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Friday, September 29, 2017

Never Have I Ever





There is a game of sorts going around called Never Have I Ever. The rules seem simple enough, when it is your turn you tell something you have never done. I am unsure of any rule after the telling since I have never played it nor do have I wanted to until today.


The Publix nearest me has a discount rack at the front of the store. It always contains products that are either seasonal and the season has passed of items that very near their "Sell By" dates. The other day I was looking through the products there and saw a lone bag of Ralston whole wheat hot cereal.
(Photo is from the Ralston web site)

                                                                                                       

The only hot cereal other than oatmeal I have ever eater was cream of wheat.  Mom made it for us for breakfast on cold mornings before we walked to school. (Yes, I am old enough to have actually walked to elementary school) The only reason she cooked it is because she liked cream of wheat and she hated (still hates) oatmeal. If she hated it obviously My Beloved Sister an I hated it. You see the logic in that method of thinking, right?

The ironic thing is that both MBS and I liked oatmeal perfectly fine but loathed cream of wheat. So on cold mornings after pushing the cream of wheat around our bowls and gagging eating a few bites we would walk to school with this warm, vile food in our bellies. (To this day I still have no idea how something you ingest contributes to warmth more than a coat and gloves does. I would have been perfectly fine with a slice of toast and a jacket.)

Since the discounted cereal was only 1.12 for the bag I tossed it in my buggy (southernism for shopping cart) and bought it.  I figured is I hated it I could still use it as an ingredient for any recipe that required a filler (like meatloaf).  

This morning (and by morning I mean about 11 when my mouth decided it could tolerate more than coffee)  I was looking for the Cheerios which were gone. The only alternative was Frosted Flakes (uh, no) or the Ralston cereal.  I chose the latter and made a smallish pot of it and to my surprise it was not gross  like cream of wheat. The taste was different and the texture, well, suffice it to say it had texture. I ate it with about a teaspoon of real maple syrup and a splash of milk and it was delicious. If any of you have eaten this before and have alternate serving suggestions, I would love to hear them to give it a try.

And for the sake of playing along, what is your Never Have I Ever

33 comments:

  1. I love Cream of Wheat, oats, and cream of rice! I won't be eating the Ralston stuff because it is 100% wheat. I would like a spoonful to see if it is like cream of wheat. It sounds delicious. Do you ever eat cream of rice?

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    1. Never Have I Ever had Ralston's anything.

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    2. This tastes nothing like cream of wheat. It is much bulkier and cooks to a consistency like oatmeal without the slickness oatmeal can have.

      All I kept thinking was Ralston Purina Dog Food when I saw the name ralston

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  2. Our Publix clearance rack never has really good deals anymore. Their discounts are laughable. But I still look :)

    Never Have I Ever eaten cream of wheat. And I never had oatmeal until a few years ago. Growing up in France, we didn't have cereal for breakfast. Now when I visit a supermarket there, cereals are everywhere and they're the same as here. That makes me sad, for some reason. Breakfast was a bowl of hot chocolate and some "tartines" (slices of bread with butter and/or jam) or some kind of breakfast biscuit that we drunked in the hot cocoa. My family was too poor for croissants. They were a special treat from my grandmother when she came to visit.

    My own kids never liked oatmeal and eat mostly cold cereals. Recently Youngest Son declared that he didn't want to eat cereal in the morning anymore... and I have several boxes of Lucky Charms that I had stocked up on for him. Now he likes pains au chocolat (from Aldi) or croissants. He's becoming French!

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    1. In my honest opinion you have missed nothing from never have eaten cream of wheat. I rarely eat breakfast and when I do it is either an egg muffin or a bowl of cheerios, but I will be making this cooked wheat again. It was tasty, had some heft to it and it is now 4:30 and I am still not hungry.
      YS has good taste!

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  3. I love Cream of Wheat, of course anything you put raisins in, add brown sugar and a pat of butter, and then pour milk over (deliciously combined warm and cold) is bound to be pretty good. Never remember to make it, though. Just as well.

    But never have I ever eaten one of my grandfather's breakfasts, which was leftover rice from dinner - cold, with sugar and milk on top. Probably a throwback to this thrifty Tennessee farm childhood.

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    1. I have eaten leftover rice for breakfast before, but savory instead of sweet. I might try it like your grandfather ate it when I have just a tad of rice leftover.

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  4. I love hot Ralston, but never can find it around here. I would probably have it for supper, though. I'm not much of a breakfast person.

