{"id":5113,"date":"2023-03-08T08:38:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=5113"},"modified":"2023-03-08T08:38:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:38:27","slug":"kiss-my-grits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/kiss-my-grits\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiss My Grits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve never enjoyed a dish\nmade using ground corn, you can kiss my grits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ground corn kernels form grits,\npolenta, cornmeal, corn flour, and masa harina. Tamales, pupusas, cornbread, hush\npuppies, corndogs, cheese grits, and tortilla chips all include ground corn.\nIt\u2019s hard to imagine anyone who hasn\u2019t had a good experience consuming at least\none of these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"corn\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cornbread was the most common use\nof ground corn in my mother\u2019s household. My dad crumbled it into a thumbprint\nindented glass schooner filled with buttermilk and ate it with a spoon. I liked\nit warm with butter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My grandmother used cornmeal to\nbread the fried catfish she served with hush puppies. And she made cornbread\nstuffing for the holidays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corn-based products are\nplentiful, making corn an easy default grain when you need to eliminate wheat\nfrom your diet. Corn tortillas can be used for enchiladas, soft tacos, and even\nsandwich wraps (although they tend to break). They can be spread with butter\nand toasted as a bread substitute or base for tostadas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While others at the table enjoy\nrolls or bread before a restaurant meal, I order tortilla chips with salsa,\ncheese dip, or guacamole. I often ask to substitute tortilla chips for the pita\nchips typically served with spinach dip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grits can increase your options\nfor breakfast. My kids loved them with butter and salt when they were growing\nup. Grits were less expensive than cold cereals and I liked that they didn\u2019t\ncontain sugar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I gave up gluten, I was\nhappy to be able to order grits in breakfast restaurants that didn\u2019t offer\ngluten-free toast or pancakes. It made a filling meal and kept me full for\nhours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some complain that grits have no\ntaste, but that\u2019s the beauty of them. They can be anything you want them to be.\nI\u2019ve combined polenta and cherries to serve with pork chops. Polenta and plums\nmake an excellent cake. Polenta can even be used as pizza crust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went through a phase where I\nserved cheese grits often. They were easy to prepare for guests or carry to a\npotluck and always got rave reviews. I\u2019m pretty sure that\u2019s due to the abundance\nof cheese surrounded by a carrier that enhanced the texture and had flavor that\ndidn\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No article about ground corn is complete without a mention of shrimp and grits<\/a>. That dish has inspired entire books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point in my food\nnavigating journey, I minimize the use of corn products. I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s\ngenetic modification of the food or just my system\u2019s pickiness, but I often end\nup with pain or itchiness from things that contain corn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that said, I don\u2019t\nnecessarily want to discourage its use in those who can tolerate it because\ncorn can be bought in the most rural of rural towns and is always plentiful. It\u2019s\nalso less expensive than nut, potato, arrowroot, tapioca, and other gluten-free\nflours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I understand minimizing\nconsumption of corn, but if you try to tell me it isn\u2019t delicious, you can kiss\nmy grits!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Holidays…Already? How About a Cornbread Salad!<\/a><\/blockquote>