What We Ate Wednesday--"What Have We Got In the Fridge" and Polenta

Hello lovelies! I have been notably absent these last two weeks. I seem to have lost my mojo for cooking. The ingredients I need are never in stock or are suddenly more expensive than before so I just keep having to change plans and stick close to the same few meals over and over as i just haven't got the umph to try out any new recipes at the moment. It has all been cheap and nutritious, but a bit on the boring side. 

This was another "what have we got in the fridge" meals. There was one onion, a quarter of a red pepper, a few really nice home grown carrots from my friend Jo's garden, some slightly wilted kale (also from Jo's garden), chickpeas and the only grain I had in the house was polenta. 

I was like, "What can I do with this??" Feel free to substitute anything you have in the fridge and stick it over polenta. 

"What Have We Got In the Fridge" and Polenta

 one onion,cut into rainbows

a few cloves garlic, crushed

 a quarter of a red pepper, diced

 1 carrot, cut small

 100g (4 big handfuls)  kale

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 TB tamari or soy sauce

1/2 tsp yeast extract (optional...Tesco brand Marmite is GF) 

1/2 cup strong vegetable stock

Polenta

1 cup plenta

4 cups water or veg stock

1/2 to 1 cup vegan milk (I ued 1/2 cup soya milk as that was all i had left)

1 batch parmesan ( TB each nutritional yeast and ground almonds, 1/2 tsp each salt and garlic powder) --optional but nice

I think what always used to put me off polenta was the cooking time--recipes talk about 30 minutes of simmering, but ours just cooks in about  5 minutes after angrily ejaculating all over the inside of my pot lid. Maybe it is the ceramic burners on our hob--they are notoriously slow to cool down. But after about 5 minutes it is soft and creamy and we like it that way. So cook it according to package directions.

Basically, cook up your onion and garlic in a splash of water and then add everything else and simmer until veg are soft and kale is reduced. Add some mixed herbs if you like.

Meanwhile work on your polenta. Bring your water or stock to the boil and slowly stream in your polenta, whisking constantly until it thickens. Maybe cook it some more on low but ours cooks quickly. If it starts violent spitting take it off the heat. Then stir in your milk and optional parmesan cheese and reheat carefully to avoid being covered in hot polenta spunk. 

Divide the polenta and serve with the veg on top. Makes enough for two greedy vegans.