t

[Vinca]

18. If you make it, don't reduce the water as I said I might.

I had quite a bit left over yesterday and put it in the fridge to have this morning and it got really thick. I nuked it and it was really tasty on day 2.

[hippywife]

10. Nice, thick

steel cut oats with brown sugar, butter, and some dried cranberries and almond slices stirred in. :9

Bill likes his with brown sugar, butter, and dried dates, but then he pours some milk or cream on it.

[kestrel91316]

11. I need to switch to oatmeal for breakfast now, too. The forecast high

for Monday is only 70.

Disclaimer: two weeks ago we had over a week of 103F+

[beac]

25. I love oatmeal made really thick like a heavy paste & with lots of fresh ground pepper in it.

I know, WEIRD.



It's amazing that I like any hot cereal at all, considering how my father traumatized us with endless breakfasts of Ralston.



To me, it tasted like someone had swept out the bottom of a silo and added hot water.

[Dover]

26. Hahaha ..."bottom of a silo"....haha...

So no sweetener in your oatmeal?

[beac]

28. Nope. I'm a savory breakfast girl all the way. Though I have been known to

indulge in the odd donut or two when they pop up at morning meetings. And the bakery near my dad's house makes painfully delicious apple fritters, one of which he always treats me to when we visit. Ralston-torture guilt, no doubt.