[Tuesday May 8th 2012 blog]
Vegan day 129: Polenta (second attempt)
I couldn’t stop thinking about my polenta mistake! From my blog the other day: Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms.
Even my friends wouldn’t eat it!
I brought it into work with a few other dishes that I had made and the polenta just sat there… soupy… waiting for someone to try it but there were no takers. Don’t get me wrong- it looked good.. well at least I thought so, but it wasn’t! I couldn’t even swallow it the next day.
If at first you don’t succeed- try try again! I can’t think right until I finish what I started.. well.. with cooking anyway!
Sometimes I wonder if I even used the right grain. I buy things and then I bottle them because they look pretty- but I don’t always label them. I was correct though, I went to buy more organic polenta from the health food market and it looked just like what I had used. The package also says “corn grits”. Now I start to get a little confused. What is polenta anyway? Is it the grain that is served in many latin restaurants or is it the breakfast cereal from the South that is often served with butter and milk right next to an order of eggs. What comes to my mind is Flo- “Kiss My Grits!” lol
Is polenta even healthy? Was the polenta I had in the Italian restaurant last week or so even VEGAN? They said yes but do they know? I’m starting to think the word vegan in a non-vegan restaurant just means that there is no beef or pork in it. I have definitely met people who say they are vegetarian and eat chicken so… you know! Vegan is much more intense when dining out than just meat. It comes down to a frustrating conversation of: is there eggs in it?– egg whites?– butter?– milk?– cheese?– yogurt? sour cream? whey?– milk by products etc.? There is no way that polenta I had could have been vegan- I don’t think so anyway! From now on I will just say I’m lactose intolerant and allergic to all forms of milk!
So here I am, making polenta as a corn grain- alkaline.. maybe and gluten-free so here it goes. I threw the polenta in last time with the room temperature water before boiling it- mistake #1 and then I didn’t cook it right or mix the liquids in right plus I guess I used too much liquid.
This time I used 1 cup of polenta to 4 cups of liquid. The liquid consisted of 3 cups of water and 1 cup of soy milk. I brought the water to a boil FIRST and then SLOWLY added the polenta while briskly stirring or pretending to whisk without a real whisk. I think I used a cake mixer utensil. It thickened perfectly. I pulled it off the stove and I added some salt, parsley and cilantro. I added just a quarter of the milk as I did not want to make it too watery. I added a big tablespoon of earth balance buttery spread and then packed it into a slightly oiled cup. After letting it sit for about 20 minutes- my friend helped me take it out and turn it upside down on a plate- “plating” she said! Nice.. I loved it! I wouldn’t say it’s that healthy though- sorry!
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
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