Eat Well: As Good as it Grits

The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks, mom!

Last week Larry and I spent four fun-filled days in North Carolina visiting Rachel at the Brevard Music Center where she has spent the summer playing music and enjoying the abundant local beauty. We became instant fans of everything the area has to offer…the music, the waterfalls, the forests, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the FOOD!

Asheville is the “foodie” capital of the south and is famous for the local food movement. The restaurants pride themselves on using local and sustainable meats and vegetables—so much so that one waiter told us they are kind of in a competition with each other as to who is most organic, most local, and most sustainable. You can take a food tour which sounds amazing. We unfortunately couldn’t fit that in, but we did go to the West North Carolina Farmer’s market, brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables, home made canned goodies, and lots of offerings from the Amish, (including pickled eggs), and of course, stone ground grits.

Every day we ate grits for breakfast, and often for dinner, and I became obsessed with them, so of course I had to buy some Southern stone ground grits at the farmer’s market to bring home.

I learned on this trip that grits and polenta are one and the same. Grits can be served sweet (with brown sugar like cream of wheat) or savory and are wonderful either way. Traditionally, grits are eaten for breakfast, but they can also be a side with fish, sausage, or shrimp. In North Carolina where we were, they're cooked with milk (or even cream) and some butter, then served with grated cheddar cheese. I bought yellow grits at the farmer’s market in Asheville, but at home I found very coarse stone ground white grits at Trader Joe’s.

I personally prefer the coarser grits. While researching recipes, I discovered that you can either add the milk to the water when you bring it to boil or at the end of cooking. I tried it both ways and both are delicious, but adding it at the end makes them a little creamier. There are a million grits recipes out there and if you are a grits lover, you probably have your favorite. But this is the recipe I came up with and Larry gave it two thumbs up.

 Wendy’s Grits with Roasted Okra and Tomatoes 

For Grits: 

1 cup coarse stone ground grits (coarse cornmeal)
3 cups water
1 cup whole milk (more if needed)
½ teaspoon salt
2 Tbs butter

In a large pot, combine water, salt and butter. Bring to a boil. Gradually stir in the grits. Return water to a boil and turn down to the lowest possible heat.

Cook, covered, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. Add milk and stir for an additional 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

At this point, you can add brown sugar for a breakfast cereal or 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Or, serve with:

Roasted Okra and tomatoes: 

½ lb fresh whole okra
1 small onion thinly sliced
3 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 large cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Trim stems and cut okra into thick chunks. Put okra in a large roasting pan with thinly sliced onions and olive oil.

Toss. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until onions are starting to brown. Add tomatoes and garlic, toss again, and roast until liquid is evaporated, about 5-10 minutes more.

 Add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and toss again. Spoon grits on plates and top with okra. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

What's your favorite grits recipe? I’d love to hear from you!

Love, 

WWW