This was excellent! It's obviously not the healthiest or the most vegetable-rich of vegetable side dishes, but it is very tasty.

Corn & Gruyère Soufflé

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 150g gruyère, grated
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cobs
• 5 large egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Grease a soufflé dish and dust it with the Parmesan.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
5. Add the salt, pepper, and flour and cook until no longer raw (~3 minutes).
6. Add the milk and cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and thick.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
8. Beat the egg yolks until creamy (1-2 minutes) and stir them into the sauce.
9. Mix in the corn.
10. In a clean dry bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until stiff.
11. Stir ~1/3 of the egg whites into the sauce.
12. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain.
13. Carefully pour or scoop soufflé mixture into the prepared dish.
14. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 40-50 minutes. (Soufflé should be slightly jiggly, but not liquid in the centre.)
15. Serve immediately.

Lobster tails went on sale last week. $5 each! So, of course, I picked up a few. Then it was just a matter of figuring out what to do with them. I was already leaning toward making this clambake. And then I ended up with an accidental surplus of potatoes and corn. And I already had some extra fennel left over that needed to be used up. So this recipe was pretty much perfect to use up those ingredients.

To do it properly, I really should've gotten live mussels and clams and some jumbo shrimp to throw in the pot. But I was trying to do this as a relatively affordable meal, so instead of getting live shellfish, I got some frozen, pre-cooked, in-shell clams, plus a bag of frozen mixed seafood that included squid, mussel meat, and a few teeny, tiny shrimp. Obviously, this wasn't as nice as doing it properly, but it was still very good. Especially the lobster!

Clambake

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel, chopped and fronds reserved
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
• 1/2 tsp. Old Bay (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 1/2 c. white wine
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 450g small potatoes, quartered
• 450g kielbasa, sliced
• 1-2 lobsters (or 4 small lobster tails)
• 2 ears of corn, husked and quartered
• 24 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 24 clams, scrubbed
• 12 large shrimp (preferably in-shell)
• lemon wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, fennel, and garlic and cook until softened (5-8 minutes).
3. Add the thyme, Old Bay (if using), and pepper and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half.
5. Add the chicken stock.
6. Add the potatoes, then layer the kielbasa on top.
7. Place the lobsters/lobster tails on top of everything, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Add the corn, mussels, clams, and shrimp.
9. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
10. Scoop out the solids and place in a serving dish.
11. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings as desired.
12. Pour broth into the serving dish with everything else.
13. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve with lemon wedges.

A nice quick breakfast scramble that uses up a bunch of veggies. I've adjusted the proportion to use integer vegetables rather than fractional ones.

Confetti Scramble

From The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped into 1cm pieces
• ¼ C fresh or frozen corn kernels
• ½ C chopped mushrooms
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 8 large eggs
• ¼ C milk
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper, ground
• parsley and black olives for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add bell pepper, corn, mushrooms, and green onions and cook until tender, 6-7 minutes.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, thyme, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour into skillet and let set for 20 seconds.
5. Stir until fluffy and almost dry, 3-4 minutes.
6. Top with parsley and olives and serve.

This makes a large batch. I tried to do a half batch and still had to remove some of the broth partway through cooking to make room in my largest pot for all of the other ingredients!

The original recipe did not specify a quantity of liquid. It just said to "fill a large pot" with water. But it did call for 6 Tbsp. of Old Bay seasoning. And I thought that sounded like about enough for 6L of water. So I decided to start with 3L or water and 3 Tbsp. of Old Bay. Unfortunately, it turns out that, by the time I'd put all the other ingredients in, there was only enough room in the pot for 2L of stock, not three.

I also found the finished dish a little light on corn. Next time I think I'd double the corn so that everyone can get a hefty portion.

The broth that this made was excellent. But I did feel like it needed a little more... something. So I decided to add just a bit of creole seasoning to the pot as well. Not a huge amount, but just enough to give it a bit of a boost.

