Perfect When There's A Chill In The Air Take a classic like leek & potato soup and boost it with corn, cheddar, chicken, and delightfully crunchy homemade croutons and what do you get? This one-pot wonder chowder made in a hurry to satisfy any fans of the original. Any time of year when a chill wind wanders past… like now on the Spring … Read More →
Personal size cornbread is gone before it has time to go stale Cornbread is easy anytime with only a few pantry staples. From idea to eating in under an hour – half that with a little practice. Only problem is that it doesn’t stay fresh very long and is best eaten right out of the oven or most certainly before the day is over. If you can’t … Read More →
Best not to count how many you eat in one sitting Prime grilling season has arrived again and around my kitchen that means “street” tacos cooked over charcoal. The fire is the easy part particularly once you have all the ‘extras’ sorted out. In my case those include a vat of garden-fresh salsa, some well seasoned beans, a little lime and coriander enhanced crema, and a … Read More →
Steamed & Dressed For A Tamalada With most fresh masa half a continent away these are not Mexican. They also aren’t truly the Mississippi ‘Delta Hot Tamale’ style developed for cotton field workers at the turn of the twentieth century by a curious mix of Italian and Mexican immigrants who had only ordinary corn meal available. Both styles are indeed delicious … Read More →
The Ultimate In Corn-Flavoured Flexibility If you’re not eating polenta because it takes too much time to cook the genuine, creamy article from scratch, I’ve got a tip for you. Old Italians to gluten warriors can all enjoy the delicious corn-y goodness in under half an hour. First to define polenta, it’s cornmeal. That’s it. Fancy gourmet packets of the … Read More →
Colonial Ingredients Meet Indian Technique If you’ve heard the term succotash but never knew what it was beyond Warner Brother’s favourite expletive, let me enlighten you. Native people of North America have long benefited from corn in their diet and likewise discovered both the gardening and culinary benefits of matching it with beans. Sure you could talk about complete essential … Read More →
Flat is Corn Delicious Never heard of arepas? You must not hang out in Venezuela or Colombia very often. Simply put it’s a griddle-fried corn cake made from a special sort of cornmeal, aptly named masa de arepas. If you’re as obsessed with tamales as I am but hate the time investment they take, you owe it to yourself … Read More →
Tamales Deliciously Deconstructed Who loves a great tamale? Who doesn’t live anywhere near a decent tamale stand or Mexican grocery? Who doesn’t have the patience or team of Mexican grandmothers to make them at home twenty dozen at a time? If you answered “me” to any of these questions, have I’ve got a solution for you. I’ve tackled … Read More →
Half the Taste is in the Charcoal Fire I wrote about several corn ideas last month but when it came to put cob to fire again yesterday I decided to make yet another south-of-two-borders variation by leaving the kernels on the cob and slathering it in mayonnaise, chile, and lime juice – the wildly popular elotes or “Mexican street corn”. This is a … Read More →
At Last Small victories are the way to go I say. Sure you can wage wars or attempt huge sweeping political change but I’m perfectly happy with the tiny triumphs in my life. It seems that my grocery lobbying efforts have finally paid off. Here in the French and Scottish influenced corners of Canada, you all know … Read More →
What to do when it's coming out of your ears The first batch of sweet summer corn landed from points south this week with bulging sacks of the stuff for a quarter an ear at the Megamarket. After such a long journey from distant foreign fields it’s nowhere near as sweet as the ears we’ll pluck locally in just a few short weeks but I … Read More →
Perfect Crust Top & Bottom I make a skillet of ordinary cornbread nearly every week because it’s dead simple and sits well alongside so many things in even its most plain form. Outside the holiday feasting season where cornbread dressing reigns supreme at my house, peppery soups and stews, my favourite bean pot, or simply a giant salad all partner … Read More →
Corn Husks, Masa, & Meat All Optional Update: Want to go totally wrapper free? Check out my later post on “stacked” tamales. You’ve heard me bemoan the lack of Mexican food here in my corner of Canada before so I’ll spare you that misery again and just say that when you have a craving for tamales and can’t find either corn husks … Read More →
