West Indian Potato Bean Stew for the Instant Pot

I've discovered how much I really love using an Instant Pot. My gosh, so simple! So far I've still only used the pressure cooking function, but I will eventually brave the other options.

West Indian Potato Bean Stew

One onion, diced
One red onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
4 c. vegetable broth
2 cans white beans, drained
3 red potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
One sweet potato, cubed
1 t. turmeric
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. cinnamon
One package frozen corn, thawed
One package frozen green peas, thawed

Once again, I didn't use the saute function, but feel free to saute the onions and garlic in oil until soft. Otherwise, all the ingredients to the pot, cook for 8 minutes. Let pressure release for 5 minutes, then do quick release. Serve over rice if you like. Enjoy!

Bean Salad

I always thought bean salads were unappealing. I mean, I like beans and all, but something about bean salads just looked boring. Not this one!

Bean Salad

One can kidney beans, drained
One can pinto beans, drained
One can black-eyed peas, drained
One package frozen lima beans, thawed
One can corn, drained
1/2 an onion, diced
1 t. pepper
1/2 c. Italian dressing

You know the drill: mix everything together in a large bowl, stirring to make sure it's all coated well. Chill or serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

National Corn on the Cob Day

Today is National Corn on the Cob Day! Seriously, who doesn't love corn on the cob? It is such a summer food, in my mind, but with frozen cobs available year round, it can be enjoyed any time. And there is just something fun about eating it.

Corn on the Cob with Parsley Flavored Butter

Corn on the cob, fresh or frozen, as many ears as you like
Vegan butter
1/4 t. onion powder
1 T. dried parsley or 1/2 c. fresh parsley

Boil the corn in the manner you normally do. I tend to cover the corn with water in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until done. Frozen takes longer, but I boil it the same way.

Soften the butter, then mix in the onion powder and parsley, until blended well. Serve the butter alongside the cooked corn.

Serve. Enjoy!

Fried Corn

The challenge of day 22 for the Vegan Mofo is: Make a dish using all seasonal produce. Well, what better than corn?

Fried Corn

12 ears of fresh corn, kernels scraped off (or a bag of frozen corn kernels)
2 T. butter
1 T. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. Magic Vegan Bacon Grease
Vegan bacon bits

Saute the corn kernels in the bacon grease. Add the butter, sugar, and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat about 20  minutes, stirring often. Remove kernels to a bowl and mix in some vegan bacon bits. Serve. Enjoy!

I mentioned the vegan bacon grease in an earlier post. I am loving this stuff. It smells like bacon. My son walked in and asked if I was using it, because he could smell it when he walked through the front door. Just be sure to stir it, because the seasonings settle on the bottom.

Corn Pudding

When I hear the word pudding, I certainly don't think of corn. Or anything savory, truth be told. But this was really delicious.

Corn Pudding

3 c. vegan milk
1/2 c. soft tofu
One bag of frozen kernel corn, thawed
1/3 c. bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. onion, chopped
Salt to taste
Hot pepper sauce to taste

Heat milk in a pot until just boiling. Place tofu and 2 c. of corn into a food processor and process until almost smooth. Add remaining ingredients to the milk and stir to mix. Place everything in a lightly greased casserole dish, stir again to mix well. Bake, uncovered, at 325 for 45 minutes, or until slightly firm to touch. Serve. Enjoy!

Corn Casserole with Jalapenos and Cheese

We decided to try the Daiya cream cheeses. Hubby likes to buy bagel chips and dip it in cream cheese, and I like to dip pecan halves in. We had some left over and I didn't want it to go to waste, so I used it in this recipe. It turned out quite yummy!

Corn Casserole with Jalapenos and Cheese

2 cans corn, drained
One container of Daiya Chive and Onion Cream Cheese Style Spread
1-3 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Combine all of the ingredients in a covered casserole dish, and mix well. Bake, covered, at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Southern Skillet Dish

I was looking through my mom's collection of old Southern cookbooks, and came across a recipe for barbecue corn. This was amusing, because there was nothing barbecue-y about the recipe. It sounded pretty good, though, so I decided to adapt it.

