Apple Cinnamon Hot Cereal

Our shower is broken.

Well, not broken exactly, but broken for the purposes of me using it. It just started draining reeeeeeeeeally slowly one day, in the mysterious way that shower drains do. I tried cleaning it out with a wire hanger and pulled a TON of crap out of there (you don't even want to know... just what happens when two people with hair use the same shower for an extended period of time), but there seemed to be little improvement so Ben got out the Liquid Plumber. That made it worse. Not Ben's fault, obviously, but now we can't really use our shower.

As a result, I've been going to my local CorePower Yoga a LOT lately - partly because I love me some daily yoga, and partly because...they have showers that drain properly. This morning I went to a 6am class, showered (glorious), dried my hair, dressed, grabbed a coffee and still made it to work in time for my 8am meeting.

On mornings like this (and I anticipate there being more...) I obviously don't have time to make breakfast before I leave, so it's nice to have something pre-made and portable to throw in your purse. May I humbly suggest this Apple-Cinnamon hot cereal? Warm and comforting, topped with honey and coconut milk, it can make even wading through gajillions of e-mails in the morning seem rather pleasant.

Or not. E-mail is ridiculous.

I'm providing two versions of this "recipe" - one that makes two servings, and one that makes a ginormous batch of six servings that you can use throughout the week, along with super-complicated instructions for storing and re-heating (read: not complicated at all). They should theoretically turn out the same, since I use the same ingredient ratio for both, but textures of the large and small batches are quite different. In two serving version, the grains stay much more separate and intact, and the large-batch version is a lot mushier- more like oatmeal. I can only assume it's because the large version takes longer too cook, allowing more time for the grains to break down. Either way it's delicious. Enjoy!

Two Serving Version

Large Batch Version


Lovely Apples

RECIPE: APPLE CINNAMON HOT CEREAL

I really hesitate to even call this a recipe, since much of the credit goes to the brilliance of Bob's Red Mill...but I think it's worth sharing :)

2 Serving Version
- Butter (very small amount)
- 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Hot Cereal
- 4/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 small apple, chopped/diced into small pieces (roughly 1/4 inch - no need to peel them)
- Cinnamon - enough to coat the apples as they cook (roughly 1/2 tsp maybe? see photo above
for a rough cinnamon to apple ratio. Sometimes I don't measure things)
- Coconut Milk
- Honey

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add a small amount of butter (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) to the pan with the apples and sautee for a minute or so. Add the cinnamon and continue to sautee, stirring occasionally until the apples begin to soften.

Add the cereal to the pan and stir to mix apples and cereal together. Then add water and milk, stir to combine, and lower heat to medium-low. Cook until finished. Serve drizzled with coconut milk and honey to your taste. I know, it sounds weird but I highly recommend that you don't skip the coconut milk and honey - they really take it to the next level.

Large Batch Version
- 1 tsp butter
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Hot Cereal
- 2 cups water
- 1/2ish cup milk
- 3 small apples, diced into 1/4-ish inch pieces (again, no need to peel the apples)
- Cinnamon - enough to coat the apples (see photo above)

Follow the same instructions as for the small batch version - just be aware that 1) this version will take longer, and 2) you'll probably have to stir the cereal more often as it cooks, as it will be more prone to sticking to the bottom (unless you have a non-stick pan)

To make it portable, I put one serving into a screw-top jar the night before, added a little extra water as well as the coconut milk and honey. This morning - grab jar, throw jar in purse, warm up in the breakroom microwave at work. Done.

You could also easily make this vegan by using coconut oil instead of butter, and subbing almond or soy milk for regular.

Happy Wednesday, all!