You say Polenta, I say Mush

I made Fried Polenta for supper tonight. I haven't had any for at least 15 years, but for some reason I have been thinking about it lately.

When I was growing up in Southern Indiana my father would make it for breakfast occassionally, but back then it was called plain ol' Fried Cornmeal Mush.

Back in the 80's when I was going to college, I once lived on Fried Mush for several days when I didn't have many groceries in the kitchen. That was the last time I had mush until tonight.

Maybe calling it Polenta made it more palatable.

This picture and recipe are from an author, Elisa Carbone, who considered fried mush a real treat when it was made by her grandfather when she was a child.


Corn Meal Mush/Polenta

2 cups coarsely ground corn meal
2 cups cold water
6 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt

Stir the cornmeal into the 2 cups cold water. Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil, add the salt, then add the corn meal/water mixture, stirring constantly. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes over low-medium heat, stirring frequently.

For fried corn meal mush, pour the cooked mush into a bread pan and cool in refridgerator overnight. Cut into 3/4 inch thick slices. Fry in well buttered skillet until golden brown. Serve hot, either plain or with maple syrup.

Frosty the Snowman

He came to visit Indiana this weekend. He's still a little flaky, if you know what I mean.

The snow is up to here and the thermometer is down to there. It's enough to make anyone go nuts.

Something's wrong with me

I have ennui. It's a anual malady that comes around about this time every year. Kind of like robins in the spring.

An Ode to Old Man Winter

It snowed twice this week so I'm ready for winter to be over. And it's still autumn by the calendar.

It's cold, it's slushy, it's dirty, it's icy.

My nose is stopped up. My feet are cold. My bones are cold.

Today consisted of 10 hours of daylight and 14 of darkness. And the sunlight is getting shyer and shyer every day.

I want to hibernate like a grouchy old bear. I just want to go to bed and sleep till it's over.

My sentiments exactly.

The Name of the Game

This is a short quiz for all you TV watchers. Name the game show associated with each saying. If you can't get any of them right, you must be living in a cave (because the name of the game is the same in at least one answer).

If you want something more challenging, name the year/decade, host, and celebrity guest stars (if any.)

1. Good answer!
2. Come on down!
3. I want to buy a vowel.
4. Deal, or no deal?
5. I want to phone a friend.
6. You are the weakest link. Good-by!
7. You're fired!
8. Philiminated
9. We'll be back with more stuff right after this message.
10. Are you smarter than ..............?