More Maize!

Helloooo readers!

Today's recipe has been inspired and brought to you by the rhythmic beat of the cowbell.  'Cause you can never have enough cowbell!




This cracks me up every time!

Being of Latina heritage, or maybe just because my family is so musical, I am VERY familiar with the cowbell.

Yes, I can play a mean cowbell, thank you very much.

And though I missed playing up national Hispanic heritage month - sorry my peeps - the lovely Heather has given me the opportunity to share some recipes by so very timely calling up Hominy as the latest on:

 

cue APPLAUSE!

 

Lucky for me I had recently been craving Hominy and have a recipe to contribute!

 

I call it, More Maize Soup!

 

 

 

A little lesson first: What is Hominy?

 

Hominy consists of dried maize kernels  Maize ( /ˈmeɪz/ MAYZ; from Spanish: maíz after Taíno mahiz), known in many English-speaking countries as corn, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. (thanks Wiki!)

 

Source




Our family pronounce it Mahiz, Taino style.  Relevant, why?  Because this started as Tortilla Soup (an Isa recipe - highly recommended) - and since it called for corn tortillas (or tortilla chips), my brain - thanks to the persistence of my abuelos when I was a kid - translated it to Sopa de tortillas de maíz .  Which made me think of Maize, which made me think - this soup needs MORE Maize aka Hominy!

 

Yes my brain is a tangled web of random thoughts.

 

So this:

 

Isa's tortilla soup

 

Made up of these ingredients:

 

 

Quickly turned to this!

 

More Maize Soup!

 



And just like you can never have too much cowbell - I truly believe you can't have too much Maize in your bowl! 

 

Anyone note the third type of maize in the bowl? 

 

Yes!  That's right - good old yellow corn.

 

Heavenly Maize goodness.

 

You can have some too!

 

More Maize Soup

 

Ingredients:

 

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes

32 oz diced roasted tomatoes

24 oz vegetable broth

2 cups tortilla chips (plus extra for garnish or for scooping!!)

15 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed if from can

1 cup frozen corn

juice from 1 lime

15 oz hominy, canned

1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (plus extra for garnish)

 

Saute onions, pepper in oil over medium high heat until translucent.  Add spices and saute for another minute.  Add broth and tomatoes.  Break up tortilla chips and add to pot.  Cover and bring to boil.

When boiling, add beans, hominy, corn and cilantro.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

 

Add lime juice and serve!  Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips and cilantro.  Serve!



Now back to that cowbell.....;)

Forks or Tortilla Chips

My Forks over Knives Cookbook arrived on my Kindle a few days before the labor day holiday. As we traveled about I was able to peruse it while the kids snoozed in the van.

Ah, the simply joys. 

If you haven't already seen the documentary, I suggest you do!  The entire theme is simplicity!

As we have transitioned between summer and the school year, that is certainly all that has been on my mind.  Our world can get hectic, busy and overwhelming in a flash.  That usually leads to tired and stressed out kids and parents, and inevitably bad food choices in our haste.

As with every new school year, I'm determined to keep our schedules simple, and our food too!

Plus it's football season!!!!!  We are ALWAYS ready for some football in this town.  That in itself can present a whole new world of temptations and obstacles in Titletown, where the daily eats suddenly becomes all things meat, cheese, fried and beer - all in support of our Packers of course!!

So I was tickled to find a simple, healthy, game friendly food in my new cookbook featuring EDAMAME!  Just what I needed for my next Meatless Monday A-Z!
 

Don't you just love when everything false in place?

So first things first - what is Edamame? Here is what wiki said: Edamame is a green vegetable more commonly known as a soybean, harvested at the peak of ripening. 

Ahh...good simple.

 

 Some more simple ingredients. Excuse the fake lime.  It's handy in a pinch.

 

 

 Taken for a spin.

 

 

Then boiled edamame, cooked for 5 minutes get a whirl too.

 

Put it all together, and get your fork ready. 

 

Or some chips. 

 

I prefer tortilla chips as my eating utensil of choice.  Or tortillas...its a latin thing.

 

Because now you have Edamamemole! Edamamole? Edahuh? ....well you get it. A bowl full of yum is what we have!

 

Need a closer look?

 

One last end of summer deck party? Perfect.

Healthy tailgate potluck option?  Why yes thank you, this will do nicely.

 

This stuff is good.  It is as I-can't-stop-eating-this-stuff good as the full fat avocado version. 

 

The real test?  The hubster.  Would he like it?

 

Answer:  He loved it! Success!

 

This was the up and up version right out of the cookbook.  Shocking I know, from the master at straying from every recipe I've ever attempted!
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  Not-So-Fat Guacamole

Makes 2 cups

1 c shelled edamame
1 c broccoli florets (yes, that's right. this is hard core green eating)
zest of 1 lime and juice of 2 limes (or 2 tbsp here)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 small red onion, peeled and diced small
1/2 c finely chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (about 1 tsp)
Salt to taste
1 pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste.

Boil edamame in medium saucepan, add water and boil 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse until cool.
Stream broccoli for about 8 minutes.  Drain and rinse until cooled.
Add edamame and broccoli to food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.  Add water if needed to achieve creamy texture.
Add pureed mixture to bowl and add remaining ingredients. 
Mix well,  chill until ready to serve.
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Other options I have seen remove the broccoli and add 1/4 - 1/2 avocado if it just seems like too much of a shame not to include it.