Southern Skillet Dish (because I didn't know what else to call it!)

One bag of vegan beef crumbles
One green bell pepper, chopped
One stalk celery, chopped
One onion, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. black pepper
Dash of Tabasco sauce
One can of corn, drained
1/2 c. vegetable juice

Saute the bell pepper, celery and onion in a small amount of olive oil, under tender. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

It would be Texas without a salsa at a celebration. And I really love trying out new and different salsas!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
One can corn, drained and rinsed
2 tomatoes, chopped
One avocado, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
One handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T. lime juice
2 T. olive oil
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, stirring to mix well. Cover and chill. Serve with tortilla chips or large corn chips. Enjoy!

Okra Succotash

My mom said she wanted some succotash for Thanksgiving this year. I made it. With a twist.

Okra Succotash

10 oz frozen lima beans, or one can lima beans, drained
10 oz frozen corn, or one can corn, drained
Frozen okra (as much as you want to add)
2 T. vegan butter
1 t. marjoram
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 c. vegetable broth

Thaw the frozen okra under warm running water. Add to a frying pan with the butter and marjoram, and stir until okra is heated. Add the limas and corn, along with the salt, pepper and broth. Cook until heated through. Serve. Enjoy!

Southwestern Soup

Temps got down in the 50s recently, and I wanted to celebrate with soup. If I suggest soup for supper during the summer, I get the *look* from my family. The one suggesting I may be certifiable. So when the temps dip down to something not sweat inducing, I'm gonna make a pot of soup. And I did.

Southwestern Soup

One onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
One can diced tomatoes with mild chiles
One can corn
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. paprika
4 c. vegetable stock

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil in a Dutch oven until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. To serve, spoon the soup into a bowl and crunch tortilla chips on top.

I had no leftovers. Made me sad.

Easy Corn Chowder

One thing about living in a hurricane prone area: canned foods are your friend. A lot of people criticize or even refuse to eat canned foods, but let me tell you, when you lose power for days or can't get out of the house because of flooding, those canned goods come in vveerryy handy.  They are also a fairly cheap staple for families with limited finances.

Canned goods aren't without risk, of course. I never, ever buy a can with a dent, for instance. There are other things to watch for when buying canned goods. Here is a list of things to watch for when using canned goods:

Leaking
Bulging
Denting
Cracking
Discoloration
Foul odors

If you see any of these signs, toss. Don't use it. Food poisoning still happens.

Another concern, and the biggest one really I think, is canned foods may contain trace amounts of BPA. Unless you have been living under a rock or a long time media blackout, you will have heard about the dangers of BPA. The trace amounts in canned foods come from internal coating of cans to prevent canned foods from coming in direct contact with the metal of the can. While the potential is, again, trace amounts, I recommend rinsing the contents of the can before cooking, and, let's be honest, limiting the use of canned goods, especially in immune compromised individuals.

Now that you are completely freaking out and wondering why, why, WHY would I use a recipe that uses food coming out of can, well, like I said, there is that convenient factor. Also, research shows that the commercial canning process not only destroys bacteria that can cause food spoilage, but also can eliminate as much as 99% of the pesticide residues occasionally found in fresh produce. So, pretty much unless you are growing your own food, there is always a risk, whether it be canned, frozen, or bought fresh from the grocery store. I'm not being flip, but I'm not going to flip out, either.

Now, on with the recipe.

Easy Corn Chowder

One can of corn, drained
One can of creamed corn, undrained
One can of diced potatoes, drained
One onion, chopped
1/4 t. celery salt
2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. non-dairy milk
1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water

Add everything but the cornstarch mixture to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5-10 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir to mix well and let thicken slightly. When serving, sprinkle on some freshly ground black pepper.

