Breakfast Grains

When I was a kid there was always a sugar bowl on the table. In the mornings, I'd pour myself a bowl of Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies and sprinkle on a heaping tablespoon of white sugar before adding the homogenized milk. Sometimes mom would buy us Fruit Loops or Cap'n Crunch. I can't remember if I added sugar to the "junk" cereal - but I suspect I did.

We would have Cream of Wheat on weekends - putting spoonfuls of brown sugar in the center and stirring it around to make a brown whorl design. Topped with whipping cream each mouthful contained crystals of brown sugary goodness.

How the times have changed. My favourite breakfast cereal these days is a mixture of grains, mixed with dry fruit, topped with nuts and yogurt. 

Nuts, yogurt, dried fruit, hemp seed and a bit of blackberry honey my sister brought me from Jellystone National Park.

Recently, I was talking to my friend Rachel about breakfast cereals and she asked me for my recipe. Thus  the inspiration for this post. Yes, this cereal is nutritious, but it's also delicious. When I've had this for breakfast, I have more energy and don't get hungry by coffee break.

If you can boil water or turn on a rice cooker, then you can do this. Once they’re cooked, whole grains  keep well and can be refrigerated or frozen. So cook as much as you can at one time. I cook enough for a week and keep it in a plastic container in the fridge and microwave it each morning. You could also freeze it in smaller portions.

The recipe below works for one week for Paul and me. Like I said, if it looks like too much just pop it in the freezer. My rule of thumb is 2x as much water as grains, and then a little extra water for the pot. Barley, millet, steel cut oats and quinoa tend to need a little extra water (3 to 1 ratio). You could do this in a pot on the stove but I think the rice cooker does it perfectly with no attention required.

Breakfast Cereal

3 1/3 cups grain - 2/3 cup each of any 5 of the following

• Pearl barley
• Kamut
• Spelt
• Millet
• Wheat berries
• Steel cut oats
• Regular oats
• Kasha
• Quinoa

7 1/2 + cups water (2:1 or 3:1 water to grain ratio)

Place grains in rice cooker and rinse with cold water.

Cover grains with water according to rice cooker instructions.

Turn on the machine and wait.

Toppings:

• Chopped, dried fruit like apricots, cherries, pears, peaches
• Raisins
• Nuts
• Hemp seed
• Yogurt