But I got an idea: I cooked and chilled polenta (or mush, as my forebears called it) and broke it into squares to replace the 3 cups of cooked rice in the Bounty Rice from Simply in Season.
Here's the recipe as I made it. Everything is local and organic except for the dried herbs and (drat it) that onion; well, the cornmeal wasn't organic, just local.
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Italian Stew
Brown together in a large pot or Dutch oven:
a few slices bacon, chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
1-2 onions, chopped
Add and stir. Get it hot.
4 c. canned tomatoes and their juice (break 'em up with your hands if you want)
several teaspoons Italian herbs - I used basil, oregano, marjoram
something hot, if you wish (I used red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper to taste
Stir in gently:
4 c. shredded cabbage
3 c. cooked, chilled polenta in 2" pieces
Allow to cook together for a few minutes, so that cabbage is still crisp tender. Some of the polenta will dissolve, but some will be lumpish.
Stir in, again gently:
1/2 c. plain yogurt
Sprinkle top with 1 c. grated cheese (I used a local raw milk smoked cheddar) or sprinkle individual servings. This will be rather soupy after all.
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We really liked the stew. My almost-2 year old had three helpings! We ate ours with a green salad of watercress, arugula, butter lettuce, and shredded turnip topped with homemade French. This is standard to our table right now because the greens are so available. I think the Italian stew would be nice with a hearty bread too, to dab up the juices.
Posted at 4:09 am? Really?? Dark days indeed!
ReplyDeleteha - no, I posted at 7am before the house was awake. I haven't paid any attention to the blogspot time stamp!
ReplyDeleteEnjoying the recipes. Just read your Sabbath post from early January. I've been trying to do the same over the past year...have a super-easy or leftovers meal on Sunday, so there's little or no work...and we do nap, rest, read, etc, too!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the Lentil Curry recipe from your last post...any way for me to get that without causing you extra work? We have a curry lentil recipe I kind of made up, but I'm curious how yours looks. We love curry and the lentils are so good for us!
You're still inspiring me in the taste department. I should come over for a week's worth of lessons, don't you think? The salad sounds yummy and I rarely branch out of the Romaine, red/green leaf section.
ReplyDeleteBeth, I updated the post with the curry recipe. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi--found you thru another site where you asked about a shiny pan...how to clean it. If you'll email me, I'll tell you how to make it look like new!
ReplyDelete