Coconut Date Porridge

I've been on a coconut kick lately, if you haven't noticed by my past few posts. These days I use coconut oil more than I do olive oil, because it's such a creamy, silken oil to work with. I like it better for high-heat cooking, more than any other oil.

This morning, I was in the mood for porridge. I'd recently gotten some bulk medjool dates for a pie crust I'll be making soon, so I thought I'd try this out.

Now, normally I work recipes from scratch, but I had to showcase this hot cereal mix. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal is just amazing. I was gifted it by a friend awhile back, and I fell completely in love. Not only is it a easy mix to prepare, but the mix of brown rice, corn, buckwheat and sorghum gives the bowl a rich, gooey feel on the tongue. Paired with coconut oil and dates, I think I might just be in porridge heaven.

Coconut Date Porridge

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
3 1/4 c. water
2 Tb. coconut oil
2 Tb. dark maple syrup (B grade, or No. 2)
12 pitted medjool dates, chopped, 1 Tb. reserved
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, for garnish
pinch salt

In a pot, bring water and salt to a boil. Add cereal and mix in, then immediately turn the heat down to low. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should make about 2 1/2 cups.

Add coconut oil, maple syrup, dates, and coconut water into pot, and incorporate thoroughly. Divide into two bowls, and garnish with reserved dates and cinnamon.

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I actually made this as one serving for myself, so I did the mixing in my own bowl. As I pushed the tablespoons of coconut oil and maple syrup into my porridgey mass, I found this:

Coco-maple love! :D

When I showed this picture to Jeremy, he gave me a funny look and asked me if it was an egg! It kinda does look like a teeny quail egg or something, I have to admit. :) Too bad it was a couple days late for Valentine's Day. It would have been so perfect.

As a side note: Last time I made this hot cereal, I made a HUGE batch of it plain, and put the leftover bits in the fridge. That night, I was feeling like having polenta, but I had all of that ready-made, so I scooped spoonfuls out (it was quite firm) onto a cookie sheet and drizzled them with olive oil, and baked until they turned golden. I served them with a hearty red wine and herb marinara, and it was delicious! A great alternative to normal polenta, and spooning them out rather than cutting chunks or rounds gave them an extra rustic feel. Perhaps I should make that again tonight and post it here... Hmm...

Also! I joined another blogroll the "Great Cooks!" Blogroll from Simple Daily Recipes. I've been going through the other blogs, and I'm getting SO many ideas for new recipes! I'm very excited. I love Blogrolls! :D

Mini Polenta Lasagnas with Rosemary Tapenade

I was feeling especially creative the other night, and I wanted polenta rounds, so I thought up this little ditty. I was also looking for a new use for the FYH mozzarella cheeze. I think I found one!


That's one of my cats, Silvanus, by the way. I shot the photos on the bed cuz that's where the best light was. :P

One tube sundried tomato and roasted garlic polenta, thinly sliced
Half a red pepper
1/2 c. Frozen spinach, thawed with a little lemon juice
1/3 c. Favorite marinara sauce (fire roasted crushed tomatoes)
a nice sized chunk FYH mozz. cheeze, thinly sliced

rosemary tapenade:
12 dried black botija olives
12 green botija olives (J says about 4 oz.)
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/4 c good white wine
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
fresh ground lemon pepper to taste
4 large cloves garlic (to be roasted with polenta)
splash of water if needed
Blended!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put some olive oil on a cookie sheet, and arrange polenta with raw garlic(for tapenade) and bake.
After about 10 minutes, take out the garlic for use in the tapenade, and flip the polenta. Put the polenta back in and bake about 10 more minutes, until lightly browned and crispy.


When the polenta is done, stack ingredients as desired, then bake again at 450 for about five minutes, then broil to melt cheeze.

enjoy!

Makes about a dozen mini lasagnas, depending on how many rounds you snack on as you go along. :)