Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Down-home Breakfast treats

Isn't it great when you think back & remember the down-home foods that your Grandma made?  When I was a kid, there was a breakfast treat that I loved - fried Cornmeal Mush.  This humble food is wonderful for breakfast, but often used in other recipes as well.  I have been surprised at how many people had no idea that cornmeal mush and polenta are the same thing!  Funny how something given a nicer sounding name is so popular in recipes, but the more common name has people making weird facial expressions.

Here is the simple instructions for making Cornmeal Mush

* 1 part cornmeal + 2 parts water

In a saucepan, heat up the water to just about boiling.  Stirring quickly to avoid lumps, gradually add the cornmeal to the water.  Continue stirring until the mixture thickens, usually in less than 5 minutes.    NOTE: the cornmeal will go from thin to very thick seemingly all at once, so watch it very closely.

When mixture has thickened, pour it into a loaf pan that has been lined with waxed paper.  Smooth the top and place waxed paper over the top to prevent it from drying out.  Let cool, then place in the refrigerator overnight to get very firm.

In the morning, remove the mush from the pan and slice about 1/2 inch thick.  Fry in a little bit of butter or oil in a pan until browned on both sides.  Serve warm with butter and honey, maple syrup, or molasses.  We used to eat this as a side dish with our eggs or pancakes.

Other favorites were homemade donuts, buckwheat pancakes, corn cakes, sausage gravy over fresh baked biscuits, and eggs with fried potatoes.

A rather new favorite that I love is to make homemade hash brown potatoes.  Instead of using russet potatoes however, make them with sweet potatoes!  These taste wonderful!  Just dot with a little butter when serving.

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06:21, Monday, August 18, 2008 .. Posted by gabbie427

So here I am reading this and thinking, I have heard my mom and grandmothers all take in the past about cornmeal mush, and never knew it was the same thing as polenta. LOL

I have never had either. I know...shocker huh??? It wasn't something my mom was fond of, so she never fixed it for us kids. I have heard more about polenta in the last few years though from my beloved Food Network channel. LOL

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

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10:10, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 .. Posted by Sara

Thank you for sharing this, we will be trying this out very soon!

Blessings, sara

OK, so I made the face...

01:23, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 .. Posted by vgauthier

I'm reading along, cornmeal mush, and my nose wrinkles up into an "eewwww" expression as I come across the "makes weird faces" piece...lol...and all along it was polenta...lol...a rose by any other name <giggle>.

val

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01:48, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 .. Posted by gilsanla

The sweet potato hashbrowns sound good. I'm going to have to try that