New Habits

Over the summer, we worked on developing some new habits. One of those was to eat healthier and lighter and add more fruits and veggies to our diet. Last fall we bought a wheat mill and started making our own bread with freshly ground wheat...yum! Since then I've only bought one or two loaves of store bread simply because I didn't have time to make any. It really doesn't take long to make, but I have to be around to bake it after it rises. There is nothing better on a cold winter day (or even a hot summer one) than the smell of fresh, baking bread. When we bought the mill, I also bought a book about cooking with fresh ground flour. I hadn't really looked through it until this summer and some of the recipes are so good, I had to share. Here a couple of our favorites...you should try them!

Sausage and Cheese Polenta
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
2 1/2 c. chicken or beef broth
3/4 c. fresh finely ground yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. fresh sage
2 tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 tspn. cayenne pepper
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4 c. tomato sauce
5 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated

1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil; saute onion, garlic and pepper. Do not brown. Crumble sausage and add to mixture. Cook until sausage is cooked. Drain excess fat and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, add broth and bring to a moderately high heat. Slowly add cornmeal. Using a wire whisk, stir briskly to prevent lumping. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes continually stirring with a spoon, until mixture is very thick and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in sage, parsley, cayenne pepper, ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the sausage mixture.
3. Line two 9 inch pie pans with plastic wrap. Pour in the mixture and cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate over night for the flavors to blend. (When I made it, I prepared it in the morning and we had it for dinner that night...very yummy!)
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan. Heat tomato sauce. Cut polenta in wedges and place in the pan. Do not crowd. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 15 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve with tomato sauce on the side.