Mexic-esque Caramelized Corn and Black Beans

In the words of my new favorite video-blogger over at My Drunk Kitchen (It's decidedly PG-13, language wise, and obviously includes drinking. Warning over), I'm pretty much in a constant state of desiring Mexican food.  I'm obligated to tell you that the dish I'm presenting to you isn't really like anything I've eaten while in Mexico.  It's Mexic-esque, or Mexic-ish.  Mexinspired.  It's full of black beans and onions and chiles and onions.  Now, it's also sweet corn season here in the midwest, so we added some Indiana sweet corn to the mix, and the result was delish.

For this dish, we caramelize both the onions and the sweet corn to get some deep sweetness to counteract the starchy beans and the spicy chiles.  This can be served with a sprinkle of cheese over the top or some sour cream or omit both and just slather with some hot sauce (Cholula is my favorite).  Either way, serve it with some tortillas or chips and enjoy!

And now, on with the recipe!

TVP Tacos

Obviously, I've been a very bad blogger.  But, the good news is, I'm really going to try and get back on the blog-wagon.  The other good news is that I really love some of the recipes I've stored up to share with you all and the one pictured above has recently become a real favorite chez moi.  It's taco filling (or Nachos or enchilada filling) made from a vegetarian meat-substitute called TVP.

About a year ago, I was gifted with a bag of Bob's Red Mill Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP).  It was from a lovely fellow Bloomingtonian who had purchased it on a whim and never knew what to do with it.  I have to admit that it sat in my cupboard for about 9 months without being touched.  Textured Vegetable Protein?  Is there any name that sounds less appetizing?  Finally, I was cleaning out my food storage and (with the Eye of the Tiger playing in the background), I resolved to make use of this alien ingredient.

And what did we make?  TVP tacos!  These tacos are spicy and delicious and way more calorie-conscious than your average meatatarian taco.  These come together in a snap once the chopping is all finished and make a great weeknight meal.  Also, they reheat well as leftovers.

The recipe above is ground-meat free but you could do a TVP/meat combo to make it a bit richer, or you can make it vegan by omitting the cheese.  Fantastic!  Let's get down to it.

Black Bean Pancakes

I am a huge fan of pretty much anything with black beans. We're talking Huge. Fan. So, I'm claiming that as my excuse for why the picture on this post is real blurry. It's because I was just way too excited to adequately photograph my plate. Lame, but totally true.

This recipe is an unexpected powerhouse (fast) dinner, that was introduced to me by the awesome author at More Cheese, More Chocolate. I'm a huge fan of her work and decided to give this recipe a spin. She got the inspiration from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (the old edition). One word: Awesome.

Recipe:
2 c. canned beans (I used all black beans.)
1 c. milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. melted butter or olive oil (both work, but the pancakes with butter are a bit more prone to burning on the stove)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. chili powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
1) Roughly mash up the beans with the back of a fork until about half of them are crushed up.
2) Add milk, egg and butter/oil and stir up.
3) Add flour, chili powder (if using), salt and pepper. Stir to combine, but don't overstir it.
4) Melt a bit of flour in a skillet, and cook them up like pancakes. They take about 3 minutes a side, depending on how thick the batter is, and how hot your skillet is.
5) Keep warm on a pan in a 150 degree oven until all pancakes are cooked.
6) Serve with salsa, corn chips, corn on the cob (all pictured above), sour cream, guacamole, etc. Basically, whatever you want.

I served these to a (very) skeptical audience, and they were totally won over. I really think that you will be too.

Until our next dinner,
ceh.