I love the concept of this dinner. The "chuck a bunch of things in a pot with some water and seasonings" approach is quite fun. I do, however, find it a bit messy and tedious to eat. I think I would rather have it as a soup than trying to mop up my fingers after eating broth-covered cobs of corn and trying to shell saucy shrimp at the table. It's one of those things that's a neat idea, but that I find I don't actually enjoy the execution of.

Cajun Shrimp Boil

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2L water
• 2 Tbsp. Old Bay
• 1/2 Tbsp. creole seasoning (optional)
• 500g new potatoes
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2-4 ears of corn, husked and quartered crosswise
• 350g smoked sausage, cut into discs
• 700g shrimp, unpeeled

Directions

1. Combine the water, Old Bay, creole seasoning (if using), potatoes, onion, garlic, and lemon and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add the corn and smoked sausage and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. If using fresh shrimp, add them, remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through. If using frozen shrimp, add them and simmer until shrimp are cooked through (5-8 minutes).

Grilled Chicken and Zucchini

So... I messed this one up a little bit. It was supposed to be grilled chicken and corn. And I even got the corn for it. But then I took a little too long getting to it and the corn had gone off by the time I was making this. Okay, that sucks. But, no worries, I'll just ask TF to run out and get some more. Except apparently no, no I won't. Because she hit up just about every grocery store in town and they were all out of corn. After making five unsuccessful attempts to purchase corn, I told her to just get me any grillable vegetable. So, in the end, we ended up having grilled zucchini, not corn with our chicken. It was still pretty good. But definitely not nearly as good as the corn would have been.

Also, I only belatedly realized that I completely forgot to add the lime zest and thyme after everything was cooked. Whoops!

Grilled Chicken and Zucchini (or Corn)

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds¹, ground
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 4-6 zucchini, halved lengthwise or ears of corn, husked
• 680g skinless boneless chicken breast
• 1 Tbsp. lime zest
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme

Directions

1. Set up a grill for direct heat cooking and allow to preheat.
2. Combine the paprika and cumin and stir to combine.
3. Mix in the lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
4. Brush the vegetables all over with the paprika mixture.
5. Toss the chicken with the remaining paprika mixture.
6. Add the vegetables to the grill and allow to partially cook (5-10) minutes.
7. Add the chicken and grill until cooked through (3-5 minutes per side).
8. Remove from heat and sprinkle everything with lime zest and thyme.

---

¹ The recipe called for cumin. And that's what I used this time. But I think it might actually be quite good with dhania-jeera masala either instead or as well. I think I'd be tempted to try using 1/2 Tbsp. of masala + 1/2 Tbsp. of ground cumin next time. ^Back

We had some lovely home-smoked trout left over from Reiver's birthday and he suggested that it might go well in a soup.

I've made fish chowder plenty of times before, but never with smoked fish. So I went looking for something that was tailored to smoked fish specifically. I found this one on the Food & Wine website. I will admit that I tweaked it slightly, but only slightly. I omitted the water called for. Used a regular commercial chicken broth (rather than low-sodium), but then omitted the salt. Halved the thyme. And, after tasting it at the end of cooking, decided to add in some corn and grated carrot as it seemed like it needed some more veg to balance it out and I usually put those in my chowders anyway.

Photo goes here.

Smoked Trout Chowder

Slightly adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 3-6 green onions, greens and whites kept separate and chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 450g potatoes, cut into 1cm dice
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• 2 fillets smoked trout, skin removed and flesh flaked

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
2. Add the celery, white parts of the green onions, and garlic and cook until softened (5-10 minutes).
3. Add the potatoes, wine, chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper.
4. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and cook until potatoes are just tender (~15 minutes).
5. Stir in the corn and carrots.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the cream.
7. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the trout.
8. Serve with crusty bread.

Reiver picked up some lovely fresh corn the other day. I didn't quite get to it on Friday, so I figured I should make sure to add it to my dinner plans for Saturday so that we could enjoy it while it was still at its best.

