Grits. Just the word has always made me want to rinse out my mouth. I could never understand why anyone would want to eat them…and like them! Until now.
Of course, the key is to cook the cornmeal so it’s not actually gritty. Add in some cheese and seasoning and YUMMMM! I couldn’t stop eating it!
Note: I made this recipe using both coarse-grind cornmeal and polenta (the degerminated enriched kind) to compare. It’s really a toss-up – they both worked well.
Additional note: A flat whisk works really well with this dish – it allows you to get into the corners easily. (Photo below)
CHEESY GRITS – makes 6 cups
- 2 T butter
- 4 T scallions, white part only (about 4 stalks), sliced thin
- 3¼ cups + 1/4 cup water, divided
- 1 cup milk (any kind – I used nonfat)
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I used Tabasco)
- 1/2 tsp black ground pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup degerminated polenta or yellow coarse-grind cornmeal (I’ve used both)
- 1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen, fresh, or canned)
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 oz jack cheese, shredded
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add in scallions and sauté to soften – about 4 minutes. 
Add in the 3¼ cups water, milk, hot sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to boil.
Whisking continuously, very slowly pour in the polenta (or cornmeal). 
Decrease heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened – about 15 minutes. Stir often, taking care to get into the edges.
In a blender, pureé the corn with the remaining 1/4 cup water for about 5 seconds. 
Pour into the thickened grits, also adding the cheeses, stirring to blend. Cook another 5 minutes or so to thicken. 
Top servings with scallion green slices, more shredded cheese, and paprika, if desired.
Chicken & Dumplings is one of those classic, stick-to-your-ribs meals that’s considered a comfort food by many. Of course, being a vegetarian, chicken was not an option. That pretty much left a watery broth and a few carrots, onions, and celery.
Add in mushrooms and continue to cook another 4 minutes, scraping fond on bottom of pan (the browned bits). 
Add dill, tomato paste, garlic, and 2½ tsp of the salt – cook 3 more minutes. 
Pour in the Sherry and continue to cook until evaporated, scraping any fond formed. 
Add the water, tofu, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and parsley. Bring almost to a simmer. In a small bowl, make a slurry by combining the arrowroot with 1/4 cup of the soup. Stir slurry into soup until it thickens a bit – should take a few minutes. Taste for seasoning – adjust, if needed. Keep heating the soup to bring to full boil.
As soup is heating up, make the dumplings. Heat the butter and let cool a bit. Then combine melted butter with the buttermilk – it will get clumpy. Whisk the egg white a little, then whisk it into the buttermilk mixture. 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and 
Form small dough lumps – 1″ or less. There will probably be about 62. (These will plump up with cooking.) Make sure you form all these balls before you begin dropping them in the soup so they cook at the same rate.
When soup has come to a full boil, one by one drop in the dough balls. Wrap a towel around the pot lid and cover. (MAKE SURE THE TOWEL DOESN’T DROP ANYWHERE NEAR THE BURNER! YOU DON’T WANT A FIRE!!!) The towel will absorb steam moisture so the dumplings don’t get soggy. 
Decrease flame to medium and cook 11 minutes. Remove lid and allow steam to escape a few minutes before serving.
Cooked spinach is not a looker. It wilts down from a giant amount to a small, dark green mound. On its own it tastes…okay. But doctor it up with some flavor, crunch, and color and now you’ve got something.
Place spinach in a towel to absorb excess water. 
Roughly chop. 
Heat 
Stir in the spinach and salt – sauté over medium/high about 2 minutes to evaporate excess moisture. 
Reduce heat to low and add in the water chestnuts, feta, 
Stir over low heat, just to warm everything. Add in tomatoes and serve.
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 