Polenta soup is a cross between rich, soft polenta and a brothy soup. In the 2006 book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma", author Michael Pollan spends a third of the pages describing corn in the modern American food system. Corn can be found everywhere - cows and poultry are fattened on it, and most processed foods contain multiple corn products, chemically broken down to sweeten, bind, emulsify and preserve. Pollan cites the 38 (!) ingredients McDonald's used at the time to make a chicken McNugget. Thirteen were derived from corn. Considering all of that, it's easy to forget that some of the nation's ubiquitous corn crop is sent to a dry mill, where it's simply ground into cornmeal. When the whole grain is ground up, what's left behind is a product similar to wheat flour that can be used to make tortillas, corn bread and the like. While not necessarily interchangeable with wheat flour, cornmeal brings more texture and flavor to a dish, and unlike flour, it can be used practically on its own to make a version of corn porridge that is enjoyed by many cultures (think Southern grits, Italian polenta or Mexican atole). While searching through old cookbooks for a new soup, I stumbled across this interesting recipe in "Power Foods," by the editors of Whole Living Magazine (Clarkson Potter, 2010). Polenta soup is a cross between rich, soft polenta and a brothy soup. It is a simple dish, richly flavored with garlic, olive oil, butter and Parmesan cheese with