I’m Fixing to Cook Me Up Some Hot Tomato Grits

I’m fixing to cook me up some hot tomato grits.

Now I don’t claim to be a chef or a baker or even a cook, but I know someone who is. So when I say I’m fixing to cook something good to eat it usually means it’s just my idea, and by just the most subtle hint, she’ll start rattling those pots and pans.

Our high point of having good home grown tomatoes has seemingly suddenly slid over the horizon, but if you’re lucky, this time of the year you can get your hands on some of those mountain tomatoes, from Tennessee or North Carolina. If you do, you’re in for a treat because they have the good acid taste and ruby-red texture of our summer tomatoes. And as a bonus, they seem to keep a lot longer and are good sized.

You can lay a few on the window sill and they’ll still be good after a couple of weeks, and when you slice into one the texture and taste of it is as good as if you just went out to the garden and picked it red-ripe off the vine on a July morning.

Like I said, I don’t count being a good cook as one of my few talents, but I know a good dish when I taste one. And I have shared a few of them with you, like the recipes for my tomato gravy, pork chop soup and even my genuine varsity hot dog chili.

But back to these hot tomato grits. What you’ll need is a couple of slices of bacon, two cans of chicken broth (or three or four cups of your homemade broth), one-half teaspoon of salt, one cup of uncooked grits, a teaspoon of fresh chopped green chives (the ones from a can will do), one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and of course, two big peeled and chopped tomatoes.

If you’re unfortunate enough not to have come into possession of some of those mountain tomatoes, canned ones will suffice, because tomatoes are usually canned at the height of season.

Now that you have all your stuff together, you’re ready to start.

The first thing you do is fry up the bacon good and crisp in a big heavy saucepan, take it out and lay it aside, but leave the drippings in the pan. Now, gradually add the chicken broth and salt to the hot drippings and bring it to a boil. At that point you can stir in your grits, tomatoes and green chives. Let it come back to a boil while you keep stirring, then reduce the heat.

The next thing you do is get yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of ice tea and just let it simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring it every once in a while.

The last things you do is stir in the cheese until it melts, crumble up the bacon on top, and then serve it up hot.

Hot tomato grits for breakfast will make you smile the rest of the day, or with your ribs in the evening, make you want to kiss the cook.

I’m fixing to go find her and casually mention how tasty they would be.