Cardamom orange semolina cereal

Well, this post doesn't get a picture, cuz a bowl of white cereal isn't very photogenic :P I had a hankering to make some orange cardamom shortbread cookies, but am out of flour, butter, and money, so they will have to wait til later this week. However, since the cookies have semolina in them, I decided to make semolina "polenta" and flavor it with orange and cardamom.

For one serving (I am solo this week), I brought 1 1/2 cups milk to a simmer. To it I added 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom. Upon taste test, I might use 1/4 teaspoon next time, as the orange overpowered the cardamom. When the milk was barely simmering, I whisked in a heavy 1/4 cup semolina (it can be hard to find...I found it packaged by Bob's Red Mill at my regular grocery, and could probably find it at my local grocery coop as well). I whisked continuously until it had thickened, less than 5 minutes. I then stirred in about 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (might go lighter next time to not overpower the cardamom) and a tablespoon or so of sugar.

Overall, it is quite yummy. I may try it again in the next couple days and fidget with the orange and cardamom amounts. Happy Boxing Day!

Panettone French toast

Last week I bought a loaf of panattone at the store. I opened it and cut the top off for breakfast on the way to church, and didn't wrap it back up. By the time we got home that afternoon, it had gotten quite dry. I decided to wrap it up and save it for French toast. Well, today was the day!

I cut it into rounds, and then cut the rounds in half. I mixed up some eggs and milk. Usually, I flavor my milk-dip liberally with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a spoon of sugar. But that is for using with plain bread. Since this bread was flavorful, I left my dip plain. I soaked the sliced briefly (too long and they fell apart!) and cooked them on my greased griddle. When they were brown on both sides, I put them in a 200* oven on a rack to finish cooking all the way thru. When they were all done, I served them with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt (I suppose to be truly Italian I could have used ricotta cheese if I had any).

It was quite yummy! I'll have to remember it for more mornings :)