Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Pan-Fried Coco Wheats -- Vegan Tuesday


Dave has told me at least 1000 times that when he was growing up his favorite breakfast was Cream of Wheat cereal. I don't think I'd even tasted Cream of Wheat until I was an adult and I made it for him. It's okay, but I like oatmeal much better. When I was grocery shopping the other day I saw Coco Wheats--chocolate flavored Cream of Wheat. Neat! I just knew that Dave would love it, so I bought a few boxes. It turns out that Dave prefers the original Cream of Wheat, but I now love the Coco Wheats. Who would've thought?

When I was cooking the Coco Wheats for breakfast over the weekend I was thinking that the cooking method is very similar to polenta. I wondered if it would be possible to cook the Coco Wheats, let it cool, and then pan fry it the way I do with polenta. So, I made a really big batch of Coco Wheats, using less liquid than usual, and saved the majority of it for pan frying the next day. I spread the cooked cereal in a large baking dish so that it was about 3/4" thick, and kept it in the fridge over night.

After the Coco Wheats were chilled and very firm, I cut them into squares and pan fried them in a little bit of oil over medium heat. I cooked them just until the ends were crispy and the middles were nice and hot. I served them with Maple Syrup.

They were SO yummy. I love my pan fried Coco Wheats. I have been making them for dinner because I love them so much. Since I use water instead of milk, and no butter, this is a vegan dish. And, it's not sweet. The Coco Wheats do not have any sugar, just unsweetened cocoa.

Sometimes when I make up recipes things turn out rather badly. This time though we have a winner--well, at least for me. I am really, really loving my Coco Wheats!


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12 comments:

  1. I love the original Cream of Wheat. Yum...that makes me think of my childhood too. I used to have that all the time. And I love it with lumps. Thanks for the memories.
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  2. I love the lumps as well!!
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  3. This is very inventive, Michele, and sounds like it would taste delicious, especially with the maple syrup. I don't think I've ever seen CoCo Wheats, but I am going to be on the lookout for it.
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  4. How funny! I haven't seen the chocolate cream of wheat in stores, I'll have to look for it. I haven't had cream of wheat in ages.

    Sounds like a great dish.
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  5. What is cream of wheat, is it semolina?
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  6. I thought I read the title of your post wrong! What a cool idea. I didn't like cream of wheat when I was younger, but I'd probably like it now, especially if it was chocolate flavored!
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  7. Thank you for the nice comments! I've only ever seen the Coco Wheats in one store -- Walmart!
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  8. Cream of Wheat is farina--finely ground wheat that cooks up to be like a porridge. It's been around since the late 1800s and was a very popular breakfast food when I was growing up.
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  9. My kids LOOOOVE CoCo Wheats! We recently moved to North Carolina, and I couldn't find it ANYWHERE so my mom had to send some down by mail!
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  10. I love themn too! I find them at Wal-mart.
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  11. it's getting harder and harder to find find the co-co wheats thats why... stores aren't carrying it as much. I love the stuff the old fashion way... milk and sugar yum yum.
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  12. That pan fried coco wheats looks like scrapple.

    >:P
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