This breakfast recipe from The China Study: All Star Collection is my new favorite breakfast. Nothing will replace the awesomeness of pancakes, but this is a close second. The corn porridge is surprisingly sweet. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised since I’m adding 3 tbs. of sugar. But still! I’m not used to sweet dishes made from cornmeal! The porridge is super simple and quick to make. Dump ingredients in a pot, cook for 2 to 8 or so minutes, dump in a bowl, eat. If you prep all the ingredients (minus the cornmeal) the night before, you can actually cook it in a reasonable time before going to work in the morning.

Ingredients:

Servings: 4 servings (enough for 2 moderately hungry adults)

• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tbs. raw sugar (I use raw turbinado, but pure cane sugar or brown sugar would work too)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. grated fresh lemon peel (I consider this optional, but I do like it more with the lemon peel)
• ¾ cup cornmeal (I use Hodgson Mill yellow cornmeal)
• 1 cup fresh fruit, sliced (I prefer strawberries, but blueberries or bananas would work too)
• Optional toppings: maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon, additional fresh fruit

Notes: I recommend using less sugar than the recipe calls for. It does make it very sweet, but 3 tbs. is a lot. I tend to cut it down to 2-2½ tbs. If you’re putting maple syrup over the top (like I do), I definitely recommend cutting down the sugar. Brown sugar gives it a different flavor, more of a caramel-molassesy flavor. Turbinado gives a similar flavor but to a lesser extent. Also, I recommend using frozen strawberries. When you defrost & warm the strawberries they tend to be a bit mushy. I like the mushy texture with the mushy porridge! I like it with fresh strawberries, too.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except the fruit in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil. When the porridge starts “popping,” lower heat to a simmer (about medium-low) and stir frequently until the cornmeal is slightly thickened. I like a very thick cornmeal porridge, so I leave mine going a bit longer. If you want a thinner porridge don’t cook for more than 5 or so minutes. It’s okay to eyeball it to whatever consistency you prefer, you can’t really mess this up! Keep in mind the cornmeal will thicken a bit on its own once it’s started cooling off the burner.

Put your fruit of choice in a bowl and spoon the corn porridge on top. Serve immediately.

I poured about half a tbs. of maple syrup over the top, which gives it the shiny look it has in the picture. Also used frozen (warmed) strawberries. Yumyum!