When I was growing up in America, corn and its products comprised a big part of my eating. The Calm One being of the British persuasion did not particularly warm up to corn bread, Indian pudding, hominy grits, succatash, and hushpuppies. Additionally, the French regard corn mostly as animal feed. So corn products and my cooking had parted ways quite awhile ago. Though I knew of polenta, for some reason I never incorporated it into my menu planning. Since creating a vegetarian menu for +Rajini Rao's birthday, I have become smitten with all things polenta.
Cooking polenta is a cinch: stir it into a pot containing three times its volume in water--I usually use one cup of polenta to three cups of water. Keep stirring as you bring it to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about ten minutes until cooked. Herbs can be added as the polenta is cooking. Scoop out a sunny mound and top it with butter or grated cheese, and you got a nice, hot humdinger of a hunger-satisfying meal. In these times of long gardening hours, I will make a pot of polenta and thyme--there is tons of it in the garden--and pour what we are not eating immediately into a small loaf pan, putting it overnight in the fridge.
Next day, I unmold and slice it.
The slices are then sauteed in butter on a medium flame. Once browned on one side and flipped over, thin slices of cheese are placed on top.
As the radishes I planted about a month ago to mark the rows of slower growing carrots are now ready to harvest, I wanted to start including them in our meals.
Their refreshing bite added a nice taste foil to a stack of sauteed polenta slices and melted cheese.
In the potager, the nine fruit trees' blossoming is coming to a close.
Their white and pale pink blossoms fall onto the grass in flurries.
The asparagus crowns planted about two weeks ago are starting to sprout spears which of course I will not harvest so as strengthen their root system.
Most of the indoor sowing is done. The seedlings are placed outdoors weather willing during the day and brought back in before dark.
Dayo becoming a furry centrepiece makes sure that I do remember to bring them in at twilight.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Planting asparagus
Sowing radish and carrot seed together
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| Those dark flecks are dried thyme |
Cooking polenta is a cinch: stir it into a pot containing three times its volume in water--I usually use one cup of polenta to three cups of water. Keep stirring as you bring it to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about ten minutes until cooked. Herbs can be added as the polenta is cooking. Scoop out a sunny mound and top it with butter or grated cheese, and you got a nice, hot humdinger of a hunger-satisfying meal. In these times of long gardening hours, I will make a pot of polenta and thyme--there is tons of it in the garden--and pour what we are not eating immediately into a small loaf pan, putting it overnight in the fridge.
Next day, I unmold and slice it.
The slices are then sauteed in butter on a medium flame. Once browned on one side and flipped over, thin slices of cheese are placed on top.
 |
| Melting Edam cheese slices |
As the radishes I planted about a month ago to mark the rows of slower growing carrots are now ready to harvest, I wanted to start including them in our meals.
Their refreshing bite added a nice taste foil to a stack of sauteed polenta slices and melted cheese.
In the potager, the nine fruit trees' blossoming is coming to a close.
 |
| Golden Delicious tree |
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| Red Delicious tree in background |
Their white and pale pink blossoms fall onto the grass in flurries.
 |
| Yellow flowering broccoli in foreground! |
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| Fallen blossoms seen from the house resemble a dusting of snow |
The asparagus crowns planted about two weeks ago are starting to sprout spears which of course I will not harvest so as strengthen their root system.
Most of the indoor sowing is done. The seedlings are placed outdoors weather willing during the day and brought back in before dark.
 |
| Melon, tomato, basil, parsley, cucumber, butternut squash, Bell peppers, lettuce & Thunbergia Alata seedlings |
Dayo becoming a furry centrepiece makes sure that I do remember to bring them in at twilight.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Planting asparagus
Sowing radish and carrot seed together
Some truly wonderful images and useful ideas here, Michelle -- sure am glad I prodded you into that "Recipes for Rajini" train of thought!
ReplyDeleteSo true, Bill. Making that menu for Rajini allowed me to expand my ingredients list. Sherry vinegar was another ingredient with which I will use in other recipes. Thanks for the prod!
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