Tamale Pie , Vegan Veggilicious

This pictures reminds me so much of the
small rural Minnesota town where I
grew up. No horse carriages or sleighs
in the 1940's, but the rest seems so
familiar I just had to show it.

With Christmas sneaking up on us, most moms I know have swung into overdrive. Even all the grandmas I know, though our overdrive should really be called mini drive because that's how we get around--a mini bit at a time. Even so, nightly dinners that are fast and easy are the name of the game from now until next year because stopping at the nearest fast food chain or ordering up a pizza doesn't work for most vegans. Toward that end, I've been going through my recipe box of family favorites to find those easy hot dishes I could make vegan without giving up taste.

My dresses are shorter and my
hair is gray. Otherwise, glasses and
all, this could be me.

By now you know that I only post recipes that receive my seal of approval and this one does. It's fast, bakes in the oven so there's no standing over a hot stove, and prep work is minimal. By now you also know how much I hate being in the kitchen and always have, so my recipes are generally fast and dirty, taking up almost none of my precious time. After all, there are quilts to finish, knitted scarves to get done, aprons and hot pads that need their bias bindings sewn on, and then there's all that wrapping and mailing looking me in the face.

Phew, just writing it all down makes me tired. I'm going to take a nap.

Back again with the rest of the story. Yesterday I grabbed my decrepit 40 year old recipe box and spent some figuring out which favorite casseroles could be easily veganized. My eyes stopped at Tamale Pie and since the day was chilly, I figured it would be belly warmer. Now I don't always come up with a re-worked recipe winner the first go-around, but this time it worked. I hope it works for you too. Let me know what you think.

TAMALE PIE

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 cups of corn, fresh or frozen
1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 roasted red pepper, diced (I used jarred)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced, ribs and seeds removed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can refried beans
1 cup water or vegetable stock
1 cup salsa, (I'm addicted to La Victoria)
1 small can sliced black olives
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup vegan cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Add more water or vegetable broth if the mixture is too thick to spread easily.

Put the vegetable oil in a large fry pan.
Add the onion, bell pepper, roasted red pepper and all the spices.

Cook on medium heat until the fresh vegetables are limp. Then add both cans of beans along with the corn, salsa, olives, garlic, stock, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook till all the ingredients are blended. I used my potato masher to make sure everything jammed together quickly. I'm not against helping things along so I can get out of the kitchen quickly. When everything looks homogeneous, turn off the heat, cover the pan and ignore it for now.

Now it's time to make the substitute tamale dough.

Into a bowl put:

1 cup corn meal, (I always use Albers as I think it has the best taste)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Set aside for now.

Into another bowl put:


1 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened soy)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Mix together and set aside.

Use your coffee bean grinder to turn 1 Tbs. flaxseed into powder. Move the ground seeds to a bowl and add 1 Tbs. water. Stir together and then set the mixture aside for 5 minutes. This is one of the egg substitutes that works quite well. If you don't have flaxseed, you can substitute 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, but the cornmeal mixture will taste a little sweet.

Pour the flaxseed mixture into the bowl of liquids and mix them together. Now add the dry ingredients in 2 increments. Mix by hand. You will have some lumps. That is normal. Overmixing will make a tough cornbread that even the dog can't chew.

Grease a medium sized casserole dish and pour about half of the cornmeal mixture on the bottom. Spread out thinly. Top that with the bean/vegetable mixture and pat down smoothly.

Spread the vegan cheddar cheese over the top and then pour the remaining cornmeal mixture over that.

Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes at 350degrees or until the top is a light brown. Let stand a few minutes before cutting into serving pieces.

Serves 4-6 hearty appetites.

While this recipe sounds complicated, it's really quite easy. You will use a lot of bowls but the dishwasher can take care of washing and drying them. Believe me when I say this recipe is fast, for then it must be so. You know how much I hate being in the......well, you know.



Another idea:

If you'd prefer to make this recipe even easier, use a small bag of Frito's as a substitute tamale dough. Lay the bag on the counter and give it a good crush, breaking up the Frito's at least by half. Now pour half of the bag on the bottom of the pan and the rest of the bag atop the whole thing before baking it. I mention SMALL bag as compared to a personal size bag. Personal size simply does not have enough chips to do the job.

You're probably laughing because you think I'm joking!

Beans, Greens, & Faux Chorizo--Yumm

When you live at the southwestern end of the  United States, just a hop, skip, and a jump from all the wonderful flavors of Mexico, your senses become addicted to things like hot sauce, jalapenos, adobo, masa, chorizo, and a whole bunch of other foods I'd never heard of during my Midwest childhood. But in San Diego, Mexican food is a given and it seems there is either a fast food place or good old Mexican restaurant around every corner. What's more, they are always filled with people waiting in line to get their "fix" of tongue-numbing food.

I have my own favorite hang-outs. They are places where the food is tantalizingly hot but not to the point where my mouth burns or my lips hurt. My son frequents the places that set the taste buds on fire. He and his dad used to have contests to see who could eat the hottest Mexican food. It was usually a draw, though in all, my son could eat the hottest of the hot and live to tell about it.

