Polenta

I made some polenta last evening. I don't make this often. Phil is not a big fan of corn meal. I have, however, decided that he is only half of our family. So, polenta it is! We were doomed to have chili for the third night in a row and I wanted corn bread. Last night I made popovers, which were good, but contain eggs and didn't really hit the spot with the chili. I decided to try polenta instead for a couple of reasons. One, I was under the misguided impression it was faster than making muffins, which it is not. Two, I always toss out 3-4 cornbread muffins because we don't eat them. Lastly, I am going to try to freeze it and see if I can use it later.

Phil always needs bread with dinner, and because I had eaten chili for lunch, I needed some variety. I don't eat sandwich bread, for some reason. Maybe it takes me back to the days when I took sandwiches for lunch as a kid. But I really have to be in the mood to eat a sandwich. I know I am digressing a tad ;-), but Phil took his lunch to work daily for over 30 years. He mainly ate sandwiches. He usually packed two sandwiches. Every day! I can't figure how can stomach them every day now that he is retired. He just loves sandwiches. I guess that is what makes us different.

I grew up eating fresh baked bread. My mother made it occasionally because we lived way out of town and if we were running out, she made bread for our sandwiches. Unlike Phil, I love the aroma of freshly baked bread and just can't let it cool before taking the first slice. Years ago my mother bought a wheat grinder, which I still have. She would buy a huge bag of wheat berries, grind them, and make bread, which us kids used to laugh about. It was very dense. A couple of days old, it could be used as frisbees or hockey pucks. Honestly, I am going to get some wheat berries and fire up the old wheat grinder again. Anyone need hockey pucks?

I am also going to make a sourdough starter and make my own sourdough bread. With all the press adulterated or GMO wheat and corn are getting, I think it might be best to try to make a more wholesome bread, since we eat so much. That stated, Phil is trying to learn to like homemade bread. I make fococcia bread, and he tries to toast it and eat it, but can't figure out how to make a sandwich with it. I will have to see how the sourdough experiment goes. Stay tuned.

Back to the Spicy 3-Bean Chili. It is vegan and delicious! And of course, you know how chili is? It gets better each day. I made it a little spicy the other day, but Phil is getting used to the spicier foods, thank goodness. I love spicy foods. We put a square of polenta in a bowl and poured the chili over it. Delicious! and filling!

Tomorrow, marinara sauce over polenta and I will freeze the rest. Phil was not at all excited that I had made so much. :-)