Pumpkin Sage Grits

Halloween equals fuckers wasting perfectly good pieces of fruit in ridiculous straw bale displays. I personally prefer to chop pumpkin flesh up into bits, roast it, and make puree, while of course reserving the seeds for the separate pleasure of roasting myself some snack food.

With puree, you can do all kinds of things--pumpkin-flavored cinnamon buns, for example. But it's not all about sweets and your fuckin' lattes. Savory goodness can come out of it by making these Pumpkin-Sage Grits. I like mine with crispy bits of golden fried garlic, because they offer an excellent textural contrast while moving through your otherwise texturally-monotonous breakfast bowl.

Gloomy morning lighting, delicious grits still shining golden.

A rhythm to stir to: Scarecrow Man by The Misfits

COMPONENTS

½ cup of "5-minute-cook" grits (white or yellow--suit yourself!)

1 cup water

1 cup unsweetened vegan milk (I like almond)

¼ teaspoon of salt (possibly a little more)
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of onion powder (optional)
½ cup to ¾ cup pureed pumpkin
Three to four fresh, large/long sage leaves, minced

Topping:

Cubed hunks of raw pumpkin flesh (to be sauteed)
Diced garlic (1 to 2 cloves)


DICTATIONS

1. In a high rim pot, bring the water and nut milk to a boil (or a very strong simmer, if you are impatient like me).
2. Toss in the salt and other spices.
3. Slowly stir in the grits with a wooden spoon. (Wooden spoons won't scratch up the bottom of your pan as quickly, FYI.)
4. Cover and let cook for five minutes (or according to the package directions).
5. Meanwhile, wash your sage leaves, rub them gently between your fingers, remove the stems, and then mince the leaves with a very sharp knife. Starting with a chiffonade technique in probably easiest...
6. When the five minutes is almost up, uncover and stir in the pumpkin and sage until well incorporated. Then, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit while you prepare the topping. (You can even remove it from that eye of the stove to another and use the residual heat to start your frying pan.)
7. In a small skillet or frying pan, heat a tiny dab (1/2 tsp) of cooking oil. When there are wavy lines on the oil's surface, throw in the pumpkin flesh bits (if using) and stir around to get every side coated in oil. Let cook for about a minute and a half.
8. Toss in the garlic and stir around to coat in oil. Then, turn the heat down to low medium and let the garlic crisp up and become golden brown, removing from heat when it gets to that point. It takes about a minute and a half, but hover over it to stir to make sure it doesn't burn!!
9. Check on your grits pot. You may need to mix in more fluid if the grits have gotten too thick. We're not going for soup, nor a mass of congealed mush. There's a sweet spot in between. Find it.
10. When they're at the consistency you prefer, transfer to bowl(s) and top with the fried garlic and hunks of pumpkin. 

I'm pretty sure these could be a fabulous asset on which to pile something else for a dinner entree, but for now I'm merely content to have them as a savory disruption to my breakfast habit of cereal.


Bonus pic: late season Purple Cherokee Tomato who was born with a scarecrow mask!