As for me, a transplanted Minnesotan who grew up on farm food, I've gotten to the point where I have to have my Mexican "fix" at least weekly--if not more often. What can I say? I love those flavors. And while my mom cooked with a lot of spices, they weren't the ones that make Mexican food smell and taste like I've been transported to some far away, exotic land.

Over my more than fifty years of marriage, I collected recipe after recipe for Mexican food, usually from friends who were Hispanic or knew someone who was. It was from them that I learned how to make things taste the way they should. In this past year, being vegan by doctor's orders, I've tried to think up ways to retain the flavors I love while doing away with meat and dairy. It's been a real challenge.

A few things made the transition easier: I never met a bean I didn't like; I adore all grains; every vegetable in the garden is my favorite;  fresh fruits are as good as dessert; and chilies used in moderation are lip-smacking good.

I'll admit that I had to learn how to fix tofu so that I liked eating it and soy milk took some getting used to. Other than that, things in the kitchen have moved along at a good pace and I've enjoyed the challenge of creating vegan dishes that suit my personal taste buds. Experimenting in the kitchen has turned out to be fun--especially for one who hates to cook. The thing is, I've always enjoyed a good challenge. I think today's recipe is a gold medal contender. Give it a try and tell me what you think. I bet it sets your feet a'dancin...

BEANS, GREENS, AND CHORIZO

THE BEANS:

1 can of vegetarian refried beans (I'm a lazy cook)

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 white onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup vegetable broth

In a small skillet, brown the onion until it is translucent. Add the garlic and vegetable broth. Stir one can of refried beans slowly into the mixture and mash with a fork till the ingredients are well-mixed and the beans are a bit on the juicy side, but not soupy.

THE GREENS:

1 bunch of Swiss chard or kale or any other preferred green

1/2 of a white onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the greens and chop into small pieces. Put them in a large skillet, along with the rest of the ingredients and stir fry everything until the greens are well wilted and the onions are soft. Add a dash of Tabasco sauce if desired.

THE CHORIZO:

Place the following ingredients into a quart bowl:

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 cup of water

1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. powdered garlic

1 1/4 tsp. powdered onion

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

3 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 shakes of Tabasco or any favorite hot sauce

Mix everything together and add 1 cup of textured vegetable protein, TVP, to the bowl. TVP is available at your farmer's market. Stir until the TVP is well settled into the liquid. Ignore it for 30-40 minutes so all the spices have time to do their job. 

The faux chorizo mix will still be a bit saucy, but don't drain off the liquid. Put the mixture into a skillet lined with 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil and cook on medium heat until the liquid reduces. Stir often to keep the TVP from burning. 

THE MEAL:

I served this dinner in components. A big spoonful of refried beans alongside another big spoonful of the chorizo, which was alongside a healthy spoonful of spicy greens. I served hot, fried corn tortillas on the side to be used as utensils for scooping up the food. The two others who ate with me want the recipes. I'd say the meal was a success.

Serves 2-3, depending on how hungry everyone is.

Just look at all the good food
vegans get to eat.

The chorizo recipe has been adapted from The Happy Herbivore cookbook and altered  to suit my personal taste.

Dicots and Monocots

Dicots and Monocots came to my attention when I was researching the weeds in my yard. Then the terms kept popping up, like when you want to buy a new car and you begin to see that car everywhere. Today I'm cooking from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen  by Donna Klein and the recipe calls for sweet potatoes. I went to google and asked the difference between a yam and a sweet potato and learned that they are not related. Not even cousins. Follow the link above and you can read more, but here is the dicot, monocot explanation I found there:

 "Although yams and sweet potatoes are both angiosperms (flowering plants), they are not related botanically. Yams are a monocot (a plant having one embryonic seed leaf) and from the Dioscoreaceae or Yam family. Sweet Potatoes, often called ‘yams’, are a dicot (a plant having two embryonic seed leaves) and are from the Convolvulacea or morning glory family."

There you have it. If you study further you will learn that the way a dicot reproduces is different than the way a monocot reproduces. Intrigued? I recommend A Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraud by Karl Sabbagh and The Secret Life Of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.

On to dinner. Beautiful, flavorful, delicious.

Caribbean-Style Baked Sweet Potatoes

with Chili Black Beans

4 servings

4 (8 ounce) sweet potatoes - I had to use yams - that's all my market offered

3/4 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans

3/4 cup vegetarian refried pinto beans

3/4 cup salsa or picante sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper

Pierce each potato with a fork and place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake until tender (45-60 minutes)

In a small saucepan, combine the black beans, refried beans, salsa, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Stir in the scallions and remove from heat. Cover and keep warm.

To serve: slit the tops of the sweet potatoes, making an X, carefully press to "burst" the baked goodness through the top.  Top with bean mixture, garnish with cilantro.

A green salad completes the meal.