You can see the black pepper flecks and the corn kernels peeking. We had no leftovers.

Black Beans and Rice

You can never go wrong with beans and rice. They are such a staple at my house. I can always fall back on beans and rice and no one complains, they love it that much. I guess it is like a comfort food. Normally I do something simple like black eyed peas and yellow rice. But every now and then I like to change things up a bit. Since my son absolutely loves black beans, I know I can make them any time.

Black Beans and Rice

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed well
1-1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 T. Braggs aminos
1 t. chili powder
One can diced tomatoes
Green onions, chopped
One can corn, drained and rinsed
One green bell pepper, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
One avocado, diced
Cooked rice

Cook the beans with the broth, Braggs and chili powder. Add the diced tomatoes and heat through. Serve the beans over the rice with the green onions, corn, bell pepper, cilantro and avocado spooned on top. Enjoy!

This was simple and delicious, and the leftovers made it into wraps the next day.

National Macaroni Day

National Macaroni Day was July 7, but a series of distractions prevented me from taking advantage of the day. Not to be denied, I made my mac and cheese, finally, last night. I had to rescue some of it from my son for my lunch today. Otherwise, he couldn't stop eating it. He plans to go buy all the ingredients just so I'll make it again this weekend. Probably all for him! LOL!

In addition, to round out the meal, I made a couple of different mixed vegetable dishes.

Macaroni and Cheese

One package elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1/4 c. vegan butter
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/4 c. rice milk
1/2 t. salt
Dash of black pepper
One package of Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Gradually add the milk and some of the Daiya until creamy. In a lightly greased casserole dish, layer the macaroni, then Daiya, the macaroni, then the sauce and top with more Daiya. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

Summer Garden Vegetables

1/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. butter
2 c. fresh or frozen corn
3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
4 small yellow squash, sliced
1 t. salt
3/4 t. dried oregano leaves
1/4 t. pepper

Saute the onion in the butter until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, covered, over medium heat until vegetables are tender.

King of the Jungle Vegetables

Handful of carrots, sliced
Olive oil
One package of frozen green beans
One package of frozen cauliflower florets
One bunch of green onions, sliced
2 c. water or vegetable broth
Dash of garlic powder

Saute the carrots in the olive oil until beginning to soften. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and cook 20-30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Enjoy!

Crumbles Pie

Is there anything really simpler than throwing ingredients into a pie shell and baking it? The answer would be no, there isn't anything simpler. It's just a matter of combining the right ingredients to make a tasty dish. And, let's face it, even that isn't hard!

Crumbles Pie

One package vegan beef crumbles
One onion, chopped
2 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano leaves
One can tomato soup
One can sliced carrots, drained
One can kernel corn, drained

And here is the truly difficult part - mix everything together and pour into a pie shell. I actually threw some leftover veggies from the fridge into the mix, too. You can make a topping if you'd like, but I went for quick and simple. Bake in a 400 oven for about 15 minutes, or until piecrust in nicely golden.

Now wasn't that hard? No? I didn't think so, either. Now enjoy!

Loaded Chili

If you live in Texas, you know there seems to be a great deal of debate as to whether or not chili should contain beans. If you are vegan, this is a no brainer. OF COURSE it contains beans! LOL!

Loaded Chili

Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
One onion, chopped
One jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
2 c. broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
3 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. oregano
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. each salt and pepper
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 c. frozen corn
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, saute garlic, onion and jalapeno in the olive oil, until softened. Add the sweet potato, broccoli and spices and stir until everything is well coated with the spices. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and let simmer about 30 minutes. When the sweet potatoes are fork soft it is ready to eat.

Good and spicy and delicious! While you might wonder at the addition of things like sweet potatoes and broccoli to chili, trust me, you'll like it.

Did You Appreciate a Dragon Today?

It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.
J. R. R. Tolkien

Today is Appreciate a Dragon Day. You can read more about it here. Being the fan of dragons (and all things fantasy) that I am, of course I would want to make something dragon-ish.