The recipe I picked called for grilling the corn. And we did try doing one cob in the air fryer to get some of that roastiness on it. But I have to say, I think I liked the microwave steamed corn even better! And the maple butter went great with both.

Corn with Maple Butter

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
• ~1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• pinch of ground cayenne and/or smoked paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 ears of corn, unshucked

Directions

1. Combine the butter, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, cayenne/paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Set aside.
2. Trim the silk end off the corn. Wet the ears of corn all over.
3. Microwave on high until done (3 1/2 minutes for one ear, probably ~5 if doing all four at once).
4. Trim the wide end off of the corn cobs and squeeze the narrow/silk end to push the corn out of its husk like a tube of toothpaste.
5. Slather the corn with the compound butter and enjoy.

This made for a phenomenal brunch! The flavours were great and it looked very nice too. The only slightly hiccough (and I do mean slight) was that, in order to get the egg whites to fully set, I had to cook it until the yolks were also hard. They were still delicious. It just wasn't the set white, runny yolk result that I'd been hoping for. But, given how this one went, I think you'd need to cook the whites and yolks separately for that. That said, it was good enough like this that I probably wouldn't be inclined to bother most of the time. And, I will admit: having the yolks fully set did make it easier to serve.

I've given ranges for a lot of the ingredients here because I do feel that you have a fair bit of flexibility. Our green onions were large, so I only ended up using three. But with smaller ones, I think that the full six called for in the recipe would have been more appropriate. The recipe also called for just over 100g of each kind of cheese. I used 100 and felt that was very generous. I think that I probably could've gotten away with half that amount and still been quite happy. That said, maximum cheese was delicious! And I followed a similar logic with the asparagus, bacon, and garlic. For the eggs, the original recipe actually called for 4-6. But I had a very large pie plate and, even with six eggs, it still looked a bit sparse, so I tossed in an extra two and that seemed just about right.

Asparagus, Corn, and Egg Tart

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 recipe cornmeal shortcrust pastry
• 100-150g asparagus, trimmed
• 100-150g pancetta or bacon, chopped
• 3-6 green onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. frozen corn kernels
• 50-100g mozzarella cheese, grated
• 50-100g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6-8 large eggs
• 1/2 c. sunflower or similar sprouts (optional)

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23cm (9") deep-dish pie plate or 25cm (10") tart tin. Chill for 20-30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
3. Line the pie shell with baking paper, fill with pie weights, and blind bake for 12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, blanch the asparagus for 1-2 minutes and then drain and shock in cold water.
5. Cook the pancetta/bacon over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the green onion and garlic and cook until softened (5 minutes + 3-5 minutes).
6. Add the corn and cook for another minute or so.
7. Remove the paper and pie weights from the pastry shell and spread the bacon mixture in an even layer in the bottom of the pie shell.
8. Place the asparagus on top and sprinkle with the cheese.
9. Drizzle with the half-and-half and season to taste with pepper.
10. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.
11. Crack the eggs into the tart, doing your best to space them evenly. If it's important to you to have set whites and runny yolks, then separate the yolks from the whites and pour the whites on first. Set the yolks aside for now.
12. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
13. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes.
14. If you reserved the yolks, add them now, doing your best to space them evenly atop the tart.
15. Return to oven, turn off heat, and allow to sit in hot oven for 10 minutes to finish setting whites and thicken yolks.
16. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
17. Garnish with sprouts (if using), cut into wedges, and serve.

I've been alternating between making Bernard Clayton bread recipes and working my way through the selection of sourdough recipes on the King Arthur Flour website. This unusual focaccia was the next up in my queue. And I am very glad indeed! TF has very normal feelings about this bread. I like it. I like it a lot. But I don't think my enjoyment of it can hold a candle to TF's near unseemly fascination with it. I'm quite tickled that she's enjoying it so much!

