Welcome sunlight! We are loving this spring, Ilian especially. The warm days let us breathe deep, play outside with friends, and feel alive 🙂
To invite some of the sun’s rays onto our plates, we cooked a glowing, sweet, and filling side dish with just a few ingredients: polenta with dried fruit.
Ilian liked adding the spices, and of course munching on nature’s candy along the way. It was a great opportunity to learn about different fruits that don’t grow around Michigan, looking at a map to find their countries of origin, and talk about fructose. I find that food connects to so many aspects of life that lately cooking has become a starting point for various explorations!
Enjoy the sunshine!
The baby birds continue to grow well! They all have their eyes open, looking sharp 🙂
Dried Fruit Polenta
Ingredients
- 2 cups polenta
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 pinches dried tarragon
- 1 cup assorted dried fruit: golden and regular raisins, figs, apricots, dates, cherries, blueberries, cranberries etc.
- water
- canola oil
Directions
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add polenta, salt, and tarragon, stir well. Reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until all water has been absorbed, stirring frequently. Once the polenta is fully cooked, let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Chop the larger dried fruits (e.g. figs) into raisin-sized pieces. Set aside 1/4 cup, stir the rest into the polenta.
- Coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with oil. Pour polenta into dish, top with remaining fruit.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 350F. Let cool until polenta retains shape when cut.
- Serve as a side dish or bring it to your next potluck!
Allerlicious 