Masala Coated Corn Cobs

Serves 4-6 as an accompaniment

Ingredients
4 roma tomatoes
4 tablespoons oil
1 small red onion, minced
3/4 tablespoon ginger paste, or grated ginger
3/4 tablespoon garlic paste, or grated garlic
1/4 of a cinnamon stick, optional
1 small bay leaf, optional
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder or according to taste
3 corn cobs

Method
1. Core the tomatoes and puree them along with 1/2 cup water. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the minced onion and cook on medium heat until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Now add the ginger and garlic pastes, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3.Add the cinnamon stick, and bay leaf if using and cook for another minute.
4. Now sprinkle the garam masala, coriander powder and chili powder. Stir for 10 seconds. Pour in the pureed tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the husk and silk from the corn cobs. Trim off the top and bottom ends. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut each corn cob into 3 or 4 chunks.
6. Add the cut corn cobs, salt and 1/2 cup water into the sauce pan. Stir well. Let the corn cobs cook, stirring occasionally, until all the water boils away and the masala paste coats the corn cobs. Fish out the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Pinch off a corn kernel and test it for doneness. If it isn’t fully cooked, add a little more water and continue cooking until the corn kernel are cooke through.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

If you know how to open a few cans, you can make this vegetarian drunken pumpkin chili recipe. Its that easy! I kept this recipe seasonal by using some pumpkin. You could easily leave out the pumpkin part of the recipe, and still have a very yummy chili.

In the summerI use zucchini in this recipe instead of the pumpkin. But no matter what season you make this chili, make sure to use a beer you actually like. Dont use a beer that is too bitter, it will make your entire chili bitter. As a tribute to Oregon’s amazing local beers, I used a beer from here. But any pale lager or medium bodied beer will work. Serve the same beer with your meal.

This is a great recipe to make ahead or to feed a crowd. The recipe is also very forgiving, you can adjust the seasonings as you like, leave out the pumpkin, use different beans, cook it too long, too less..it will still taste good! Meat lovers will like this dish too.

Drunken Pumpkin Chili Recipe

Serves about 6

Ingredients
one 1.5 lb pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
one 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
one 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
half a 15 oz can sweet corn, drained
two 14 oz cans of diced tomato
1 tablespoon tomato paste
one 12 oz can of beer (pale or medium lager)
2 cups meatless crumbles like Yves ground round or Morningstar crumbles
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Method
Pre heat oven to 375f

Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and membrane. Place the pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, cut side down. Bake in a 375f oven for 15 minutes or just until the pumpkin is soft enough to peel the skin away. 

When the pumpkin is done, remove from oven. Wait for it to cool enough to handle it. Peel the skin, and discard. Also discard the stem end of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. You should have about 3 cups of cubed pumpkin.

In a large pot, heat the oil and add the diced onion. Cook on medium heat till the onion is soft. Then add the carrots, paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the kidney beans, pinto beans, sweet corn, and tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, the baked and peeled pumpkin, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, while stirring. When the chili boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or till the pumpkin is soft.

If the chili gets too thick, add 1-2 cups water.

When the pumpkin is soft, stir in the meatless crumbles and cook just untill the crumbles are heated through. If using frozen crumbles, make sure they get completely heated.

Taste and adjust for salt. At this point if you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the chili for some sweetness or 2 tablespoons lime juice for some tang. Both are optional.

Serve drunken pumpkin chili with sprinkled cheese on top and tortilla chips or brown rice.

This is a spicy version of regular corn bread. I used less sugar because I don’t like my corn bread sweet. Use up to 4 tablespoons sugar in this recipe for a sweet corn bread.

The yogurt here adds a mild tang and makes the corn bread fluffy and gorgeous. Buttermilk will work too. And I love the little pieces of sweet corn all through this bread.

For a different twist on this, use semolina instead of cornmeal. For a vegan corn bread try this vegan cornbread recipe on the post punk kitchen.

This yogurt corn bread with chipotle and sweet corn will be perfect served with my Brazilian style black bean and smoked tofu stew. Simply recipes has an amazing green chile cornbread recipe with sweet corn. 101 cookbooks has a firecracker cornbread recipe using buttermilk and red pepper flakes.

