Grits Aren’t Weird…

After reading a favorite blog  and her post about weird foods we liked as kids, it got ME thinking about what I loved as a kid and my history with food.

First, I didn’t like to eat that much. My mom used to make me take “tonic” that supposedly was going to keep me going since I didn’t eat “enough to keep a tweety bird alive”.  Still have a combative relationship with food.

Then, we started going to Tennessee to visit my grandparents and I fell in love with country ham and red-eye gravy. That’s coffee mixed in with pan drippings from frying up the ham.

But the all time favorite was…Grits! Most yankees, (anyone from higher than Kentucky) or the guys out there on the West Coast…they don’t know about grits. Please don’t be offended by the “yankee” term. It’s a southern thing.

It was originally a Native American food. The Creek tribe’s word for them is “sojki”. My mom says they have grits in Italy too. Okay…fine. But they started here. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now…as I was saying…grits are made from ground, dried corn. White grits are the hulls and yellow grits have the kernel still in it.

So, it boils in the pan till it’s ready, it is sooo hot, so we used to put pour it on to a plate, spread it out like thick porridge and while it was cooling, take up spoonfuls of it making designs or “roads” on the surface of our plate. A little salt and butter and I could just eat them for every meal. Only thing is, my mom said they feed corn to pigs to make them fat so…I don’t eat that much corn now. Well, sometimes the yummy chips and salsa in  Mexican Food restaurants. Which brings to mind…

Frito Pie. Peanut Butter Pie. Miracle Whip Sandwiches. Oh my Gosh! I heard the snickers and snorts  from here! They were good, yawl!

I love only thinking about that food now, because I am a self proclaimed “food snob” these days. I don’t eat anymore processed foods. Clean and lean…that’s me, baby. Kale salad, grilled fish and an occasional organic elk burger on gluten free bread. Well, you see that grits has friends now. These come in boxes but they are a healthier version of my old comfort food.

Still…a girl has to twist off and have some deep fried sweet potato fries now and then.