I may play around with the proportions somewhat in the future. For this time, I stuck to the recipe and went fairly heavy on the oil. Next time I might try doubling the dough and bumping the corn up a little bit. Just as an experiment. It's really excellent as-is. I just like to tinker!

Tiwanese Bakery Sourdough Focaccia

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 75g ripe (fed) sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
• 175g water
• 250g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. garlic or scallion oil
• 1 Tbsp. sesame or chili oil
• 4 links Taiwanese sausage, sliced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 50-60g fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1-2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
• Kewpie mayonnaise

Directions

1. Make sure your starter is well-fed and active.
2. Combine the starter and water and mix well.
3. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.
4. Cover and let rest for 30-60 minutes.
5. Add the salt and knead for a few minutes to incorporate it.
6. Cover and rest for at least an hour.
7. Do a bowl fold, then spread the garlic/scallion oil over the surface. Cover and allow to rest for 4-8 hours.
8. Knock the dough back then cover and chill overnight. (If you are in a hurry, you may skip this step, but the flavour will be better with a slow, overnight fermentation.)
9. Oil a 23x33 (9x13") baking dish with a little of the sesame/chili oil.
10. Add the dough to the prepared pan and gently stretch it to fill as much of the pan as possible.
11. Cover and rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours, gently stretching every 30 minutes or so.
12. Dimple the surface of the dough and drizzle with the remaining oil.
13. Sprinkle with sliced sausage, green onion, corn, and sesame seeds.
14. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
15. Bake focaccia on lower rack for 15-20 minutes.
16. If surface is not dark enough after 20 minutes, reduce temperature to 200°C (400°F) and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
17. Turn off oven and let stand in hot oven for 5 minutes.
18. Remove from oven, drizzle with mayo, cut into squares, and serve.

Makkai Parangikai Kari (Corn Curry)

This curry is meant to be made with corn and white pumpkin, but Iyer suggests the using the inner rind of a watermelon as an alternative to the pumpkin, so I decided to give that a go. We had lots of watermelon that needed to be used anyway, so I figured that saved me going out and trying to find another ingredient.

Makkai Parangikai Kari

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods)
• 2 fresh green¹ Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, stems removed
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 2 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 450g white pumpkin (or inner watermelon rind), peeled and seeded and cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 12 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1 c. water

Directions

1. Combine ginger, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, chilies, and salt in a molcajete and grind/pound to form a pulpy paste.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they have stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
4. Add the coconut milk.
5. Stir in the paste from the molcajete, then remove from heat and allow mixture to sit for a minute or so.
6. Add the corn, pumpkin (or watermelon rind), cilantro, curry leaves, and water.
7. Return to heat and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are fork tender (~15 minutes).
9. Serve topped with your favourite chutney. (I like sonth/tamarind-date chutney.)

---

¹ I had a few leftover fresh red finger chilies on hand, so I just used those instead here. It changed the colour of the curry (making it more pinkish than green), but was very similar otherwise. ^Back

I wanted another simple vegetable side to go with dinner the other night and I had some flour that needed to be used up, so this corn pancake fit the bill. It wasn't amazing, but it was a decent way to add a little bit of extra veg to the meal. The topping was a bit unusual, but did complement the corn well.

Corn Pancake

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. cornstarch or flour
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 340g corn
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. grated Parmesan
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk (optional)

Directions

1. Combine flour with water and salt.
2. Add corn and mix well.
3. Heat pan over medium heat.
4. Add oil.
5. Pour pancake mixture into pan and spread into an even layer.
6. Cook until brown on the underside.
7. Flip and cook until browned on the second side.
8. Combine Parmesan, sugar, and ground chilies.
9. Sprinkle seasoning mix over pancake.
10. Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk (if using).

The Kidlet was having a friend over for dinner the other day and I wasn't sure what they liked, so I tried to play it safe with this chicken pot pie. I hoped it would be a fairly... unintimidating dish without any overly strong flavours or unusual ingredients. The Kidlet certainly liked it! I may need to work on dailing things in with the friend a bit, but it was a decent start.

