Yet, we are both referring to
cornmeal mush, and that description fits a cornmeal-based polenta at its essence.
I'm requesting a recipe for
cornmeal mush. My grandmother used to make it by frying it in oil or butter, and served it with syrup for breakfast.
For example, we are given five different ways of serving kulesha, a Hutsul
cornmeal mush. We are also told that horilka (vodka) should not be sipped, but downed in one gulp and followed immediately by some sort of salty or savoury zakuska--food which might also be an appetizer.
Their meals usually consist of beans and maize or cabbage and ugali, which Fennessey described as a sort of "
cornmeal mush." Because of its expense, meat is rarely on the menu, with an exception for special occasions such as Christmas.
Some cereal grains, such as grits,
cornmeal mush, barley, or kasha, lend themselves to both sweet and savory.
Oat Cakes As made in Illinois, 1880s Quick oats, uncooked Water, enough to saturate oats
Cornmeal mush, half as much as the oats Pinch of salt.
The slave children were led
cornmeal mush in a trough and given only long linen shirts to wear, winter and summer.
Readers from the United States or Africa would be right in thinking that polenta as we know it today is a close relative of
cornmeal mush, grits and mealie pap--though do keep an open mind if you're not at all keen on any of the above.
Nonie refuses to eat her
cornmeal mush for breakfast and longs to escape her bawling baby brother.
"Polenta is one of those Italian dishes that has gone from rustic to chic," he notes in his book, explaining how this rib-sticking
cornmeal mush served as an inexpensive staple for families during hard times.
It's dictionary-defined as '
cornmeal mush made with the meat and broth of pork, seasoned with onions, spices and herbs and shaped into loaves for slicing and frying.' The word scrapple originates from 'scrap' or 'scrappy' meaning made up of odds and ends for that's exactly what it is -- boiled, ground leftover pig scraps with cornmeal and spices thrown in.