Tricia Dameron, blogstress at oklavore.com , has a new recipe for a Cream of Bulgar lunch. It looks like it was invented the way most great recipes are developed — “let’s see, what’s around that I could make into a lunch?”. She cooked cream of bulgar in equal parts milk and beef broth, and then added chunks of white cheddar cheese. That was then topped with a generous helping of cooked greens. Read the original here.
This is a busy week, and with the riots going on in the financial marketplace, I am in full-blown frugalista mode. So this week, every morning I am having simple Cream of Bulgar for breakfast. It is easy and quick to prepare. It is filling, and it is comfort food. I add a dash of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, a sprinkling of raisins and dried cranberries and chopped pecans, a small dollop of butter, and two or three tablespoons of yogurt after it is cooked. Voila, simple but very tasty, healthy, and frugal breakfast.
My friend and fellow Oklahoma Food cooperator Jacki Morton sent me this recipe, which she developed herself.
Berry Banana Bulgar Breakfast”
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cream of bulgar wheat
1 banana
1 handful blueberries or other berries
1T sugar or equivalent Stevia
Bring milk and water to a boil. Turn off heat, stir in cream of bulgar wheat and sweetener. Mush up banana with a fork and stir it into mixture. Add Berries.
I was making whole wheat pancake batter this morning, and the batter looked a little thin. I was in a rush and wasn’t measuring precisely. So I added 1/4 cup of uncooked Cream of Bulgar, and they came out nice and light — even though I had also forgotten to add an egg.
Here’s tonight’s version of the Cream of Bulgar Casserole.
1 cup uncooked Cream of Bulgar
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2 chopped onion
1 small can mushrooms, drained
1 can cooked collard greens, “seasoned Southern style”, well drained
Garlic powder, black pepper
1 teaspoon habanero sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup yogurt cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded cheese
Dash of salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Open the can of collard greens and put it in a colander to drain. Catch the liquid and add to compost or save for use in a later recipe.
Saute the onions and mushrooms in butter, add water and broth, sprinkle the cream of bulgar over the liquid, stir, add habanero sauce, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cook about 5 minutes. Add the greens and the shredded cheese. If you don’t have your own habanero sauce, add some cayenne pepper or Louisiana style hot sauce. The point of that is — this is a bland dish, so give it some pep!
Take about 1/4 cup of the mixture, put in a cup, add 1/8 cup water, and combine this with the beaten egg, then add this to the mixture and stir thoroughly.
Bake until nicely done. It took me about 1 hour, but I was cooking it in an electric roaster oven on the porch. (We cook outside during the summer.) It would probably have taken a little less time in the inside oven.
This dish is a meal by itself, but we had it with a pork roast.
5/8 cup of Cream of Bulgar Wheat
1 cup homemade beef stock
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup butter
5 ounces Mild Cheddar cheese
2 ounces store-bought Asiago cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
Bring bulgar, broth, milk, salt and pepper to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in butter and cheeses until they have melted. Quickly stir in beaten egg and pour misture into lightly buttered 1 quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and crusty on top and bubbly around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Bob Note: I have made this several times, using different kinds of cheeses, and they all work well with this recipe.
My Cream of Bulgar Wheat product is the same product as Bulgar Wheat, only it is a finer grind. The basic “rule of thumb” for preparing it is one part Cream of bulgar to three parts liquid.
To make 1-1/2 cup of prepared product, put 1-1/2 cups water in a pan over a medium heat. Sprinkle ½ cup Cream of Bulgur on the water, add a dash of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 5-6 minutes until done, stir it slowly as it is cooking. Add some butter and milk, maybe some honey, maple syrup, or your favorite jam. You can add plumped raisins to the cooking water. You can also cook it in milk instead of water.
Think of this product like grits or Cream of Wheat. You can add. . . shredded cheese, chopped garlic, sauteed onion (for a side dish or main dish for lunch or dinner). . . or chopped fruit, plumped raisins, cinnamon, honey (for breakfast).