Hopping John, Fried Okra & Corn on the Cob

Hoppin' John
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1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 smallish tomato, chopped (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot until shimmering. Add the quinoa and stir for a minute or two, or until the quinoa starts to pop. Add the water, salsa and Cajun seasoning and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is translucent. Add the black-eyed peas and tomato and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.


Oven-Fried Okra
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15-20 okra, rinsed
2 tsp soy milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
dash each salt and pepper
olive oil spray

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Cut the okra into bite-size chunks. Toss with cornmeal. Stir in the soy milk until sticky and toss with more cornmeal. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and spray generously with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.


Easy Corn on the Cob
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2 ears of corn, shucked
water

Clean the silk off the ears and break eahc one in half. Place in a large soup pot along with a few inches of water (enough to come up halfway up the corn cobs). Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the corn has darkened to a golden color and steam is pouring out from under the lid. Remove corn from water and set on a plate to drain.

Easy Enchilada Bake

2-3 handfuls corn tortilla chips
1/2 jar enchilada sauce (or salsa)
5-10 jalepeno slices, torn into bits (optional)
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (optional)
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 onion, diced (about 2/3 cup diced)
1 can sliced black olives (optional)
cheese for sprinkling or cheez sauce

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the chips in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce, making sure all chips get covered. Top that with jalepno bits. Top that with black beans, followed by corn. Top that with black olives and onion. Finally, spread on a bunch of cheese (or cheez sauce, ala Bryanna Clark Grogan). Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melty.

Top with chopped tomatoes, avocadoes, lettuce and/or sour cream.

Super White Russian

2/3 cup plain rice milk
1 shot Kahlua
1/2 shot amaretto
vodka as desired

Enjoy creamy alcoholic goodness!

Green Bean Pesto Pasta

This is also really good with broccoli, if you have any. The little furled leaves soak up all that pesto-y goodness.

4-5 handfuls green beans, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp pesto (I used 4 pesto cubes)
2 heirloom tomatoes, peeled and diced
8 oz pasta
olive oil
water

Cut the green beans into bite sized pieces and steam until no longer crunchy. Drain.

Bring a whole lotta water to a boil. When it's boiling, add 1 tsp olive oil and the pasta. Stir to keep from sticking. Cook until pasta is no longer crunchy.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and stir until golden. Add the green beans and pesto and stir until heated. Turn the heat off and stir in the tomatoes.

When pasta is done, drain and mix with 1 tsp more olive oil. Top with green bean mixture and serve!

Ingredient Notes: I used homemade pesto that I'd frozen in an ice cube tray, but you could just as easily use store-bought pesto. For the pasta, I gave this gluten-free lentil-flour pasta I found at New City Market a whirl. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste, but the texture is excellent, and there's 13 grams of protein for every 2 ounces (which is fan-freaking-phenomenal).

Homemade Cheese-Free Pesto

It's time for our basil plants to meet their Maker, so we whipped up a large batch of this over the weekend. You kind of have to eyeball the proportions here and taste it until it feels right. I know that's maddening, but I'm not sure there's any other way to make this recipe. Trust your inner pesto sense!

basil leaves, washed (2-3 bunches)
garlic cloves (3-4)
salt (a moderate sprinkling)
pine nuts (a large handful)
nutritional yeast (a tablespoon or two)
white miso (a few heaping spoonfuls)

Chop up the basil leaves as finely as you can. Set aside. Put the garlic, pine nuts and salt in a mortar and pestle and bash until it forms a thick gritty paste. Add the basil leaves and bash some more. Add the nutritional yeast and miso and stir. If you like, you can use a hand blender to even out the texture and make it less clumpy. You may also add olive oil to taste, but I usually think it's perfect as is.

Use immediately or spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze into little cute pesto cubes, then seal in a Ziploc bag until needed.

Hawaiian Pizza & Pineapple Rum Punch

This was good, but not as fabulous as the BBQ Chik'n pizza. Next time, I think I'll use barbecue sauce as the base. Mmmm. Use the juice from your pineapple to whip up a glass of pineapple rum punch (recipe follows).

2 frozen pizza crusts
2 heaping tablespoons marinara (or BBQ) sauce
1 can crushed pineapple, well drained
7-8 slices MorningStar bacon, ripped into pieces
1 package Vegan Gourmet mozzarella, shredded

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Smear the crusts with a thin layer of sauce. Top with the pineapple, followed by a layer of 'bacon' pieces. Sprinkle the shredded 'cheese' on top of that.

The trick to getting this 'cheese' to melt is to turn up your oven really hot (like 450 degrees) and sort of squish the cheese down onto the pizza. Then put cookie sheets under your pizza so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the 'cheese' is melted.

Pineapple Rum Punch

pineapple juice from a can of crushed pineapple
1 shot dark rum
ice cubes

Combine and sip to cool off your mouth while burning it on molten 'cheese'.

Zucchini Patties w/ Tomato-Corn Relish

The perfect way to use up zucchini, tomatoes and corn -- all of which are in great abundance at our farmer's market lately. If you have someone else help chop, this comes together in no time. The sweet cool crunchiness of the corn contrasts beautifully with the crispy savory patties.

2 cups grated zucchini
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup masa harina OR cornmeal
4 Tbsp hummus
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
canola oil for frying

2 ears sweet corn, kernels cut off
2 small or 1 large heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 lime, juiced
sprinkle of salt

Mix the grated zucchini, minced onion, masa harina, hummus, chile powder, cumin and cayenne in a bowl. Mix with a spoon or your hands until the mixture can be easily formed into patties. (You may need to add more masa harina or hummus, depending on how moist your zucchini is.)

Heat a layer of oil over medium heat in the bottom of a cast iron pot. Take 1/4 cup of the zucchini mixture, flatten into a patty and slide into the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, mix the corn kernels and diced tomato in a large bowl. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

Serve the patties hot, topped with the tomato-corn mixture.