Oh, tasty chicken,
Will we ever tire of you?
Fab with polenta.

Yes. That was a haiku. I'm mostly Japanese, people. It's expected. It's also expected that my English degree was not focused on creative writing. I'm a much better reader. Moving on...

Have you ever tried polenta? It's like grits, only... different. How's that for a description? Polenta is traditionally Italian, but it's tasty in lots of other contexts. I love to cook it as a bed for spicy chicken and top it with either pico de gallo or roasted salsa. Yuuuuum. It's not hard to make AT ALL, and it can take on a variety of ingredients and methods. Lovely.

Spicy Chicken with Polenta

• 4 pieces of chicken (breasts, thighs, tenders, whatever)
• the juice of a lime
• a squeeze or drizzle of honey
• a palmful of chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, or any combination (*Note: DON'T use a palmful of cayenne.)
• a drizzle of mild oil (canola, vegetable)
• salt and pepper

Mix up all the ingredients in a big plastic bag, and let the chicken marinate for half an hour or so. Honestly, you can marinate the chicken in anything you'd like. This is just a yummy Mexican-inspired combo - tart from the lime, sweet from the honey, spice from the spices (wow), and salt and pepper to make everything better. Play around or just use a packet of stuff you trust; I won't judge. Cook the chicken on the grill or in a saute pan for 4-6 minutes a side depending on the thickness.

Now for the polenta. Most grocery stores have tubes of prepared polenta for you to cut into slices and fry up or use as a pillow for sausage and peppers. For this, you want the ground, unprepared stuff. If you can't find legit polenta, just use a medium to fine ground cornmeal. You'll get similar results.

This is how you do it. (I hope you sang that line; I totally did.)

1. The ratio of polenta to water is four to one. So if you're cooking one cup of polenta, bring four cups of water to boil.
2. Once it's boiling, add a good pinch of salt and turn the water to a simmer.
3. Slowly whisk in the polenta. This is so it doesn't get lumpy.
4. Stir and stir on low heat for about five minutes until the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Now comes the fun part.
5. Mix in ANYTHING. For this, a handful of cheddar cheese is money in the bank. Add a little extra salt if you'd like, but it's delicious just like this.

Now you have dinner! Spoon the golden deliciousness into a shallow bowl, plop a piece of spicy chicken on top, and give it a good spoonful or two of pico de gallo, roasted salsa, or even jarred salsa if that's what you have around.

Remember, more important than what you cook is the attitude in which you cook it. Be patient with yourself, have fun, involve your family, and make dinner a priority again.

P.S. My little sis turns 21 today. Wow, says the big sister who suddenly feels much older. Happy Birthday, Han!