I came up with this after a vigorous late afternoon of pulling ivy out of our neglected flower bed. We were both hungry, so I needed something quick and hearty. This was one of those peruse the pantry, peruse the refigerator, pull stuff randomly out of both, throw in pot and cook until tasty recipes. It cooked in just under ten minutes, and we gobbled up every last scrap.
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
10 or so 'tamed' jalepeno slices, chopped (or canned diced green chiles)
1 Tofurky sausage, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 Tbsp tomato paste and/or salsa
1/3 cup water
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 shakes liquid smoke
3 big handfuls baby spinach or 1/2 pkg frozen greens
More salsa or pickle relish for garnish
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, jalepeno slices and diced Tofurkey and cook for 5 minutes, or until things are starting to brown and stick to the pan a little. Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and stir for another minute. Add the tomato paste, water, beans and liquid smoke and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add the spinach or frozen greens and cook until wilted/thawed. Serve over grilled polenta and topped with more salsa or sweet pickle relish (Yes, I like sweet pickle relish on beans... it's a weird childhood thing).
Microwave Polenta
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I took this from Fat Free Vegan's blog. What a miracle! So easy, and so convenient to use once it's cooked up. I've been throwing slices of polenta in everything this week.
2 cups water
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. yellow cornmeal or boxed dry polenta
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
black pepper to taste
Combine cornmeal, salt and water in a microwaveable bowl. Cook for 6 minutes. Stir. Cook for another 4 minutes. Stir again, adding the olive oil (I forgot to add the oil, and it came out just fine). Spray a smallish dish with olive oil and pour/ladle the cornmeal goop into it. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you will have delicious, homemade polenta!
You can then slice it about 1/4 inch thick, spray the slices with olive oil, and grill it, brown it in a pan, bake it on a cookie sheet, or microwave it topped with something tasty (like pesto! or tomato-olive sauce! or leftover soup!).
