TODAY THE WORDS are SLOW COOKED GRITS

TODAY THE WORDS are SLOW COOKED GRITS.  Here comes my southern roots with “grits” topic this morning. I lived with my family in Chicago for a few years when I was very young and I still remember my Mother trying to find grits in the supermarket. No where to be found and they had plenty of hominy. That definitely wasn’t grits and we learned to buy grits when we came to Georgia for a vacation and take them back to Chicago when we returned. It is strange to me that not all southerners know how to make grits perfectly and therefore the lumps and sometimes not enough seasoning, but the biggest problem is some people cooking them too fast. Grits were made to be cooked slow and easy. Otherwise, and a lot of cooks will relate to this problem; they sputter and spit at you. Anyone who has been hit by flying grits volcano eruptions knows what I am talking about, hot and fast lava coming straight toward you. 

My daughter and I visited a fine resort close to St. Augustine FL. and were privy to a fantastic breakfast and they had grits on the menu (this was funny since it is a 5 star resort). We were astonished at the taste of their grits, amazingly smooth and rich with plenty of great taste. Me, being the inquisitive soul I am, asked the waitress if she could tell us how they cooked their grits. She went to the kitchen and came back with instructions to cook them really slow, really slow, with cream and butter added after the initial cooking time. Wow, did this change the way that we cook grits and believe me, it makes an incredible difference. I enjoy the compliment when Missy says, “Are we having “our” grits, Mom?” They make take hours to cook but they are worth every minute of every hour they require.

That brings me to the deeper thought………We need to slow down and take the time to “cook” our lives. When we refer to “the good ole days”, we are referring to a slower paced life. It was a time to slowly stir our pans of family, church, friends, and work. More families seasoned their lives with trips to the country, zoos, parks, ponds, trails, or sitting around a fire and topped the “meal” with lots of laughter and chatter. We had plenty of stress but we didn’t seem worried and worked through the ordeals. Good southern grits as well as life should be stirred and simmered to enjoy the best of the best. God has given us one life to live and we need to remember it deserves to be given the proper preparation for eternity. As you hear me say, “Live to love, love to live, and live life to the fullest”.