Tamale Pie

I borrowed most of this recipe from "Let's Get Baked" a podcast by some guys from Halifax, Canada. Their show is pretty righteous. They come up with good ideas for recipes and the musicians they invite to help are typically very entertaining. There's all sorts of good things to like about it, not the least of which is that I can listen to just about one whole episode during the time it takes me to get from my house to the other side of town on bike. It's a perfect fit, much like this recipe.

This tamale pie basically takes a buch of ingredients you would find in a vegetarian burrito and puts them between layers of baked corn masa, which is found in a tamale. Simple as that.

I started out with a generous mix of:
black beans (cooked in a slow coker)
diced tomatoes
chopped green pepper
sweet corn
a bit of minced garlic
and a teaspoon or two of chile powder

I made a little too much, so as to have some to bring to work the next few days.

Now, you mash everything together for a bit. Doing it in the slow cooker makes the job easy enough. Mash for a minute or so, ut stop before you mash all the beans. You want a few beans to stay in tact, just for texture.















For the crust, you're going to need:
A pot of boiling water (2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder















Mix up all the ingredients into the boiling water and stir constantly until it thickens. It will get very thick -- thick enough to stand a spoon up. It will also burn if you don't keep stirring.



















Take the thickened crust mixture and spread some onto the bottom of a casserole or pie dish. Also, during this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.















Now spoon the bean mixture in until it reaches just below the top of the dish. This is your pie filling, so make sure you don't add too much that you can't put a crust on it.















Spread the rest of the cornmeal mixture on to the top of the filling. Spread it all the way out to the sides so it cooks evenly.















Bake it for about 30 minutes, or longer, depending on how crusty you like your pie.















The end result should be something like this.















This stuff has protein, carbs, fiber, and pretty much all the good stuff you need, without too much fat or sodium (depending on how you salt it). I would imagine some extra spices or even salsa might be good on top, if you're feeling up to it.

Milkshakes

Milkshakes are easy to make and you can hide a bunch of good stuff in them. My favorite is strawberry banana for the potassium alone. Above and beyond that, it's always a good idea to have molasses (blackstrap) on hand for some extra iron and a little sweetness, flaxseeds or ground flaxseed meal for omega 3s, and possibly even benefiber, soy protein, or a green food product for a healthy additive.

The standard recipe I've used is:
8 to 10 ounces of soy/rice/almond milk
8 ice cubes
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 ripe bananas
1 cup strawberries, hulled
1 teaspoon flaxseed meal




















You blend all this up and pour it into a glass. It's good pretty much any time of the day.




















Variations: Blueberries and peaches make good milkshake fruits. If you have any on hand, pineapple is a great one to use -- it adds a little extra sweetness, too.

Gazpacho, The story of

Gazpacho is a soup. Gazpacho is a salad. Gazpacho is blended, diced, spicy, refreshing, and countless other descriptives. There are many ways to make this traditional Spanish soup/salad, one of my favorite being to chop up a bunch of vegetables, mix them with some spice and let soak in its own juices.

This soup is most popular during warmer months. It's typically eaten cold and the amount of spiciness is up to you.

Many people think that gazpacho is just a Spanish version of tomato and vegetable soup. It's not necessarily the case. Gazpacho is traditionally served with bread on the bottom, olive oil, garlic, and vinegar, among other vegetables. Tomatoes and peppers weren't even brought to Europe until after Columbus' fateful trip.

One way to get spice into gazpacho is to use dried pepper. I use ancho, chipotle, or japone. Depending on the season, you might be able to find some fresh habaneros or serranos. Bell peppers are always available, especially during the summer, when your local farmers markets will have them cheap. If you find you've added too much spice, you might want to serve it with more bread or a healthy dose of cilantro or mint. Cilantro and mint not only provide good contrast of flavor but they are traditional Mestizo spices, too. Represent.

This is the recipe I tried:
4 roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups sweet corn
2 cups assorted bell peppers, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped
A few stalks of celery (note: better to go easy on this as too much will be bitter)
3 cups stale bread, cubed

Mix everything but the bread cubes together and put it in a large bowl. If you want the flavors to be less pronounced, with less contrast, let the gazpacho sit in the fridge overnight. When you serve the gazpacho, put the breadcubes in the bowl first and spoon the vegetables opn top.

Gazpacho goes very well with sangria or a lime rickey.

Caribbean Chili

If you could make one thing for the rest of your life, only one thing, what would it be? For me, this one thing would be chili. Over the last year-and-a-half, since I've obtained a slow cooker, I've probably made enough chili to feed every kid whose ever been on Double Dare, their parents, and Marc Summers.

Speaking of which, did you know Marc Summers has an intense case of OCD? He freaks out when things get dirty, kind of like myself. With that in mind, slow cooker chili is a great idea. You don't need much else besides a knife and a cutting board and perhaps a sink. A good clean mixing spoon is also essential.

For this recipe, featured at the recent Labor Day Jello Wrestling fiasco, I decided to try a Caribbean style of cookery.

Here is a good vegetarian chili base to start with:

2 cups kidney or black beans, cooked
4 cups tomatoes, halved
1 Tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2-3 bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

Let this all cook on low, all day long. At least 8 hours. From here you can venture out to places unknown to common chili. Here's what I added to get this version of Caribbean Chili:

3/4 cup shredded coconut
2 cups pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

You can let this sit for an additional hour or two before serving.

Sandwich bread (beany version)

Using mashed beans in bread might seem unusual but I have found it to work quite well as a way to get protein into a food that's already high in iron and fiber. This is quite a benefit. Adding bran takes out some of the heft, while adding even more fiber. What started out a a simple recipe using beans, yeast, flour and milk has grown to accomodate a number of extra ingredients. This recipe is my favorite so far and really shows the versatility of a bean mash and flour base.

There is a lot of sitting time when it comes to this recipe, too, so don't be afraid to schedule a few things for the day or you might be sitting around for hours with nothing to do.

1 cup soybeans, cooked
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons molasses
2 packages yeast
1 cup water
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt


Blend up the beans with an equal amount of water (1 cup).

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. This should take around 10 minutes.

Sift together the all-purpose flour, rolled oats and wheat bran in a large bowl.

Once the yeast has dissolved, add it, the bean mash and milk to the bowl and mix well. The consistency should be a little sticky yet. Add the whole wheat flour until you get a soft dough.

Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes and let it rest in the bowl, covered in a warm spot.















Let the dough rest and expand for at least an hour.















Punch the dough down and separate it into two loaves. Let these sit for an additional 45 minutes.















After all this waiting, you can put the loaves into a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes. I drizzles molasses on top, to give them a marbled look.