Tag Archive: Corn

Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Cornbread

Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Cornbread

Happy week after Thanksgiving! I don’t have an online sale or coupon code to share this Cyber Monday but I do have a darn good cornbread recipe.

Stonyfield asked their Clean Plate Club to make a side better with yogurt. As a vegetarian, vegetables usually end up in whatever main dish I’m eating, so especially on Thanksgiving my favorite side is gluten-free cornbread and stuffing. 

My favorite cornbread falls in between savory and sweet. The sugar and pineapple help intensify the flavors of the cornmeal and spices. It’s much lighter than most cornbread recipes because of the yogurt so feel free to add a warm square of butter on top. 

Sweet & Spicy Pineapple Cornbread

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 servings):

  • 1 cup all-purpose regular or gluten-free flour
  • 1 cup ground corn meal
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup Stonyfield whole milk plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and seasonings until completely mixed.
  3. Add in the eggs, yogurt, milk, and oil and stir until it makes an even batter.
  4. Add in the crushed pineapple and mix it in.
  5. Grease an 8×8 pan and pour in the batter.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center has set and the edges start to brown.
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing. 

Easy Corn Esquites + A Giveaway

Easy Corn Esquites

It’s almost Labor Day, which means Summer’s almost over, which is pretty darn depressing.

Luckily, I got to try the Just Mayo line from Hampton Creek for one last taste of Summer and a lift in spirit.

For my whole life I didn’t think I liked mayo up until a couple of years ago when I actually tried it and–surprise, surprise–got hooked on the savory spread. I loved all of the Hampton Creek flavors, but the sriracha was by far my favorite even though I don’t like regular sriracha. It’s just the right amount of spice and cooling creaminess.

The garlic came in a close second when I made a killer potato salad for a camping trip with it that got eaten up almost immediately. Overall I love that these get a ton of flavor from a few simple ingredients. 

I had an amazing corn salad in the city with chipotle mayo, parmesan, and smoky spices. I knew I wanted to try it out myself because it highlighted the flavors of the ingredients with true simplicity. I’m sure you’ll eat more corn and mayo over Labor Day weekend but be sure to sneak this recipe in, too. 

Easy Corn Esquites

You can really prepare the corn for this anyway you want(you can even use frozen–just don’t admit to it). I roasted it since that’s easiest to do in a small NYC apartment but grilling would add a great smoky flavor.

Easy Corn Esquites

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

  • 2 corn cobs, washed and cleaned 
  • 2 Tablespoons oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3 Tablespoons parmesan
  • 2 Tablespoons spicy mayo
  • 2 lime wedges for garnish

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Lightly grease the corn with the oil.
  3. Roast for 30 minutes until the corn turns golden.
  4. After the corn’s cooled slightly, separate it from the cob with a sharp knife.
  5. In a large bowl mix together the corn, salt, lime juice, and chili powder.
  6. Scoop evenly into two small bowls. Sprinkle the parmesan and a dollop of mayo on top. Serve with a lime wedge at room temperature or slightly warmer.

Hampton Creek Mayo

Giveaway!

Want to try some of every flavor? Tell me what mayo-centric recipe you would make with it. Including what flavor/recipe you would use is optional but encouraged. I’ll pick a winner at random next Tuesday, the 2nd, right after Labor Day. Good luck! 

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar

My favorite recipes all have two things in common: They’re easy and they’re delicious. This one’s both.

This dip’s about as easy as it comes. There’s no cooking or processing. Just mix all the ingredients and voila! (Or whatever the Mexican equivalent of voila is.)

Make sure to soak the onions before adding them to the dip. Soaking them takes away the sharp bite that raw onions have so they don’t overpower the rest of the ingredients. You can add some diced avocado in as well for an added touch.

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Serves about 6 people):

  • 1/2 large red or white onion
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 1/2 cup salsa
  • 3/4 cup corn kernels
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

  1. Dice the onion with a sharp knife.
  2. Soak the diced onion in cold water for 5 minutes to remove the raw onion bite.
  3. While the onion’s soaking, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
  4. Strain the water from the onion and add it to the mixture.
  5. Mix well. Serve at room temperature.

Easy Black Bean Salad

easy-black-bean-salad

I’m usually too tired to want to cook at night; during the Summer I have the lovely excuse of not wanting to turn on a stove or a grill because it’s already too hot. That’s why I love bean salad recipes: You never have to cook them and they’re easy to throw together.

It’s really easy to make a big pot of rice and a bunch of bean salad and keep it for yourself to eat throughout the week. Most of the ingredients I used were canned, which is also a plus since I almost always keep them on hand. I’m not a big cilantro fan so I leave strong herbs like that out usually, but you could just as easily add them in. This would be best with a big plop of firecracker guacamole on top.

easy-black-bean-salad-tomato

I left the onions out because I’m not a fan of the strong flavor. One way to get rid of the intense bitterness is to soak it in cold water for 5 minutes before dicing it.

Easy Black Bean Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

  • 1 1/4 cups black beans
  • 1/2 cup corn
  • 1/3 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup sliced olives
  • 1/2 red onion, diced(optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro(optional)

easy-black-bean-salad-overhead

Method:

  1. Take all of the ingredients and toss together until the salad is evenly mixed.
  2. Serve with rice, tortillas, or over a bed of greens.

easy-black-bean-salad-2

So simple and delicious. It feels like eating at chipotle only without the drive. What could be better than that?