I love corn, good sweet, juicy corn. I think people are kind of stumped about inventive new ways to eat corn, though. Sure, you can boil cobs of it and slather some butter on top and eat it that way, or microwave a can of it and serve it in a dish. But there are a million other delicious ways to eat it. One of these recipes I tried last night, and the other one I have made a million times, but I've just changed out the original ingredients for some vegan ones.
First, we'll start with Corn Cakes. I made these last night for dinner, and this is a basic recipe that's pretty straightforward. You can always tweak the seasonings and play with the ingredients to make your cakes specifically how you want them.
1 cup of corn kernels (you can use fresh or canned, whatever tickles your fancy)
1/4 cup chopped green peppers (you don't have to use these, but I liked them in it - they add a nice little burst of flavor)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon Pampered Chef's Southwestern Seasoning Mix*
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water (this replaces the eggs you would normally use as a binder)
*You can make your own Southwestern Seasoning Mix with onion powder, garlic flakes, dehydrated chili peppers, and salt. But it's certainly much easier to just buy the seasoning from a Pampered Chef consultant (my best friend Shelby is the best one they have).
In your Ninja (hopefully you're smart enough to have bought one by now), pulse the corn and green peppers until just chopped (3 to 4 pulses will do it at the most). Transfer to a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of oil and the flaxseed/water mix and blend together. In another bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and Southwestern Seasoning. Add to corn mixture and mix thoroughly. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop large spoonfuls into the pan without spreading them out or flattening the mixture. Let them cook until the edges begin to set and the undersides are lightly browning. Then flip and cook the other side. Do this until all the batter has been used, adding oil as needed. Serve hot.
The next recipe is for Corn Casserole, which is one of my all-time favorites. In my senior year of high school, my friend Kristina had a Black and White Party at the beginning of Christmas break for our group of friends. Her mother set up everything and cooked all kinds of delicious foods, and this was one of the things she made. It was the first time I'd ever had Corn Casserole, and I fell in love at first bite. I never did get the recipe for it from Kristina, but I did manage to find some other recipes online and took aspects of different ones and mixed them together until I found the recipe that I like best, and here it is.
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
That's about one of the easiest recipes imaginable, and it tastes so good.
My last recipe for the day is for a sweet little pick-me-up I just made myself a little while ago: a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. I am a chocoholic, and I love to eat peanut butter by the spoonful, so this really satisfies my sweet tooth.
2 tablespoons peanut butter of your choice
6-7 cubes of ice
1 cup of chocolate soymilk
1 packet of artificial sweetener
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream made with coconut or rice milk
Remember to do ice first, then milk, then add in the peanut butter and ice cream and sweetener. I just made one about an hour ago, and it was truly delicious and I could stand to have another one very soon.