Dragon's Breath Pasta and Tempting the Dragon with Tofu

One package angel hair pasta
One clove garlic, chopped
One package sliced mushrooms
1 t. oregano
1 T. parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Saute the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil. Add the oregano and parsley and mix well. Add the mushroom mixture to the drained pasta and mix well.

Tempting the Dragon with Tofu

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, boiled, pressed and sliced
One package sliced mushrooms
One onion, chopped
Three garlic cloves, chopped
One can of corn, drained
1 T. parsley
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. curry
1/2 t. rosemary
Vegan Worcestershire sauce

Saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Remove from pan and add more olive oil. Fry the tofu slices until browned on each side. Add mushroom mixture, spices and corn to the tofu and let simmer to blend flavors. Sprinkle on the Worcestershire sauce. Serve with Dragon's Breath Pasta.

I'm pretty sure the pasta got its name from all the garlic, but loving garlic the way I do, this was no problem.

Be sure to watch out for dragons when you eat this. Believe it or not, there are some vegetarian dragons out there. I've seen one...

Enjoy!

It's Thanksgiving Every Day!

I think I may have mentioned I have been collecting recipes for over 30 years. I started as a teenager for my hope chest - one day I would be married and have to cook. Sounds a little sexist now, when I think about it, but such as it was. I would periodically shuffle through them, discarding those I knew I would never make or had an ingredient that made us shudder. Additionally, I have two bookcases stuffed with cookbooks. Yes, I'm a bit obsessive...

My kitchen had stacked in one corner several boxes of recipes that had not been filed or sorted through, and last year I decided come hell or high water I would plow through them. I did. It took me six months, but I did it. Okay, I didn't work on it every day, but most days I did!

At any rate, the sorting and organizing resulted in multiple bags for the recycle bin and several glorious labeled binders. One of the first I worked diligently on was the binder for Thanksgiving. Not only is it huge, but required at least two binders. Afterward, I mentioned it to a friend about what I'd done and how I was looking forward to Thanksgiving now. She remarked, "Why wait? Every day is Thanksgiving!"

I realized she was right, and while the recipes remain currently in that designated binder, I do now periodically go through it for ideas for my weekly meals. Kind of out of character for me, but hey, new year, new ways, right?

Cheezy Gratin of Cruciferous Vegetables (not a sexy title, but sums it up well enough!)

4 slices vegan bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package frozen Brussels sprouts
1 package frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix
1-1/2 c. vegan milk (I used plain soy)
1 c. vegetable broth
4 T. vegan butter
5 T. flour
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. thyme
Pepper to taste
1 package Daiya cheddar cheese

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until softened, set aside. Boil Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower according to package directions. Drain. Cook bacon and set aside.
Combine milk and vegetable broth in a pot, bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
Melt butter in another pot, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is a light golden brown. Whisk in half the milk/broth mixture until thick, then add remaining milk/broth mixture. Cook about 5 minutes, whisking often. To this whisk in the mustard, salt, thyme and pepper.
Add vegetables to a casserole dish and pour the sauce over it. Sprinkle with the Daiya cheese and crumbled bacon.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Home Style Succotash

1 package of baby carrots
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 package frozen lima beans, thawed
1 package frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 package sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. vegan milk
1/4 t. pepper

In a large pot, bring the broth and baby carrots to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes, until carrots are still a little crisp. Stir in lima beans, corn, mushrooms, milk and pepper. Simmer, covered until all vegetables are tender.

Delectable Ambrosia

2 grapefruit
3 oranges
2 tangerines
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Peel all the fruit and break into sections. Cut each section in half and remove any seeds. Mix fruit in a bowl with the sugar and coconut. Chill at least one hour.

