Not your usual kitchen appliance.....

....not in this country anyway.... Polenta was not one of my favorite dishes until I had it at the home of some Italian friends... Try as I might I could never make it as good... Cristina insisted I needed an Italian electric polenta maker like hers... Not only did she offer to bring me one on her next trip to Italy.. she hand carried it back on the plane... What a friend.... Like risotto, polenta improves with slow cooking and long stirring.....This paddle on the motor fits the shape of the copper pan and moves ever so slowly...

So this morning I made a big batch of polenta and I put it in a spring form pan so I could cut it up when chilled and saute it in olive oil... I also loaded a big batch of lamb ragu (fancy name for stew) into the slow cooker to serve on top of the polenta.... We only have enough lamb for 2 more dinners so it is good that November is coming up soon. I love having meat that we have grown and fed.





Remember the lovely basket of garden goodies my neighbor brought the other day? Well on Tuesday I used the tiny yellow zucchinis and the rest of the Swiss chard to make this quiche... Added a little bacon to it and topped with tomatoes... We had it for dinner and then the leftovers for breakfast the next day...