In theory this is meant to make one 9" pie. In practice, I ended up with more filling than would fit in a 9" pie plate, so I ended up making an additional 4 small pies by pouring the excess filling into ramekins and topping them with a bit of the extra pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Pastry

• 210g all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. shortening or lard
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 c. cold water

Filling

• 1 c. sliced carrots
• 1 c. fresh or frozen peas
• 1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 500g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1/2 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small egg
• 2 tsp. water

Directions

1. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour.
2. Mix in the water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until the dough comes together.
3. Shape into a ball, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the carrots in salted water until tender-crisp (~3 minutes).
5. If using fresh peas and corn, boil them for ~1 minute. If using frozen, just add them to the boiling water and then immediately remove from heat. Drainth eveggies and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
7. Melt the butter over medium heat.
8. Add the chicken, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until browned on all sides (8-10 minutes).
9. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened (2-4 minutes).
10. Add the flour and cook for another minute or two.
11. Pour in the broth, wine, cream, and parsley and bring to a simmer.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
13. Add the veggies and adjust seasoning to taste.
14. Pour the filling into a 23cm (9") deep dish pie plate. (You may have some extra.)
15. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.
16. Beat the egg with the water and brush a little egg wash around the edges of the pastry, then place the pastry, egg-side-down, over the pie.
17. Press pastry to adhere and crimp edges.
18. Brush the top of the pie wiht more egg wash and cut one or more small holes or slits in the crust.
19. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) for ~30 minutes.

I haven't been feeling up to much cooking lately, so I've been making a lot of simple soups and salads. I had a bunch of chicken left over from making a soup earlier and spinach left over from the green smoothie bowls, so I decided to combine that into this salad. There were even a few corn tortillas left over in the fridge that I was able to fry up into tostadas, so it worked out quite well all 'round!

The one thing that I did not have was cherry tomatoes, so I opted to mix in a few tinned diced tomatoes instead. I'm honestly pretty happy with how this worked out. Although I was a bit short of greens and I think it probably could've used a bit of cheese. I think a bit of cheddar would have been a really nice complement to all the other elements.

Chicken Tostada Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 limes
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1 (470g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. corn kernels
• 2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 c. canned diced tomatoes)
• 1 jalapeño or poblano chile, minced
• 1 head romaine or leafe lettuce (or equivalent amount of spinach), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 300-350g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/4-1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-4 green onions, sliced (optional)
• 4 tostadas

Directions

1. Zest and juice the limes.
2. Combine the lime juice, zest, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously.
4. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, and chile and toss to combine. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the lettuce, chicken, and cheese.
6. Top with avocado, cilantro, green onions, and cheese (if using).
7. Serve with tostadas on the side.

The last enchiladas went over so well, that I decided to try another batch. These ones aren't quite as hearty as the vegetable enchiladas that I made before as they lack any legumes or other significant sources of protein. They were still quite tasty though.

Spinach, Potato, and Corn Enchiladas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn
• 280g spinach
• 828mL enchilada sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 12 corn tortillas
• 125g cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork several times, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 190°C (375°F) until tender (~40 minutes).
3. Set aside to cool, then dice.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Heat the oil over medium heat.
6. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the diced potatoes, corn, and spinach and cook for a minute or two.
8. Pour in 1 c. (~240mL) of the enchilada sauce, cover, and cook for ~5 minutes.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
10. Pour ~1/2 c. (120mL) of the remaining enchilada sauce into a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
11. Gently warm the remaining enchilada sauce (~450mL) in a frying pan.
12. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip it into the sauce until the tortilla is warmed and softened. Then take the tortilla out, place it in the prepared baking dish, and spoon ~1/12 of the filling in a line down the centre of the softened tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in the dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, packing the enchiladas in relatively tightly.
13. Pour any remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
14. Top with the cheese.
15. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until enchiladas are headed through and cheese is melted (~20 minutes).
16. Serve hot and garnish with salsa, sour cream, avocado, sliced radish, and/or cilantro if desired.