And it just wouldn't be complete without the

Cumberland Cranberry Sauce

2 lbs. thick, whole-berry cranberry sauce (the directions are on the back of the cranberry bag)
1/2 T. dry mustard (more if desired)
Juice and grated rind of 1 or 2 oranges
1 to 2 T. cornstarch
1 t. lemon juice
2 to 3 T. sugar

Dissolve the mustard in the orange juice, together with about a teaspoon of cornstarch. Add to the cranberry sauce, along with the lemon juice, grated orange rind, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Heat the sauce, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Taste the sauce for seasoning, adding more sugar if needed. If the sauce is too thin dissolve another teaspoon of cornstarch in a little juice or water and stir it in. Chill well before serving.

Now feast!

Veggie Biscuit Pie

There are so many ways one can make a potpie. I mean, really, the possibilities are endless. It simply has to be the simplest way ever to use up leftover veggies. I think I found an even simpler version.

Veggie Biscuit Pie

Olive oil
One package of sliced mushrooms
One turnip, cut into chunks
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
One onion, diced
1-1/4 c. non-dairy milk
3 T. flour
One container vegetable broth
One can corn
One small bunch of broccoli, or one package cut up broccoli
Salt and pepper to taste
Biscuits - your choice

Saute the onion, mushrooms, turnips, carrots and celery in the oil until slightly softened. Mix the milk and flour together until there are no clumps, then pour this into the onion mixture. Add the broth, corn with its liquid, broccoli, salt and pepper. Stir well, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, make your biscuits.

To serve, spoon up some of the delectable vegetable mixture into a bowl, and top with a biscuit. Enjoy!

Mermaid Succotash

My mom used to make succotash when I was a kid. I always thought the name was funny. I don't think hers was like this.

Mermaid Succotash

1/3 c. wakame
Olive oil
One large onion, chopped
Bag of frozen baby lima beans
One can corn (or frozen, if you prefer)
2 t. dried basil
2 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried thyme
2 t. sea salt

Rinse the wakame and then soak for about 15 minutes. Drain. Depending on the style you bought, chop if you need to. Saute the onion in the olive oil. When it is softened and nicely browned, add the limas, corn, herbs, salt and wakame. Add 1-1/2 c. water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. I let mine simmer long enough to boil noodles.

I served the succotash with buttered and parslied noodles and cut up cantaloupe. It was a delicious take on the power plate!

Succotash comes from the Narragansett word msíckquatash or msikwatash , which means, "boiled corn kernels" or "ear of corn", depending on what you read. It is a dish primarily comprised of corn and lima beans, but some people add bell pepper to it (I don't). It was popular during the Great Depression and is often served at Thanksgiving - it is rumored it was served at the very first Thanksgiving.

You could substitute soybeans for the limas, if you prefer. I'll stick with the limas, thank you. I grew up eating limas and baby limas, so rather like them.

Easy Minestrone

The temps are dropping all over the country and folks are hunkering down. I don't get snow where I live (no, really, there is like a bubble over my neighborhood - when my friend 10 minutes away can build a snowman and we didn't get a single flake, I can say that), but we do get freezing temps. When those days come, we light up the fireplace, make up some hot chocolate or cider (or in my case, tea!) and enjoy a good soup or stew. This one does that nicely!

Minestrone

1 T. olive oil
One onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried marjoram
1 t. salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 t. allspice
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 bay leaves
1 t. dried or 1 T. fresh rosemary
4 c. vegetable stock
2 c. water
Half a bag of frozen corn
Half a bag of frozen green beans
1 bag of pasta, shape your choice (I used vegetable spirals)
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried oregano

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper and allspice. Stir until onion begins to soften. Add tomatoes, beans, bay leaves, rosemary, stock and water. Turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Add corn, green beans and pasta, cook about 10 minutes until pasta is almost cooked. Add additional thyme and oregano and more water is necessary. Enjoy!

Be sure to watch the water, as mine initially turned into more of a stew than a soup. If you have kids, use a fun shaped pasta instead of traditional pasta. We served ours with buttered toast, but garlic bread would probably have been a perfect accompaniment (note to self: next time make garlic toast).