Cornmeal mush with yogurt and blueberry preserves

My great grandmother ate cornmeal mush for breakfast, a pat of butter melting in the middle surrounded by a moat of heavy cream. The entire time I was growing up, I never cared for it,
the 'mush' was too mushy and the flavor just didn't do anything for me. I chalked it up as another food I didn't like. Peas and rutabaga's were also on that list, both of which I love today.

I would consider mush and polenta synonymous, a mixture of cornmeal blended with a liquid to form a porridge that ultimately will solidify. Corn is ground both fine and coarse, and depending on the brand you may find it marketed as cornmeal (usually finer grind) or polenta (usually more coarse). Regardless of what the bag says, I prefer to call it simply 'mush', just like my great grandma. Mush is a traditional peasant food and exists in many cultures around the world. As the daughter of an English immigrant, my great grandmother grew up eating it nearly every morning.

Over time, my tastes have changed and I've grown to enjoy all those things I resisted when young. I started making cornmeal mush only in the last year and found how much I like it now. And given its versatility, it can be made to fit any meal or combination of ingredients.

This morning I boiled a cup of water and slowly stirred into it 1/4 c. cornmeal. It thickened over several minutes and became a soft, creamy yellow porridge. I poured it into a bowl then added a good dollop of yogurt and blueberry preserves and stirred slowly to let the preserves and yogurt ribbon their way through the mush.



Creamy and sweet, the mush made for a hearty and comforting breakfast. I also like to let it get firm then slice and fry in a bit of butter until crispy. Drizzle the slices with a bit of maple syrup and you have another great twist on mush -- I have a few ideas in a post I wrote last year.

My mush is now gone for another day so I'm off to grab another cup of coffee, but I'll leave you with a few more mush/polenta ideas ...

Recipe ideas from other bloggers:
Fried crispy polenta with rosemary and salt
Citrus-glazed polenta cake
Baked polenta fries