Yogurt Cornbread with Chipotle and Sweet Corn Niblets

serves 4-6

Dry ingredients
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (use less if you don’t want it too spicy)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup canned, drained, sweet corn
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar (this is less sweet than traditional corn bread, use up to 4 tablespoons sugar for a sweeter dish)
½ teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients
1 cup non-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons softened butter

Pre heat oven to 400f

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In another bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients. Add the whisked mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold the batter gently just until combined. Don’t over mix.

Pour into a square 8×8 cake pan. Sprinkle a tablespoon of corn on top (optional). Bake 20-30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the corn bread cool a little before cutting into squares. Serve with Brazilian style black bean and smoked tofu stew.

Please make this recipe, its incredibly delicious. Thats all I can say. I was going to make this recipe and freeze half of it, but we’ve eaten it all. The brown rice in this burger is filling and adds great, chewy texture. The black beans are luscious and creamy. And taco seasoning in the patties takes this to a whole new level of yumminess. Pair the burgers with my chilled sweet corn and roasted poblano salsa and you will be in heaven. Make this NOW!!

Also check out Alanna’s black bean burger recipe, and this southwestern brown rice and black bean burger recipe on feed the moose.

To roast poblanos, place them over an open flame. Keep turning till they are charred all over.

Keep roasted poblano wrapped in foil for about 5 minutes. Then using a paper towel, wipe off the charred skin. Roasting poblanos gives them great flavor which is wonderful in this roasted poblano sweet corn salsa.

Serving suggestions for vegan southwestern black bean and brown rice burger patties:

Serve with your choice of chipotle mayonnaise, avocado slices, sour cream, ketchup, barbeque sauce, tomato slices, red onion, pickled jalapeno, lettuce, lime wedges, roasted poblano and sweet corn salsa ( recipe below)

- as a southwestern veggie burger with toasted burger buns

 - as a sandwich with bread slices
- as a tortilla wrap
- in pita bread pockets
- my favorite – in a salad with shredded lettuce, carrots, roasted poblano and sweet corn salsa (recipe below) and my cumin vinaigrette recipe
- lettuce wraps- serve burger patties and salsa with large, un-cut pieces of iceburg lettuce

I like RiceSelect brand’s Royal Blend brown and red rice for this recipe. Its nutty, chewy, and just perfect.

Vegan Southwestern Black Bean and Brown Rice Veggie Burger Patties Recipe

makes 8 patties

1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked. I recommend RiceSelect Royal Blend brown & red rice
One 15 oz can black beans

sauté
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small red (or green) bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon store bought taco seasoning (substitute with 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder + 1/2 tablespoon paprika or red chile powder)
salt

to cook the patties
1 tablespoon corn starch
6 tablespoons olive oil

In a large pot, bring plenty of water to boil. Generously salt the water. Add brown rice and cook uncovered till the rice is done, about 20 minutes. Rice should be cooked through, but still chewy and not mushy. When done, drain the rice, run some cold water over it to stop the cooking. Make sure the rice is drained very well before using. Spread it on a kitchen towel to absorb moisture if needed.

Drain the canned black beans. Again, make sure it is drained very well.

While the brown rice is cooking, work on the satueeting. Heat a large non-stick skillet with the oil. Add onion and red pepper. Cook till onions are soft. Add garlic, stir for about 30 seconds. Add taco seasoning and drained black beans. Stir on high heat for about a minute. Turn off heat. Add salt (remember store bought taco seasoning already has some salt).

Using a potato masher or fork, mash the black bean mixture. Mash roughly, so that some black bean pieces remain. Add cooked, drained brown rice. Using a spatula, mix everything together. Taste and adjust salt and taco seasoning.

When the black bean brown rice mixture is cool enough to handle, divide it into 8 equal portions. Dust your hands with corn starch and make 8 balls. Flatten the balls down to shape into burgers. Dust a little corn starch on the patties; not too much, just a sprinkle. (You can freeze the patties at this point in a single layer in air tight containers).

