Vegan Tamale Pie

This is the first year that I have hated winter. Previously I always liked the first two months of cold, November and December--the smell of turning on the heat for the first time, the first snow, the holidays. This year, I was tired of it from the first day of freezing weather that killed the last of my plants who were holding out. No going outside, no botanical gardens, no green... I am over it already. I need it to be March so I can look forward to my daffodils, crocuses, and irises coming out.

Here is a colorful and filling dish to make your winter a little more tolerable. I ran out of cumin and used some of the Jamaican Jerk seasoning that we brought back from our honeymoon instead. I'm not a big fan of cumin so I think Ill use jerk seasoning again when I make this next time but I'll let you know how much cumin to use if you want the traditional taste. I made this for my parent's christmas and it was a big hit as a side dish but could also be a filling main dish. My non vegan family members added sharp cheddar cheese as a topping.

Vegan Tamale Pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 15 oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups of frozen corn, thawed

4 tablespoons of jerk seasoning (or 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 1 tsp of ground cumin and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper)

2 tsp of crushed red pepper

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup of coarse cornmeal

3 1/2 cups of water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Saute the onion, bell peppers, and garlic until soft. Stir in 1/2 cup of water tomatoes, beans, corn, jerk seasoning and salt to taste. Cover pot and cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables soften. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In a saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the cornmeal and 1/2 tsp of salt and whisk to combine. Return to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened. Add black pepper and more salt to taste and take off of heat.

Spread the cornmeal mixture over the bean mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Sofrito Garbanzo Beans With Sweet Corn Cakes

So my quest to clean out my cabinets and freezer begins. It is hard to have extra ingredients around when you have a small kitchen, well at least in my mind a small kitchen. I have only a small amount of counter space and each of my cabinets are filled till they burst. I spent 4 hours on Veteran's Day rearranging my cabinets, putting food out to donate, and rearranging my counters. I got a little more space and since I like the layout now, I work harder to keep it clean. Today I got a lemon cyprus tree for our two-top table. Lets see if it lasts with Little Kitty rolling around on the top of the table! I just wanted a little holiday cheer and a big tree is not an option (no room in condo and cats would destroy it in seconds.)

So I went through my cabinets and saw my masa (from the tamales that I never made last year), corn meal, and the 2 bags of frozen corn in my freezer. I remembered the sweet corn cakes recipe that I had seen awhile back on Photograzing, so I made them. However, on their own they were pretty bland. Then I saw a can of Sofrito cooking base, a small can of salsa, and garbanzo beans. I made the Sofrito garbanzo beans that I love, put them on top of the corn cakes, and was addicted. Next time I have people over I am making these as an appetizer.

Sweet Corn Cake

Adapted from the Knead for Speed

Ingredients

2 15 oz bags of frozen corn (cooked)

1 cup of masa harina

6 Tbs of cornmeal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

7 Tbs butter melted

3/4 cup of honey

6 Tbs of water

4 Tbs of skim milk

Turn oven to 350. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Place the cooked corn in a food processor and pulse until it is about 1/2 pureed (you still want whole kernels to stick out in the mix). In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix butter, honey, corn, water and milk. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Pour into pan, cover with foil, and bake 35 - 45 minutes. The resulting cake will be moist and firm.

Sofrito Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans

3 tablespoons of sofrito

3 tablespoons of salsa mexicana

1 packet of sazon seasoning

Combine ingredients into a saucepan. Stir and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes uncovered. Cut corn cakes into squares, top with Sofrito Garbanzo Beans