Indulge me just a minute to tell you what brought me to this new love affair...I have a couple people in my life who recently got word that someone very clolse to each of them has cancer. Within days, I was also introduced to a massage therapist who works with cancer patients and is interested in my therapeutic cooking ideology and services. All of these things coming to me at the same time made me take notice. My very wise friend Randy told me a while back that when you are on the right path, everything falls into place. So I felt like I needed to focus on foods that help people living with cancer and those who want to prevent it from happening to them. From my studies at Bauman College, I am a firm believer in the healing powers of food - there are herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, and grains that do everything from helping relieve the nausea associated with chemo to actually destroying cancer cells and tumor growth. And I am going to be cooking my arse off with those ingredients...
So I bought the book "One Bite at a Time," by Rebecca Katz. This is the first cookbook that I have ever read cover to cover, and that I want to cook my way through page by page. I don't think there is one recipe in it that didn't make my mouth water as I read it. So far I have cooked five of the recipes, and they all made me do the ever-popular Happy Dance.
But let's get back to the one that made me fall in food-love....the Stacked Polenta Pie with Garlicky Greens.
I took just a couple liberties with her recipe: I added mushrooms and lemon zest to the greens, cooked the polenta in my homemade veg stock instead of water, and topped it with my homemade marinara sauce. This is one of those times when I'm so glad I live alone, so no one gets to the leftovers before me!
Creamy Polenta
1 cup polenta
4 cups vegetable stock ( see note)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Bring stock/broth to a boil. Add salt and lemon juice and slowly whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring , until smooth. Add olive oil and continue cooking for 20 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in cheese.
NOTE: If you don't make your own vegetable stock (see previous posting on how easy it is), then I recommend Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth. It is so rich that you can use just 2 cups of it and 2 cups water for the polenta.
Galicky Greens
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
pinch red pepper flakes
2 bunches greens (kale, chard, spinach), stems removed and leaves chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds to infuse the oil with flavor. Add mushrooms and cooked 5-8 minutes, Add greens, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest and cook a few minutes until greens are wilted and deep green.
Top with your favorite marinara sauce. I'll give you my Marinara recipe another day, cuz all this typing about my new love makes me want to go grab another bite.......
GARSH?
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