Cleaning The Plate

zannestar — Sat, 31 May 2008 11:45:56 +0000

I have something to tell you. I’m on the road to fitness. To better health. To losing weight and exercising so I can feel better and fit into some of my fabulous clothes. To run and play with Iz and not get out of breath. I’ve lost 18 lbs so far (that’s 18 sticks of butter! – ew).

I’ve been learning a lot about food and working on changing what I eat and how I eat it. So, I’ve been cooking a lot of new foods. Wtih summer here, I’ll probably be posting more about food and garden than sewing (although – you can bet I’ll still be sewing).

I’ve started making these super yummy Polenta Pizzas. Here’s a recent favorite:

Zucchini Feta Tomato Polenta Pizza

1 cup coarse corn meal

3 cups stock (chicken or veggie)

1 cup red onion finely chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped (more or less depending on your taste)

1 medium zucchini sliced

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced

1 cup feta cheese (I used non-fat)

2 tsp canola or olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch or two of Italian Seasoning

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in pan, add 1/2 garlic and onions, saute until onions and garlic are soft, add pinch of Italian Seasoning, saute for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

2. Make the polenta. I use my rice cooker which works well every time. Pour garlic/onion saute into rice cooker. Add the corn meal and stock. Turn on rice cooker. (If you aren’t using a rice cooker, I pour 1 cup of cold stock onto the corn meal and stir with a fork to eliminate all the lumps. Meanwhile I’;m bringing the other 2 cups of stock to a boil, then adding the polenta/stock/garlic-onion saute mix and whisking lightly (to make sure no lumps), bring it back to a boil, then remove from heat, leaving it covered.

3. While the polenta is cooking, heat up the rest of the onion-garlic saute and add the zucchini. Brown the zucchini slightly, season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4 Once the polenta is done pour it into a 9 inch pie plate smoothing it around and making the sides higher. If you don’t add the onion-garlic saute to the polenta, you will need to lightly grease the pie plate. Pre-heat the oven to 350º.

5. Pour the zucchini mixture over the center of the pie, keeping the edges clear. Cover with cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with feta cheese.

6. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes.

I think this tastes best after a few hours of letting the flavors mix together. It’s wonderful hot or cold, and even better the next day. It’s perfect for potlucks! Enjoy!

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Cleaning The Plate