Polenta (or Grits) with Roasted Vegetables

I never knew what polenta was until just a few years ago.  So this southern gal decided to try it and ... it's GRITS!   Okay, it's not exactly grits.  But it is very much like grits.  I've always used coarse yellow corn grits, so for me, it is very close.  

This recipe is adapted from one I saw in Fine Cooking magazine.  

For the Roasted Vegetables:  

1 lb. crimini mushrooms, halved (or quartered if they are very large)

1 lb. fresh pearl onions (or frozen pearl onions, thawed)

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

2 tsp fresh thyme

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  

In a large bowl, toss the veggies with the olive oil, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper.  Spread on a heavy rimmed baking sheet or in a low, flat piece of stoneware.  I love roasting veggies in my stoneware.  Roast for 20 minutes; stir veggies, then continue roasting until all are tender and browned, about 35-40 minutes total.  Transfer to a serving bowl; toss with vinegar.  

You can make polenta from your favorite recipe or....  

1 cup coarse yellow corn grits

5-6 cups vegetable broth

3 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce to low and cook, uncovered, stirring very frequently to prevent lumps, until liquid is absorbed and grits are thick, about 7 minutes. Adjust seasonings.  You can also add a little nutritional yeast if you'd like "cheezier" tasting grits.  

Serve in shallow bowls with the roasted veggies on top.  

This was SOOO good!  

Sweet Potato and Bulgur Pilaf

I saw a recipe online and it sounded good.  But I didn't have half of the ingredients, and some of the ingredients didn't seem to "go together" to me, so I decided to go with the idea and do my own thing.  

Sometimes just tossing things in a pot works, sometimes it doesn't.  I was definitely taking a chance with this recipe because my husband doesn't like sweet potatoes unless they are mashed into a super sweet casserole and topped with toasted marshmallows.  

1 tbsp oil - I used grapeseed 

4-5 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced

4 ounces of crimini mushrooms, sliced

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

1 cup bulgur wheat

1 quart vegetable broth

1/2 tsp celery salt (I used this because my celery had seen better days.  I would substitute 1-2 stalks of celery the next time.)  

1 tsp sage

1 tsp Greek seasoning 

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (other nuts or seeds would work well in this or you could omit them altogether)

3-4 green onions, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet that has a tight fitting lid.  Add garlic and saute' for about 30 seconds; add mushrooms and saute' until soft.  Add the sweet potatoes and continue to cook, stirring, for about 4-5 minutes.  Add bulgur and seasonings; stir for a minute or two, then add the apricots.  Mix well and pour in the vegetable broth.  Cover and reduce to low heat; simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is tender.  Toss with the green onions and pumpkin seeds and serve.  

Hubby loved it (we all did) and even went back for seconds.  Score!  Actually, we ate it all so quickly that it was only when we were scraping the last spoonful from the pan that I thought, "Ooops!  No finished dish picture for the blog!"  So you'll just have to make it for yourself to see what it looks like afterwards.  I bet you don't have time for a picture either!  :::wink:::

Sweet Potatoes and Keen-What?

My friend found a great deal on sweet potatoes and let me in on it. I have a :::few::: lying around now and wanted to do something different with them

In Cajun Country, sweet potatoes can be found one of three ways: candied, baked, or in the holiday favorite Sweet Potato Casserole, which could double as a diabetic-coma-inducing dessert. Good, yes. Healthy? Not on your life!

I wanted my sweeties to be spicy. And roasted. Nothing new and inventive here, but they were spicy and really tasty!

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/4 heaping tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you aren't Cajun or don't like spicy stuff)

3 cloves of garlic

Salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Combine in a heavy roaster or stoneware dish. Roast potatoes at 400° for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so.


We are also in dire need of a major grocery shopping trip so I'm scrounging in the cupboards until I can make the time. This is shaping up to be an incredibly busy week. I love quinoa and had quite a bit on hand. So it sounded like a quinoa kind of night to me.

If you've never tried quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH), you definitely should. It is the only grain that is a complete protein. It is very versatile and can be used in place of rice or other grains in many dishes. My favorite way to use it is in a salad, either warm or cold. I saw a recipe with apples and Gouda cheese with quinoa in a recipe. The cheese was out and it called for other ingredients I didn't have so I simply used the recipe as a jumping off place and did my own thing. The slightly sweet, crunchy notes in this salad complemented the spicy sweet potatoes very nicely. I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch.

Fall Quinoa Salad 

1 1/2 cups quinoa

sea salt

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 onion, cut in half and then sliced thinly

5 tbsp red wine vinegar, divided

4 oz radish greens, thinly sliced (about 3 cups) - this was what I had from my sister-in-law's garden - kale would work well, as would arugula, but you would probably want to leave that raw

3 medium celery ribs, slice thin

1 large crisp apple (I had a big Jonagold)

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped and toasted

3/4 cups dried fruit (I used blueberries and golden raisins - cherries or cranberries would work well, too)

salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

In a bowl, rinse the quinoa with water a few times.  Quinoa has a bitter alkaloid on the outside of the grain, but it is easily washed off.  Just make sure to rinse it three or four times.  Drain and transfer to a 3 quart pot.  Add 2 1/2 cups water and about a teaspoon of salt.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.  When the quinoa is cooked, the germ will spiral off slightly.  Unlike rice, it gives you a visual clue!  Isn't that nice of it?  When the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork and put it in a bowl to cool slightly.  You don't want it to be hot for this dish.  

While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and saute' the onion over medium heat until the onions become nicely caramelized.  Add 2 tbsp of the vinegar to the onions and stir it around while the vinegar cooks away.  Remove and cool slightly.  

In the same pan, without added oil, add the radish greens (or whatever greens you are using if you need them to be cooked) and toss them around just until wilted.  As you can see, my 3+ cups cooked down a lot.  I could have used more.  

Mix the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil with the remaining vinegar, a few grinds of pepper and a little salt.  Whisk together and toss with the quinoa and all the other ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.