If you’re lucky enough to afford corn products now that they’re being rerouted for ethanol while the world starves, grits are nutritious, not “gummy” like rolled oats, and heftier than cornmeal. Kitteh and I love oatmeal with butter (ok, kitteh likes the butter part best).
See if this recipe appeals to you, courtesy of
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10260?section=17:
Grits Soufflés with Tomato Coulis
Vegetarian Times Issue: April 1, 2007 p.71
Serve these individual soufflés unmolded, as shown, or in ramekins.
Serves 6
Soufflé
1 cup grits, plus extra for dusting
3 cups low-fat milk
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 lb. steamed asparagus, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded aged Gouda cheese
3 large egg whites plus 1 large egg
Tomato Coulis
2 tsp. garlic oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 15-oz. can diced Italian-style tomatoes
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Directions
To make Soufflés: Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 6 8-oz. ramekins with cooking spray, and dust with grits.
Bring grits, milk and baking powder to a boil in pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook 8 minutes, whisking constantly. Cool 5 minutes, then stir in asparagus, cheeses and whole egg.
Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold into grits mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among prepared ramekins. Bake 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
To make Tomato Coulis: Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 6 minutes, or until soft. Add tomatoes and crushed red pepper, and simmer 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Purée in blender until smooth. Unmold soufflés and serve with Tomato Coulis and asparagus spears for garnish, if desired.
Nutritional Information
Per SERVING: Calories: 277, Protein: 15g, Total fat: 9g, Carbs: 33g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 598mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 10g
Tell me they’re not beautiful! (Well, tell me if you can get to the picture. I’m too new to this to get the jpg to upload, apparently.)
Tags: grits, recipes, vegetarian
April 2, 2008 at 1:53 am
Now, as much as I like everything about this recipe, let me tell you what I can about modifying it to make it something even the poorest of us (of which I am) can do, easily.
The main thing is that eggs (and/or baking powder) puff things up upon baking.
The second thing is that you can make something like this without having to whip egg whites.
The third thing is that you can use almost any food you like.
So, let’s get down to basics.
Carb (bread, soaked grits, etc.)
Veggies (whatever is seasonal, whatever you like)
Cheese (optional, or omit if you’re vegan)
Eggs (not so optional to make it puff–at least I don’t know how, but I’m sure it’s possible; vegans, chime in)
Milk (veggie or chicken broth works perfectly)
So, let’s make a bare-bones recipe.
Grease a casserole dish.
Add a layer of bread (crumbs, cubes, slices to fit, etc.) or cooked rice, barley, etc.)
Add a layer of veggies (tomatoes, asparagus, onions, anything you like–ANYTHING!)
Repeat the layers.
When you have about 1/2-1″ left, use a fork to “scramble” some eggs and milk/water/broth/whatever you have.
Pour over the layers, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning, bake. Don’t ask me how long or what temperature. I don’t do numbers. Even if I did, your oven could vary. I’ll say that in small ramekins, a toaster oven will take, say at 400, about 15 minutes if the dish is cold, 10 if room temp.
There is also the variable of how “cooked” do you like your food? Crunchy? Browned? Just heated through?
You also need to learn to eat raw foods (ever tried raw corn on the cob or asparagus? Yummy!) to just see exactly what you like. Equally, you need to try to cook stuff you’d never have thought of: radishes (and their tops), cucumbers (great with butter), lettuce (good in soups).
So, what have we here? We have a combo of grains, liquid, veggies, fat, and leaveners (stuff that makes it go “puff.”) Hmmm, sounds like pizza!
The kittehs, Ceiling Cat, and I care for you and your welfare. You must try new things before mealworms become all we can raise. Kitteh doesn’t share mealworm recipes, becuz kitteh eats them raw.
But, I’m a peeple, a srsly lower form of life according to lick lick purr purr kitteh, and I do the best I can. I mean no harm, and neither does kitteh.
Look: try it raw, cooked, roasted. Mix it up, put it in tiny containers, bake it and top it with something, and name it! If it isn’t poison, it’s food!