If you have a case of the Mondays, breakfast for dinner can help. It’s like ending the day from the beginning except better because it’s over in a matter of hours and you are at home. Boom.
One of my favorite things for breakfast is grits.
What are grits? You’ll have to excuse me as my gaze hazily travels off in the distance… I love grits. They remind me of my mom cooking weekend mornings, Sunday brunch, cold weather and jazz. If you’ve never had them, this probably gets you no closer to knowing what they are. About Food gives a more substantial definition:
Grits are confusing to both the Southerner and non-Southerner alike, so let me break it down for you. According to The Food Lover’s Companion, the word “grits” is really a shortened way of saying what it really means, “hominy grits.” Grits are derived from hominy. The Food Lover’s Companion further cites hominy as being one of the first foods that American Indians gifted to the colonists. Hominy is dried corn kernels with the hull and germ removed. When this dried hominy is ground, it turns into what we know as grits.
Fun Facts About Grits
- The annual World Grits Festival is held in April at St. George, South Carolina. The town claims to be the ‘Grits Capital of the World’, eating more pounds of grits per capita than anyplace else in the world. Via Food Reference
- Three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are sold in the South, throughout an area stretching from Texas to Virginia, sometimes referred to as the “grits belt”.[3] The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002.[4] Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina, with one declaring: Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humor, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of South Carolina used to be the site of a grits mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world, if as Charleston’s The Post and Courierproclaimed in 1952, “An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace.”[5]
People who love grits take them very seriously. Trust. I grew up eating grits for breakfast. For most of my life I was a grits purist and would only eat them with a dollop of butter, salt and if I was feeling jazzy some pepper. When my mom added cheese to the mix I definitely changed my tune. I have heard that there are people out there who eat grits with milk and sugar like cream of wheat. I do not understand these people.
That’s cool, they get to live here too. (side-eye)
This recipe is fast and delicious.
Ingredients
You should use whatever veggies move n’ groove you and your family. When I was grocery shopping I grabbed a few things that were on sale:
- Red pepper
- Green pepper
- Onion
- Brussels sprouts
- Heirloom cherry tomatoes
- Garlic
- Italian spice blend
- Shredded cheese (1/4 c)
- Pat butter (optional)
- Olive oil
Directions
For the grits
Prepare according to package.
For a extra blast of flavor you could:
- substitute veggie broth for water and…
- after the grits are done toss in 1/4 c of shredded cheddar cheese
- go the extra mile and sprinkle crushed red hot pepper and a dash of smoked paprika
If you like your grits super creamy stir, stir, stir while they cook. For thicker grits use a little less liquid.
Keep it vegan and leave out the cheese… there are always choices. See your case of the Mondays is fading away.
For the veggies
- I halved the baby tomatoes and roasted them with olive oil and italian seasoning- roasted them in a 375° oven. I roasted the veggies while I cooked everything else. You could easily sauté the tomatoes- I am just a fan of roasted tomatoes.
- I put the brussels sprouts in the food processor and pulsed a few times
- Sliced the peppers and onions into strips
- Minced fresh garlic
- Heat 2 T. olive oil in a pan or skillet
- Sauté veggies starting with the onions and garlic
- Add the peppers and spices
- Add the brussels sprouts
- Add enough liquid to steam the sprouts (maybe 1/8 c. I used a splash of broth and lemon juice)
Scoop veggies on grits and dig in!!!
Happy Meatless Monday!!
Namaste y’all
