Meatless Monday

In reality, most days are meatless around here. However, in the hope of reducing the number of cookbooks I own, I have been reading through my vegetarian cookbooks. We have one complication with being predominantly vegetarian, and that is that we don't eat soy either, so I have to be a little more choosey when coming up with meatless dishes as tofu and its affiliates are not an option for us.


I found this recipe yesterday in my cookbook called Vegetarians in the Fast Lane by Carla L. Henry and Travis J. Henry (See my review here). It sounds good, so I thought we would try it. We love beans. I make most of my beans from scratch, but I do usually have a few different varieties of canned beans in the house for those more hurried days.

Creole Black-Eyed Peas and Vegetables

1 lb (450g) fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed*

2 medium white turnips, peeled and cut in large chunks

Water

2 Tbsp butter (I used olive oil)

1 medium onion chopped

1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes (I used tomatoes from my freezer)

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1 can (16 oz) black-eyed peas

In a 4 to 5 qt pan, cover green beans and turnips with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 18 minutes.

While vegetables are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet, add the onion, and saute 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, thyme, and salt. Stir to break up the tomatoes and mix the ingredients. Stir in the black-eyed peas.

Drain the cooked green beans and turnips and add to the skillet. Stir a few times, cover, and cook about 15 minutes over low heat. 

Serves 6

*to speed up the preparation time, substitute 1 large package (1 lb) frozen green beans.

The recommendation at the beginning of the recipe said to "add a slice of cornbread and you have a real 'down home' meal."

So I include my recipe for our absolute favorite cornbread. Healthy it is not, but delicious it is!

Mexican Cornbread

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 (15oz) can cream-style corn
1/2 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, chilies, and cheeses.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated over for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

Bon appetite!