For guiltier-free ....or guilt-freeER? ...snacking, I like you just the way you are edamamemole, edamole, ..uh...ed.

Forks over knives to heavy for you?  There's also a little documentary on the Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue which I actually got hubby to watch with me.  I think he was convinced, seeing as this big fire fighter, still seemed manly eating this green food.





But if you're ready for the full story, watch Forks over Knives. It could change the way you eat ...for the better.



Both are available on netflix!

So you tell me now. 

What healthy eats do you put out for the gang during football season?

WIAW

Though technically not correct.  Just reflecting on some of the yummy stuff  I've had recently.  Lots of new stuff for me!

• Ethiopian Millet, Mushroom Tibs and Sauteed Collards. From the amazing Isa.  Let me warn you that the mushrooms were SUPER spicy! Even for this spice loving chick.  There are a bajillion spices in this dish, but I absolutely loved it!  Made it again already and pulled the curry powder.  Just as yum with some heat, but that simple fix made it something I will definitely be making regularly - COMFORT food!!
• Larabar Sale!!!! New flavors for me including Lemon?!. And the cookie dough. Craaazy good.
• Sweet and Spicy Dates!  It's not too late to hop on board the Meatless Monday A-Z train! Go check out Heather's blog for more Date recipes!  Next week is edamame!
• Salad with hummus for dressing - not new, but always seems like an indulgence.
• Tuscan Kale Soup
• Artichoke!! with some leftover Ethiopian millet.  What an adventure to clean one of these lovelies!
• Green Tea Kombucha. I am still getting use to green tea.  Liked this one - clean, refreshing, and it makes me feel good about myself!
• Fro-yo!!  I may be the last person on the earth that had not had fro-yo. Well at least in my suburb.  A new Smart Cow store opened at the beginning of summer, the only fro-yo place around, and you would have thought there was money at the bottom of each cup.  Its has been PACKED.  And our girlies have been pleading with us to go.  I had a vanilla bean with sea salt caramel pretzel,  (aka fro-yo crack) and strawberries - oh my yum! and I am addicted!
• Falafel, another Isa recipe. It was my first try making homemade falafel.   They were great - but seriously I think I would eat anything chickpea based - addicting!
• Gala Apple Salad with Shittake Vinagrette, Feta and Almonds - oh joy!

Sweet and Salty Dates

It's Monday peeps.  What do I have on the brain? 

 

DATES and dates! 

 

Hubby and I have to do our annual health assessments for the insurance company, so we decided to make the best of it, take the day off, shuffle the kids off to day camp and and make it a date day too! 

 

Yay for us!

 

So after I skee-daddle, yeah that's right I said skee-daddle, it's a word, out of work this evening, I get a day off to get blood drawn, my weight taken --- um, no that's not the good part yet --- and have a date day with my man!

 

Other dates on the brain?  DATES!  Like the kind you eat! 

 

I was so excited when Heather over at Better with Veggies suggested Meatless Mondays from A-Z! While I have tried SO many new-to-me veggies, there are still some I have yet to experiment with.

 

 

For instance - the artichoke.  I have had these before actually, but usually the briny canned variety and usually in something prepared by someone else.  I decided that I should get my big girl pants on and tackle this ART-I-CHOKE.

 

Did you know they are mean little guys?  They poke.  It hurts!  It is a lot of work to prep them too!

 

phew!...and yes, my kitchen has the worst lighting
 

Satisfying?  Yes!  So yummy, this is the Ethiopian Millet Stuffed Artichoke I got from all my hard work! De-lish!

 

Ethiopian Millet Stuffed Artichoke

 

 

I have had NO luck finding Beets or Caper berries, neither of which I've had. 

 

So sad. 

 

Is there some kind of shortage of beets? Are they out of season?  I have no clue.  But I know I have seen them at my grocery store before, so I'll keep waiting.

 

This week the challenge was :  DATES!

 

Again, a new one for me.  I may have had these IN something, at sometime, but I couldn't really remember it.

 

My first thought when I saw them though was some cheesy, sweet and salty concoction.  The great google told me that some people like to eat these guys with bacon!  Interesting. 

 

I was looking for a veg friendlier version, and found a goat cheese stuffed version on pinterest.

 

Bingo!

 

A few adjustments and soon we had:

 

 

Sweet and Salty Dates

 

Ingredients

4 oz tofutti better than cream cheese
3 tbsp shelled, salted pistachios
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Freshly ground pepper
8 plump, soft dried dates, pitted and halved lengthwise

Sea salt

 

 

 

 

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine cheese, 2 tablespoons pistachios, and 1 tablespoon chives.  Season with pepper.
2. Arrange dates, cut side up, on a platter. Scoop and stuff dates with cream cheesy goodness
3. Garnish dates with remaining pistachios and sea salt

 

Need a quick app for guests?  Look how sophisticated these little guys can be!

 

 

 

Take a bite and it's creamy sweet and salty goodness....oh my yum.

 

 

As my obligatory taste testing was going on, I had another epiphany.

 

Date Sandwich Spread!

 

Chop up the dates, add some more cheese, and sea salt right to the bowl, combine and you have a perfect sandwich spread that would love to meet up with some rye bread for some tea sandwiches. 

 

Hmm, guess I'm not over the tea time treats the kids and I mustered up for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, but that's a tale for another post ;)

Earl grey tea, cucumber dill sandwiches, and figgy spread