Thursday, October 21, 2010

Po Lenta

is pretty much my new love. I mean, I don't want to marry it in 9 months. And it's definitely too much of a blond for me to be attracted to. but it's my new food love. My stomach and taste buds would agree with me.

What I love so dearly about this cooked corn meal business, is that it's so versatile. Flexible. It does what you want, no questions. What's not to love?

A month ago, I experimented with polenta, just sliced up the pre-made kind you find in a tube at Trader Joe's (ahem, please grace Kitsap County sometime. Please? Because Tacoma is just so far away.) all thin like, put it in a baking dish and smothered it in sauteed spinach, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and other various garden-like necessities. Oh, and cheese. Duh. Bake at 350.

It was so good! And then you know what I did?

Forgot about it. That Po Lenta, feeling used and hurt, after I had given it so much love. But you know, I think it knew I would come back to it. Its just too darn good.

So yesterday, I find another tube of polenta in my favorite man's fridge. And all those feelings came rushing back. LOVE!

(I'm going to insert my apology here, for my agonizing love story that you really just want to end. I'm sorry. It won't (may?) happen again.) Double parenthesis. Legal? Don't think so.

Back to my food love.

I made the same style of casserole. More like lasagna, actually (see what I mean about it being so versatile? It crosses culture barriers). Again with the spinach, tomatoes, onion, LOTS of garlic.

OH! And I threw in some mashed up tofu. The first time I had bought it firm, over extra-firm. It felt wrong, but it definitely was the way to go with its ricotta-like texture.

And then, the real kicker....

POLENTA CHIPS. Yes. Thank you memory, for kicking in and bringing me a recipe from self.com from so long ago. In that recipe, they call them croutons, which would also work mighty fine.

Enjoy. I really need a camera to document these important, new loves. Too bad the floor ran into my old Nikon. Or was it the other way around?

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