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    1. I am not a breakfast person and if I do eat what would be considered breakfast food I rarely have lunch. I did find out you can buy Ralston from Amazon. But what can't you find at Amazon.

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  5. Never heard of it but I love oatmeal..and cream of wheat! We have a food distributor client who gave us a sample of a breakfast they call Sunshine mix. It is oatmeal with a quinoa blend, its very good and has very good texture with a bit of flax thrown in. Never have I ever had a pumpkin spice latte

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    1. I bet the oatmeal quinoa mix is very nice for tactile eaters like me.
      I have had one pumpkin spice latte. It was perfectly fine, but not something I have to have again.

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  6. How nice to hear of someone else who can't face food until nearer to lunch. My day starts with several cups of tea.
    I am going down a different path. Never have I ever had (or been tempted to have) a Brazilian wax.

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    1. thank heavens there are a couple of us!

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    2. I never was. For which I am grateful.

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    3. I don't think I was either. When I was young I am not sure it was even an item.

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    4. Food early is just unpalatable. I can't force myself to even chew it. Too bad I can make up for that delayed chewing ability later in the day.
      Wowza, neither have I!

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  7. I used to walk to elementary school too. Alone! Imagine that? My mom made us Farina, which I guess is the same thing. Always with butter, sugar and cinnamon. That was probably 50 years ago. I've never made it myself, but to me, it the same type of food/texture as your southern grits.

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    1. I walked alone some times of with a group of kids. It was a different world then.

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  8. I am gluten intolerant and nowadays I make Cream of Buckwheat cereal and oatmeal. In my youth, Ralston sponsored some radio hero whose name I can't remember. I tried it then, to get the box top to send away for a code ring or something. It was edible, but in my mind, nothing special. I made Cocoa Wheats for my kids. I have never tried "wilted lettuce" which is leaf lettuce from the garden with hot bacon grease poured over it. My mother made it, and she and my Dad thought it was great.

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    1. I have never had a wilted lettuce salad but I have had hot spinach salad which is a tad similar.

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  9. I love both cream of wheat and oatmeal. I bought a seven grain hot cereal mix (and actually just threw the remains out in my pantry clear-out) and did not care for it, or for wheatina, which I think is like the Ralston cereal since it too is a 100% hot wheat cereal.

    I have never had or been interested in caviar. I don't consider myself picky in any way (more the opposite, actually), but both the described texture and taste of caviar are extremely unappealing to me.

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    1. I have had it on some sushi rolls, but it is not my favorite. I have even had some of the supposedly good stuff and it is something I can do without.

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  10. Thank you! I do not like cream of wheat. My husband loves the stuff and has told me for years that I was the only person in the world who did not like it. 😂. I like for my cereal to have texture -- oats and grits for me kind of thing.

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    1. I know I am a tactile eater and like texture too. To me cream of wheat has no texture and slides around my mouth.

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  11. Never have I ever eaten steak tartare or sashimi! I will not eat uncooked meat or fish.

    I am not a fan of hot cereal cooked with milk with the consistency of porridge, but, I eat cream of wheat made the Indian way, as it remains grainy and somewhat fluffy.

    I'm another mother who didn't prepare any food that I didn't like for my child! I don't know how many times my daughter has tried something somewhere else and asked me why we don't eat that at home! :D If I didn't like it, I didn't think to cook it for her to try!

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    1. I have never had steak tartare, but I have had and enjoyed sashimi.
      I tried to offer foods I didn't like to my kids, including liver which, thankfully, they hated too!

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  12. Personally, I've always had an extreme distaste for hot cereals. I've tried a few and never enjoyed them. The closest I get is grits...but damn do I love grits. haha

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    1. I am a grits gal, but I am extremely southern. Enough said!

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  13. My mother liked Cream of Wheat also, but I didn't--especially the texture. However, she didn't make us eat it after we tried it. She made oatmeal with raisins that I did like-especially with a big spoonful of brown sugar.

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    1. You were fortunate. If Mom did not like it no one in the house could. Dad would slip off to my house sometimes to be able to eat some of the things he was not allowed to like.

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  14. I was the opposite - gagged on oatmeal but could stomach cream of wheat. We also had a 3rd kind called Red River Cereal which I liked the best. It was grainier than cream of wheat but no gaggeous lumps! Throw in enough raisins and I could stomach anything!

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    1. I need a lot of texture, but never thought of putting raisins in it.

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