Growing up in an extremely corny family, the dad jokes and puns were as abundant as the laughter and memories we shared around the kitchen table. One of my favorite dad lines was, “My jokes are so corny because my pop was a colonel.” Get it, kernel? Yup, now you understand why I write the way that I do. I promise that’s the last pun although forgive me as what I’m about to tell you is a-maize-ing! Ok, seriously, that was it.

All joking aside, one of the pleasures that I did not have in edible abundance growing up was grits. Being a borderline Yankee from the Mason-Dixon state, us Marylanders were more familiar with hominy then its grounded sister, grits. So when I started shopping at the market and tried to buy something from every vendor, I was plated with a challenge of how to cook this stuff that I thought tasted like cream of wheat. “Butter or cheese” was the biggest bits of advice I got to preparation.

But it was not in the topping that I found what pleased my palate. It was how the grits were made that was determining my satisfaction. I discovered I like stoneground grits. I like my grits big and gritty. The other mass produced stuff I consumed in years prior was so sub par for so many reasons. Thanks to Riverview Farms, my southern street cred has increased because of my newfound love of grits!

As I have only mastered one button on my Instapot— the rice button, it has been a savior in stopping the overdone dried out grits stuck to a burnt pot. Although I would love to master some homesteader recipes on a wood stove, this technological advancement has saved me as the rice button is perfect for textured, creamy grits. Put in 2 parts water: 1 part grits then push the rice button and its ready in six minutes. Our over-medium eggs are the best toppers I’ve found but even plain, they’re perfection.

Stop by Riverview’s booth this Wednesday and discover what your new favorite simple southern dish may be! If you can’t make it to our one-hour winter markets, you can pick up a bag at Bread & Butter, Main Street Meats or visit the Chop Shop at Riverview Farms in Georgia.

To clarify the difference betwixt all these:

Hominy-hulled corn kernels soaked in a lime or lye bath to expand the kernels

Grits-ground hominy; that’s why some folks actually call it “Hominy Grits”

Polenta-Italian name for dried yellow ground corn

Cornmeal-made from dried, ground corn

And too funny that exactly a year ago, our previous awesome blogger wrote about hominy too! Must be the season for bundling up, heating the house through the kitchen and adding on a few pounds of healthy sugars. Hope you enjoy eating it as much as she and I enjoyed writing about it.