hot cereal with apples, pecans and maple syrup

Hot cereal? I bet you're thinking about warmed up rice krispies right now - gross! In the olden days (term used loosely), cereal meant any kind of grain that you ate, which are really just edible grasses. Cereal, in it's true meaning, is not the sugary breakfast food we grab on lazy mornings, but a family of grains that were first domesticated 12,000 years ago. A high point in the history of the world, if you think about it.

Corn, wheat, oats, rice, barley, millet, quinoa and buckwheat. Look at your kitchen, and imagine where you'd be without them. Also, as a side note, the world cereal comes from the Roman Ceres, goddess of harvest and agriculture.

Now, onto the recipe. You can use any kind of hot cereal you like - I'm partial to cornmeal, oats or quinoa. The one I used in the picture is Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Hot Cereal. It's a mix of a bunch of grains, all ground up and ready to be cooked.








hot cereal with apples, pecans and maple syrup
(makes 2 servings)

1/2 cup  Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Hot Cereal
1 cup almond milk (or other milk)
pinch of salt

Tbsp butter or oil
1 apple, cored and sliced
handful of toasted pecans
splash of maple syrup

In a saucepan, bring milk, cereal and salt to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cereal is cooked to your liking. Meanwhile, heat oil or butter in a small frying pan. Add apple sliced, and sauté until apple is softened and brown, about 5 minutes. Add pecans and maple syrup, and turn off heat.

Serve cereal with apples on top, with some extra maple syrup or milk to taste.