Polenta - comfort food for cold days

I don't know about you, but sometimes I crave something deliciously thick (and a bit stodgy) on cold days. Everything inside me cries out for starch, and this is a great way to satisfy the craving - guilt free.
The joy of polenta is that you can dress it up or down and it remains good. For the quick "feed yourself meal", it requires nothing but water and salt, then you have endless varieties to add if you want to impress someone. You can even cook it, dish into a flat pan, cool, cut and grill for oohs and aahs from dinner guests.
I usually do mine with roast vegetables, but a thick tomato sauce or curry is good or whatever appeals!!  FYI, polenta is glorified maize meal, available at most supermarkets at the health food section. Buy a fine ground one if there is a choice.

                                             POLENTA
Serves 2 very hungry adults
2 cups water
1t salt
1/2 cup polenta
1T olive oil or butter
Boil water and salt. Pour polenta in while whisking vigorously. Reduce heat and stir polenta 5 - 10 min till it starts to pull away from the sides of the pot. Turn heat off, add olive oil and serve. Now for the fun part.

• Chop some fresh rosemary leaves into your boiling water (my personal favourite)
•  Blanch about 150g spinach, chop and stir into cooked polenta, along with 60g grated parmesan (optional)
• Add roasted garlic, squeezed from shell into cooked polenta
• Cook in half cream and half water
• Parmesan added to any variation is good
• To pretty it all up, pour into a greased dish, allow to cool, cut into required shapes, oil slightly and place under grill to brown and heat up.

I roast a selection of vegetables, as well as 2 tomatoes, sliced in half. Make sure you season your veg well, they must be tasty. Dish cooked polenta into small oven dish, top with mashed tomatoes then roast vegetables. If I feel like it I may crumble over a LITTLE blue cheese or feta or goats cheese or cheddar and bake about 10 minutes. Best eaten with a spoon, under a blanket, in front of a chic flick!