Cornmeal Mush

I have just about exhausted Winter Share box #7, but that doesn’t mean the ride is over!  I picked up my Springdell Meat Share on Saturday and I’m excited to dig in!

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Springdell Meat Share (aka Meat Subscription), it runs much like the concept of the veggie CSA.  You can choose from a small (10 pound) or large (25 pound) share size.  You even have the option of picking up every month or every other month  (I currently have a small meat share and pick it up every other month).  The share consists mostly of very standard types of meat such as bacon, hamburg patties, ground beef, roasts, steaks, pork chops, sausage, and the annual chicken.  In addition, there is sometimes one slightly off-the-grid cut in the share.  I LOVE when the off-the-grid cut comes through, because it takes me out of my comfort zone and into new culinary territory (I now have a scrumptious goat loin chop recipe in the repertoire, something I never would have sampled unsolicited).  This is also in line with the concept of “no food left unloved”.  If we do choose to eat meat, I feel it is our moral obligation to not “take the bacon and run” so to speak.  Besides, we’d be leaving lots of other tasty parts behind!

Speaking of “no food left unloved”, a Springdell chicken from the previous share is thawing in my fridge and we’ll spend several days talking about that starting on Sunday.  Stay tuned!

So I’ll get off of my meat soapbox for the moment and back to today’s recipe, which has nothing to do with meat whatsoever. Tonight Glen has a late meeting at work so the boys and I will be enjoying a low-key dinner of Springdell hamburg patties and the very last of our greens from Share #7.  Not much of a recipe there, I toss the patties in a frying pan with a little garlic and after a flip or two we are ready to chow.  

Instead, I’ll share with you about this morning’s breakfast.

Today, the corn meal from Winter Share Pickup #4 was calling to me from the pantry, “Please let me out, it’s my day to shine!”  I am glad I could hear the voices of those little stone ground kernels of goodness. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep playing tricks on me, but either way, the result was yummy-in-my-tummy.

There are versions scattered throughout cyberspace but the basic recipe itself is quite simple: one part good cornmeal (provided through Four Star Farms and the fabulous Springdell Winter CSA) and 2 parts water (half hot, half cold). Stirring the cornmeal into the cold water before combining with the boiling water is an essential step in this recipe, as it keeps the consistency smooth. (The result of skipping this step in a rush is cornmeal lumpy clumpy mush.)

The final result resembles a thick cream of wheat. I read of a version where this “mush” can be used as a stand-in for mashed potatoes. However, I’m sticking to the breakfast version for now. I added a little milk and a drop of honey to mine after cooking and was not disappointed. A little blackstrap molasses would go nice, too!  Hope you like it!