Chile Cheese Corn Muffins/Bread

This recipe is adapted from here. All that’s changed, actually, is the addition of cheese and chiles- if you want to make plain sweet cornbread, simply omit those ingredients.

IINGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
About 1 1/2cups grated cheese, such as parmesan or cheddar
About 1 cup chopped roasted hatch chiles

METHOD

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a muffin pan or 9 inch round cake pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Fold in cheese and chiles. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until  toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean- about 15 to 20 minutes for large muffins, 20 to 25 minutes for a 9 inch round cake pan.

The texture of this cornbread is amazing. Here’s what one looks like sliced open:

I used these corn muffins as the bun for sloppy joes, a recipe which I shall be posting shortly. They would also be great with poached eggs, or simply on their own, warm with some butter.

Spicy Hatch Noodles

This dish tastes best chilled, but is perfectly fine to eat hot. It is also ridiculously easy, as the sauce requires no cooking.

SPICY HATCH NOODLES

INGREDIENTS

900g spaghetti or other stringy pasta
3-6 hatch chiles, stemmed, seeded, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and julienned
½  of a green cabbage, sliced
4 green onions, sliced
1 tbsp olive or other cooking oil

For the sauce
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses (I used this brand- I don’t know if it’s better/worse than other molasses, but the sauce turned out great with it, so.)
1 cup tamari (NOT soy sauce, which is too watery for this dish- I use this brand.)
3 tbsp sesame oil
¾ cup tahini
2 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
sriracha, to taste- anywhere from 1-8 tbsp (The first time I made this it only needed 2 tbsp to get nice and spicy. The second time I made it the sriracha had lost a significant amount of its spiciness and much more of it was required.)

NOTE: Measurements are approximate- taste the sauce and make adjustments if necessary
NOTE 2: It is possible to make this dish vegan if you carefully read the ingredients- for example, vegan sriracha sauce exists, but you have to check (my sriracha sauce has anchovies in it) and most spaghetti shouldn’t contain eggs but double-check just to be sure.

METHOD

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Rant time: That most likely means NO oil in the pot of water is necessary- contrary to popular belief, pasta won’t stick together if you omit the oil so long as you use a generous amount of water (to dilute the starch that builds up in it/prevent overcrowding). Most people do not use the amount of water called for in the directions, which is quite a lot. I have never put oil in my pasta water and my pasta never sticks so long as I use enough water. Do use a generous amount of salt in the water to season the pasta, though.

While the water is coming to a boil/the pasta is cooking, heat up the cooking oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the red peppers and green chiles and saute until softened.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a blender and taste for adjustments. Start with a small amount of sriracha and gradually add more until desired spiciness is achieved. This dish is originally supposed to be quite spicy.

Combine the sauce, pasta, sauteed and raw vegetables. Enjoy hot or chill overnight.

Side note: I suspect this dish would be awesome with the addition of grilled shrimp. Cilantro, mint, or basil might also be welcome garnishes.

Love Berry Salad

This is a refreshing, summery salad packed with all kinds of flavours. It’s quick and easy to make, can easily be used for dessert, and is also pretty healthy. I do not have measurements for the ingredients, so just trust your eyes for this one.

IINGREDIENTS

Equal parts of:
strawberries, quartered
blueberries
cherries, pitted and sliced in half

mint, chiffonade
baby spinach
parsley, chopped
fennel bulb, sliced thinly

A generous sprinkle of:
pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
hemp seeds
chocolate or carob chips

A couple tablespoons of HSH No Oil Balsamic Dressing (found at whole foods), or balsamic vinegar

METHOD

Wash and dry all the vegetables and herbs except mint (if it’s relatively clean.) Combine all the fruit in a large mixing bowl, then add the herbs, then the remaining ingredients. Best consumed within three days.