Two nights ago I made polenta for the first time. It is my new favorite starch. Good for you gluten-free folks out there as it’s basically just corn meal but blood-sugar watches take care, it’s a carb after all.

polenta&zucchini

I served the polenta with a most delicious vegetable ragout. The All-Star said, and I quote, “If every meal tasted this good, I wouldn’t need meat.” I’d say that’s a grand-slam for team Vegan.

I didn’t feel like cooking tonight. I had planned to make the ragout again but I’ll save that for tomorrow. hcban2010Thanks to HappyCow.net, we were able to find an Asian style restaurant that had a separate vegan menu. If you’re looking for a vegan restaurant in your area, you should check out their website. There’s a pretty distant listing. We would have never found this place, and it was only a couple of miles from our apartment. Happy days!

Here’s the ragout recipe for those who are interested. The polenta can be prepared however it says on the package. I just boiled 4 cups veggie broth and whisked in some corn meal. In 20 minutes I had warm and creamy goodness. Note: the more finely ground your polenta, the creamier it will be.

Vegetable Ragout

Ingredients

  • olive oil, 2 tbsp
  • 1 chopped yellow onion
  • 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • 2 sliced zucchini
  • 3/4 lb mushrooms
  • 1/2 lb seeded & chopped roma tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup marsala wine or sherry
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
  • salt & pepper

Warm the oil over medium heat. Cooking the onion about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, zucchini and mushrooms and cook them about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, marsala (or sherry), salt & pepper. Cooking another 3-4 minutes.

Serve over most delicious polenta.

Enjoy!