Heat about 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet.  Place 2 burger patties on the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes on medium-high heat on each side. Remove when a crispy golden crust forms on both sides. Add more oil to the skillet and fry up 2 more patties at a time. Repeat till all patties are cooked.

Roasted Poblano and Sweet Corn Salsa Recipe

 enough to serve with about 4 burgers

1 poblano pepper (substitute with bottled roasted red pepper or sauteed jalapenos or canned New Mexican green chile)
1 can drained sweet corn
1 cup chopped tomatoes
zest of 1/2 a lime, optional
2 tablespoons lime juice (juice of about 1 large lime)
1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Roast the poblano pepper over an open flame either on your stove or an out door grill. Char the pepper on all sides. Then wrap it in foil and let it sit for about 5 minutes. When the pepper is cool enough to handle, open the foil and peel off the charred poblano skin. Wipe off any remaining charred skin with a paper towel. Remove the seeds inside. Dice the roasted poblano.

Mix together the roasted poblano and all other ingredients. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

Can I just say that this dish is spectacular to make while the lovely summer tomatoes are still around! This is a great make- ahead tomato recipe. Once youve stuffed the tomatoes, you could keep them covered in the fridge for a day or two before baking.

Juicy, round, vine ripened tomatoes are just perfect for stuffing. Red or green peppers will also be great for stuffing.

Cut the the tomatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out the flesh and membrane using a spoon. Be careful not to scoop all the way into the skin. Save the tomato flesh for another dish that calls for tomatoes. Dab the cavities of the tomatoes with a paper towel. You need to dab away all the juice and moisture inside the tomatoes.

Mix together ricotta cheese, sweet corn, pesto, garlic and parmesan. Stuff the tomatoes with the filling. Then sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

Place the stuffed tomatoes in a buttered or oiled baking dish. Drizzle a little butter or olive oil on top of the tomatoes. Bake till the tomatoes are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Then broil till the tops are golden. Done!

They come out warm, smelling like basil, juicy on the inside and crispy-golden on top. The ricotta is creamy and the little bursts of sweet corn are oh-so-yummy. A perfect dish!

Serve these stuffed, baked tomatoes as a side dish. Or serve them with a green salad as a main course.

A sprig of thyme makes things pretty..

I like blackened corn, so I was cooking some on my skillet on high heat for this dish. Just then, the big fat fly that has taken up residence in my kitchen appeared. Ive been trying to evict this fly for 4 days now. I even put some sugar by the window, hoping it would come for the sugar and I could shoo it out the window. But this is one healthy fly; it didn’t come for the sugar, but the minute i took the kale out, there it was! So I went chasing after it with tea towel in one hand and bug spray in another. By that time I had forgotten about the corn in my skillet. Having given up on the wild fly chase, I came back to the stove to find the sweet corn kernels jumping! They were all popping up and down in the skillet! (There was very little oil in the pan and it was very hot, I think that’s what made the corn kernels jump). So I decided to name them jumping corn.

Whether your corn is jumpy or not, this is a quick and easy recipe to make. I had it with left over quinoa. I decided to use the Chili Lime Salt I made a few days ago instead of regular salt. You can use regular plain salt and some paprika instead.

Ingredients

Kale – 1/2 bunch
Sweet Corn – 3/4 cup
Onion – 1/2
Garlic – 1 clove
Red Wine Vinegar – splash
Nutmeg – pinch
Chili Lime Salt (see this post for recipe) or substitute with salt and paprika
Sugar – pinch
Oil – 1 tsp

Slice the onion very thinly. Shred the kale into thin strips. Mince the garlic. In a non stick pan or skillet, heat the oil and add the onion and let it brown. When browned, sprinkle the sugar on top of the onion and push it off to one side of the skillet.

Turn the heat to high and add the corn. Position your skillet so that the heat source is right under your corn and not under the pile of onions on your skillet. Cook the corn about 3 minutes or till it turns brown (and jumpy!).

Now toss the onions and corn together. Lower heat. Add the garlic, saute till fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add the kale, nutmeg, red wine vinegar and chili lime salt. Cook on medium heat till the kale is just wilted, about 2 minutes.