Corn and Pea Empanadas

These were a huge hit! TF and the Kidlet both loved them. (And I quite liked them too!)

They're a little lacking in protein, so you'll probably want some sort of meat or beans to go with it. They still make a great start to a meal though, even if they're not a complete package on their own.

The dough required a lot more water than specified to come together, but that wasn't a huge problem. Just something to be aware of. I've updated the recipe to reflect this.

Corn and Pean Empanadas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 315g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~3/4 c. water

Filling

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (or a few slices of minced pickled jalapeño)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Sift the baking soda into the flour and mix in the salt and pepper.
2. Slowly mix in water, a bit at a time, until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. (You might need slightly more than 3/4 c., but be careful not to make the dough too wet!)
3. Shape the dough into a ball or log, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the jalapeño and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
7. Add corn and peas and cook for ~5 minutes.
8. Add the tomato sauce and cook until mixture thickens slightly (~5 more minutes).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
10. Divide the dough into 16 roughly equal portions and shape each into a ball.
11. Working with one ball at a time, roll out into a circle on a lightly floured surface.
12. Mound 2-3 Tbsp. of filling onto the centre of the circle.
13. Fold the circle over and crimp the edges together. Wet the edges a little if necessary to get it to seal.
14. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
15. Heat some oil in a wok or deep fryer. (Aim for a temperature of ~180°C/350°F.)
16. Fry the empanadas 2-4 at a time (depending on the size of your fryer/wok) until golden-brown on both side, flipping once.
17. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
18. Serve as is or with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, and/or guacamole.

This is a very simple dish of savory cornmeal-buttermilk pancakes topped with lightly spiced black beans. They're pretty plain on their own, but still taste lovely and are really excellent when topped with some salsa and sour cream. I'm sure guacamole, radishes, and green onions would also go great. As would a bit of cheddar cheese.

I served these as a filling, leguminous side-dish to accompany some vegetable enchiladas. A very nice meal!

Cornmeal Pancakes with Black Beans

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Beans

• 1 (470mL) can black beans, drained
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tsp. chili powder

Pancakes

• 2/3 c. cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed

Assembly

Use as many or as few toppings as you'd like. All are optional, but salsa is strongly recommended.

• salsa (red or green)
• sour cream
• chopped fresh cilantro
• chopped fresh oregano
• green onion, thinly sliced
• radishes, thinly sliced
• sliced avocado and/or guacamole
• grated cheddar

Directions

1. Combine the beans, oregano, and chili powder and warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
2. Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper; sift in the baking soda; and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter with the buttermilk and eggs.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine.
5. Stir in the corn.
6. Heat a griddle or tawa over medium heat and lightly grease or oil it.
7. Make pancakes using ~1/4 c. of batter for each one and cook until golden on both sides.
8. Serve the pancakes topped with black beans.
9. Garnish with salsa and whatever other toppings you desire.

These were surprisingly tasty! I wasn't expecting much from a filling made up predominantly of zucchini and corn. Especially since the dish seemed to rely entirely on store-bought salsa for its seasoning. But it actually produced really nice results. A bit lacking in protein maybe, but there were certainly no issues with the flavour!

If I were doing this again, I might try swapping out half of the zucchini for some black beans, just to make it a little more filling and nutritionally balanced. But overall, it was very good.

