Sequestration Meal #310

 

One reason it's good to make polenta is that then you have leftover polenta. So I decided to experiment with making my own tomato soup and topping it with polenta croutons.

I followed a recipe in the Joy of Cooking (1997) to make the soup, though I cut it down, made substitutions, etc.--I'm trying to remind myself that cooking is about feel, and some things are pretty simple, so I can just plunge ahead even if I don't have the exact right thing. This started out as too many wrinkly grape tomatoes, a bit of olive oil, 1/4 of an onion, some vegan chicken-style broth, a splash of white wine, and salt and pepper, and it was delicious, probably because I roasted the tomatoes first. Because it was only one serving, I used the toaster oven for roasting them, but I could totally see myself making this in a much bigger batch in the winter.

It was too salty and too thick but both things could have been remedied by me adding water; as it is I just drank a lot of water when I ate it, because why do something simple if you can do something even lazier? Sigh.

The polenta croutons were pretty simple, but didn't turn out as I'd hoped. I cubed my leftover polenta, tossed it gently with olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried thyme, and baked it for about half an hour, then flipped it and baked it for another 15 minutes or so. It kind of stuck to the tray in the toaster oven, so they weren't as fully crisped on the outside as I would have hoped, but they went amazingly well with the soup. If you're looking for gluten free croutons for soup or salad, I recommend polenta.

This didn't truly reduce my COVID pantry, but it didn't add to the problems I have had with myself, either, so I'm calling it a win. It'll be a while before I get brave enough to fully plumb the murky depths of the things I've accumulated, but keeping to this plan of easy food or making do with what's around should get me to the bottom of things at some point. One meal at a time, right?