My new favorite found food!

I tried a polenta dish on a cruise. It was amazing!! When I got home I did some looking into this dish. Since then I make it for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Today I thought I'd share this versatile dish with y'all. If your not fond of the spices and herbs I use then make it your own! Use what you like, using as little or as much spices and herbs you like!!😋 Polenta is actually course ground yellow corn meal. So if you can't find "polenta" in your grocery store then look for course ground corn meal.

To make my savory polenta I always start with a few main ingredients. These are always part of my dish and the only thing that changes are the spices and herbs. The base ingredients I use are polenta (of course), liquid smoke, soy sauce and nutritional yeast. After making this dish you can add veggies, like I did, or eat it as is. And, of course, you can use any veggie you like as well.

Today, I went with onions and bell peppers. I sautéed them in a little water (I don't use oil). If you want you can sauté them in veggie broth. I get a dry veggie blend from the grocery store so I just use that along with the water instead of using veggie broth. Here I used a green bell pepper and onion. Now, like I said, do what you like. If you like red bell peppers, use them - orange bell peppers, sure - yellow bell peppers, why not!! Make it yours! After sautéing I put them on a small plate. I went a head and used a small saucepan to sauté them because I will use that same pan to cook the polenta. Keeping clean up simple. To keep it more simple just put the cooked veggies on the dish you plan on using to eat this meal! I just put it on a small plate to take the pictures.

The spices and herbs I used are turmeric, sage, coriander, smoked paprika, marjoram and basil. Also shown are my basic flavorings: nutritional yeast, liquid smoke and soy sauce. Now you see it isn't actually soy sauce. It's liquid aminos. This is just a healthier, purer soy sauce. I say soy sauce cause that's what most people know and have. The liquid smoke also comes in flavors, I used applewood flavor. Use what you like and have. The amount is based on your taste buds.

Add all your spices, herbs and flavorings to the water in the same pot the veggies were cooked in. (picture on left) Let it come to a boil then add the polenta. (picture on right) Whisk on medium low heat until it thickens. If the heat is still too hot, turn it down. This will spatter! Don't stop whisking for long either as it will get lumpy and you don't want that. Or maybe you do!

When it's done, pour it in a bowl, top with the veggies you chose or didn't choose and enjoy!!

SAVORY POLENTA

1 bell pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

3/4 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 cups water

1/2 cup polenta

Slice the veggies and sauté them with a little water in a saucepan. Cover and cook until desired doneness. Place in a bowl. In same pot add water and all spices, herbs and flavorings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low (or lower, depending on your stove). Add the polenta and whisk until thick. Will thicken more when in bowl. Pour into bowl with veggies and stir. Enjoy!!

Until next time......enjoy what you eat!!