Polenta

I am still trying my best to eat as a vegetarian would. Here is a great two pot recipe to help.

Prep time 15 minutes; cook time 10 minutes; Dinner in under 30 minutes

I call it polenta but its not quite polenta... it is a cornmeal mush with a spicy tomato topping.

Follow instruction on box of cornmeal to make cornmeal mush with this exception. Add into the mush at the end of its cooking time 1 cup of italian style cheese. I use an organic italian mix... feel free to experiment

Topping:

three table spoons olive oil
three cloves garlic
six- eight medium tomatoes (as ripe as you can get them)
pinch of salt
two tablespoons italilan seasoning ( I make my own)
italian cheese (shreaded)
peel and chop garlic
core and dice tomatoes

In a large skillit heat olive oil to a moderate temperature
add garlic when oil is hot and stir so that the garlic does not burn.
when garlic is carmalized then add in the tomatoes and the italian seasoning.

Let this mixture bubble for a few minutes. Stir occasionally. You want the olive oil to take on the coloring of the tomato juices and also for some of the tomato liguid to reduce.

Plating:

Use a standard dinner plate or pasta bowl

Laddle in a serving (size is up to you) of the cornmeal mush and spread evenly about the plate.
Spoon tomato topping over the mush and garnish with italian type cheese and crushed pepper if desired.

The Carnivore

Carnivore is a nown that describes a mammel that eats flesh such as a dog or a cat or a redneck. I found the definition interesting because it corrected my opinion that a carnivore only ate flesh... but a dog for example will eat grass or other vegetible matter, though would probably prefer to just eat flesh.

I grew up in a small coastal california town at the end of an era and the begining of another. My people were loggers and fishermen. Some were educated others were more educated and many were self educated. The town I grew up in had about 75 people and the next nearest settlement was about 15 miles away. We were a simpler people in a simpler time. Men worked, Women stayed home and raised children, cleaned their house and got beer for their husbands when he got home from working.

Pasttimes were hunting and fishing for the land provided for us its bounty. To this day I can not go to a market and buy fish. Fish is a difficult food item to transgress from flopping on your fishing line fresh to super-market stench. I grew up with venison, bear, boar, pheasant, duck, etc, which were hunted and consumed. We raised chickens for eggs and eating, pigs, rabbits, goats, etc for eating. Though I have to say, besides a fish, I have a hard time killing anything so that I can eat it.

Meat was not just an important staple in our diets it was a requirement. We grew up with chuck steaks that were the size of dinner plates. Huge steaks that to this day I crave. Our diets contained so much meat that vegetables were a small serving and usually consisted of mashed or fried potatoes and corn. I am almost 43 years old and this type of diet has continued since I fell off my moms tit and began to eat from a plate. Carnivore, carnivore, carnivore!!! God I love steak, chicken, pork, etc.

Why then am I a vegetarian? I am a vegetarian because I do not eat enough vegetable in my diet. 40 years of my life I have eaten a majority of meat in comparison to vegetables. There must be a health consequence from that kind of diet. I supose now that I am in my forties that it is only natural that I become concerned with health. I must confess; however, that I do fall off the wagon and eat meat from time to time. Like any other drug my body craves meat. Knowing this and knowing myself I proclaim to be a vegetarian though I understand that I will eat meat. If at someones house for dinner I eat what is served. At holidays I eat what is available. I do regually eat cheese, eggs and fish/shrimp. So basically 95 percent of the time I am a vegetrarian though not a true vegitarian. Since my goal was to eat more vegetables I succeed and that is what is important. This blog is about that journey. How to overcome a lopsided diet and eventually finding a balance through eating good foods. This blog will include recipes from time to time as well as the thought process behind meals, etc. Enjoy!