Vegetable Enchiladas

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini
• 1 (400mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. frozen corn
• 1 onion, quartered and sliced
• 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 2 (~400mL) jars salsa verde, divided
• 12 corn tortillas (20cm/8" size)
• 1 c. grated Monterey jack¹
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 avocado, divided
• 2-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Quarter the zucchini lengthwise and slice crosswise.
3. Combine the zucchini, beans, corn, onion, and cheddar and mix well.
4. Wrap the tortillas in a tea towel or tortilla warmer and microwave until softened (30-60 seconds).
5. Pour 1 jar of salsa into a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
6. Place a warm tortilla on your work surface and put 2-3 Tbsp. of filling down the middle of it, then roll up and place seam-side-down in the prepared baking dish.
7. Assemble remaining enchiladas in the same way.
8. Pour remaining jar of salsa over the enchiladas and top with Monterey jack.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, green onion, lime zest, salt, and half the avocado and mix very well, mashing the avocado as you stir.
12. Slice the remaining half avocado.
13. Serve the enchiladas topped with avocado slices, sour cream mixture, and cilantro (if using).
14. Radishes and tomato salsa/salsa roja also make good toppings.

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¹ I ended up swapping out the Monterey jack for 125g of sliced Swiss cheese instead, which worked reasonably well. More cheddar would also be acceptable in place of the jack. ^Back

This Hello Fresh dish was a big hit with everyone, especially with Alex, who actually ate all of the rice as well as the rest of the dish -- almost unheard of.

Turkey Bulgogi Bowls with Buttery Rice

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 1½ C basmati rice
• 2 tbsp gochuang
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 500g turkey
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separate
• 125g carrot, julienned
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• ⅔ C water
• 250g corn kernels
• 60g baby spinach
• 2 tbsp butter

Directions

1. Cook rice in instant pot using standard procedures.
2. Whisk together gochujang and mayo in a small bowl.
3. Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add turkey and cook, breaking up, until fully cooked, 4-5 minutes.
5. Add onion whites, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots begin to soften, 2-3 minutes.
6. Add soy sauce, sugar, water, and spinach. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
7. Season with black pepper to taste.
8. Once the rice is finished, stir in the onion greens, corn, and butter. Stir over keep-warm until the rice is well buttered and the corn is heated through.
9. Serve rice topped with turkey mixture and gochujang mayo.

I've been really craving sweet potatoes lately, so this potato and sweet potato hash really caught my eye.

Spicy Veggie Hash

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 680g sweet potatoes, cubed
• 680g potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 c. corn
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 8-12 eggs
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• lime wedges, to serve
• ketchup, to serve
• hot sauce, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Toss the potatoes and sweet potatoes with 1 Tbsp. of the oil and spread on a baking sheet.
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) for 30 minutes. Stir/flip, then roast for another 15 minutes. Keep warm.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño and cook, stirring often, until tender (~10 minutes).
6. Stir in the corn, garlic, and cumin and cook until heated through (~3 minutes).
7. Combine the potatoes and other veggies and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Keep the hash warm while you cook the eggs. Cook 1-2 eggs per person by whatever method you prefer. Poached, fried, or scrambled works best.
9. Top hash with eggs, garnish with cilantro, and serve with lime wedges, ketchup, and/or hot sauce on the side.

Made this out of Cook's Country a while ago and forgot to write it up. I remember it being pretty tasty though.

Corn and Cucumber Salad

Cook's Country, June/July 2017, by Ashley Moore (p. 20)

Ingredients

• 3+1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 5 tbsp lime juice (~3 limes)
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼+⅛ tsp salt, divided
• ¼ C sour cream
• ½ red onion, sliced thin
• 1 jalapeño, halved, seeded, and sliced thin
• 4 ears corn, raw, kernels cut from the cobs
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
• ¾ C crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ C fresh basil, torn

Directions

1. Whisk together 3 tbsp oil, lime juice, pepper, and ¼ tsp salt in a large bowl.
2. Remove 2 tbsp of lime-oil mix and whisk into sour cream; set aside.
3. Add onion and jalapeño to remaining lime-oil mix and set aside to stand, at least 15 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add the loose corn kernels and the salt.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and spotty brown, ~7-9 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and let cool while lime-oil mix is standing.
8. Mix corn, feta, and basil into bowl with lime-oil mix, onion, and jalapeño.
9. Serve topped with sour cream mix.