Kiss My (Jalapeno Garlic) Grits

I never ate grits as a kid. I think the only way I had ever hear the word is from Alice which I'm sure was on reruns when I was a young kid (I know I'm dating myself) and that may be one of the reasons I don't own a TV. My kids may be missing out on a bit of Americana and some pop culture, but they also won't have all the one-liners in their heads when certain words are uttered.

My southern husband introduced me to grits and now it is a family favorite for quick warm snack or part of a warm satisfying breakfast. I used to wait for Rob to cook the grits because he "knew what he was doing", but it is so easy, I can't believe I thought there was some magic to it. I like to saute some garlic in olive oil, then add the water and bring it to a boil, add the dried grits, and I take such pleasure stirring it until it starts to thicken (I even have a favorite bamboo slotted spoon which I think of as my "grits spoon"). Right before the grits are done cooking, I add nooch, salt, and freshly ground pepper. We usually have everyone's favorite hot sauces on the table so we can all add the one we enjoy.
This morning, I was flipping through Vegan Brunch as I made the kids Apple Cinnamon Pancakes (no apples today so I added extra shredded coconut and almond extract instead of vanilla) and decided we needed some Jalapeno Garlic Grits. I'm lazy so I just sauteed the jalapenos we have sitting around from our garden (they are red not green, we grew four or five different types of peppers so they may not be jalapeno, but they looked like they jalapenos) and the garlic like I normally do instead of following Isa's instructions. This way I only used one pan. Josie and Parker loved them, but Dema wouldn't try them. He is a grits fan, but they can't have "red things" in them apparently. More for us. The Jalapeno Garlic Grits are a nice change from grits topped with hot sauce and they had just the right amount of kick.