Dear Future Husband,
I got your email yesterday… the one with the subject line “To My Future Wife”.
Um….. can I be honest? That was sweet… but a little creeptown.
I know… I know… you’re probably going to say it was all a joke and you were just kidding and blah blah blah.
Listen. You may get the impression from this blog that it’s all sunshine and lollipops here at my end of the world.
Here’s some things you should know:
Sometimes I run out of toothpaste and forget to buy more. Irresponsible. I’m sorry.
I only have 168 Facebook friends. That’s not a lot.
I adopt stray cats… even the ones with dirty, matted fur. And I love them. And I talk to them in my cat voice.
I have a voice I use specifically for cats.
I put my feet on the coffee table. I’m demanding and unreasonable when I get stressed out. I text too much. I don’t want a pet bird. I don’t want to pretend that I like your mother’s pet bird. Oh.. and I’ll lose my everloving mind if you get pee on the floor and don’t clean it up. I will.
So… yea. I understand if you want to retract that email now. If you don’t, you’re nutso.
I made breakfast polenta this morning. Since I couldn’t decide if I wanted it sweet or savory, I made it both ways.
Then I ate both bowls.
Then I realized that I wanted savory breakfast polenta… but the sweet polenta was a lovely warm up.
Polenta… if you don’t know… is ground cornmeal. When boiled with water, milk and butter, cornmeal cooks up into a creamy, warm, super comforting bowl of good.
Sweet Breakfast Polenta
Makes two large or four small servings
3 cups water
1 cup yellow polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 ripe pear, sliced thin
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pecans
small handful dried cranberries
1-2 tablespoons honey
milk
add cinnamon and nutmeg if you’re feeling spicy
Check the directions on your particular box of polenta, as the coarseness, ratios and cooking times may vary. This was my experience.
Bring water to a boil. Add salt and turn burner down to a simmer. Add dried polenta in a stream, whisking constantly so no lumps form. Polenta will begin to thicken immediately. Whisk occasionally for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add butter and milk to the polenta and whisk over flame until your desired consistency is reached.
Top polenta with pear slices, nuts, cranberries, honey and as much milk as you like. Delicious!
Savory Breakfast Polenta
Makes two large or four small servings
3 cups water
1 cup yellow polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp
1/4 cup diced onions
1 small garlic clove, finely diced
3 tablespoons grated cheese
2 to 4 large egg, fried, depending on how many people you want to feed
Check the directions on your particular box of polenta, as the coarseness, ratios and cooking times may vary. This was my experience.
Bring water to a boil. Add salt and turn burner down to a simmer. Add dried polenta in a stream, whisking constantly so no lumps form. Polenta will begin to thicken immediately. Whisk occasionally for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add butter and milk to the polenta and whisk over flame until your desired consistency is reached.
In a medium skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove cooked bacon and place on a paper towel to drain. Cut into large bits when cool enough to handle. Cook the diced onion in the bacon fat until browned and soft. Add the diced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Remove onions and garlic and place in a small bowl. In the same skillet over medium heat, fry the egg. Fry is easy or hard… however you fancy your eggs.
Place polenta in a bowl and top with cheese, onions, bacon and the fried egg. Hot sauce and black pepper are highly recommended.
Bruce
Oh.. and if you want to kick up your grits a notch or 2, use chicken stock instead of water when preparing the grits (polenta). Add a splash of cream just before serving to increase the creaminess.. yum!
I particularly love my grits prepared with chicken stock, adding finely chopped garlic at the beginning, and then extra sharp cheddar at the end.. Garlic cheesy grits (polenta) makes for an awesome breakfast. Just add some shrimp or sausage for extra savory grits
Bruce
No offense, but breakfast polenta is grits. Grits…not romantic, not cool, not provincial, not continental.
I guess we could call grits and shrimp something else, like: Polenta and shrimp. There…that sounds so much better.