Porridge is comfort

Pub #25

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and an opportunity to connect with the people you love. When we get the chance to spend time all together over the holidays I always have an emotional moment where I reflect on how lucky we are to be together, how our children have embraced each other, and how everyone shows up for each other. As they go about their lives doing the things they love individually, it is these times that feel extra special as they are all in full adulthood.

Now that time isn’t slowing down, and the weather has turned toward winter, we are fully in comfort food season. Food that is warming, nourishing, deeply flavorful, and takes me to a time and place. My food cravings and mood sway with the shifts in season, and right now all I want are the foods that give me a big hug and put me into a gentle winter coma, but there is little that tops my list quite like a steaming bowl of porridge.

You may be questioning my sanity, but bear with me…when I was a kid we always had Cream of Wheat™, one of my favorite breakfast foods in the winter and I would load that bowl up with heaping spoonfuls of sugar. These days I lean towards more savory offerings. Porridge is a humble food that is easy to make, affordable, and can nourish many people. It is a dish found in every culture around the world. It does not fall into one specific category and can be a main dish, breakfast, or an accompaniment.

Porridge can be made from any grain: wheat, corn, rice, millet, oat, or sorghum, and can be flavored in any way. Around the world, porridge goes by many different names: Congee, Juk, Oatmeal, Gruel, Polenta, Grits, Atole, ragi, Risgrøt, Ka, and Garri. These are just the tip of the porridge offerings.

Besides comforting your soul, porridge is highly adaptable, and the perfect vehicle for leftovers, which, is what I have here. I am always looking for ways to use up leftovers, and my family is not big leftover eaters in the original form, and I do fall into that category myself. I enjoy new tastes and experiences throughout the week, so finding creative ways to use the bits and bobs in my fridge is one of my weekly challenges.

So, if you are anything like me, you are still trying to work through your post-holiday leftovers, and can’t stomach another Thanksgiving sandwich, might I suggest a comforting porridge for your Sunday Supper?

Is this “recipe” I am using ground buckwheat groats, but you can use any ground grain you have in your pantry. Rice works here just fine…I still had green beans, fried chicken, and gravy to use up, and yes, my family likes their green beans braised not crunchy, but you do you! There is lots of room for customization here, so measure and substitute with abandon.