Double Fake Tamale Pie

It's a tamale pie missing more than a few ingredients and made with fake beef. (Beyond Meat Burger) I"ve been hoping to find a decent-tasting substitute for a long time because of the need to pay attention to climate change. As I get older I also think about a diet that may help me avoid arthritis pain. Plant based foods and fish are on the list--animal based foods aren't. We both like the flavor of this fake meat in pasta dishes, Mexican Lasagne, and this dish. Impossible Meats, Beyond Meat, and a few other companies made fake meat--the environmental impact and the flavors are different.

I started with cooked brown rice in the fridge to use up.  The classic recipe uses cornmeal and corn bread. I substituted cooked corn kernels (from frozen). I thought the rice would blend in well and give the dish substance. Other ingredients were in or out for a slew of reasons. This is the recipe I ended up with and I liked the flavor a lot.

Ingredients

2 slices of onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic 

!/2 tsp chili seasoning (I made  my own and don't remember exactly what's in it)

1/2 tsp Cumin

~ 1 1/2 cups cold brown rice from fridge

1/2 of a 14 ounce can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes plus about 1/4 cup leftover tomato marinara

.about 1/2 cup corn kernels, cooked

~ 1 1/2 tbsps sliced olives (I used kalamata because they were on hand)

4 ounces "beef"

grated medium cheddar to sprinkle around on top. I use cow's milk cheese, which is a dietary no-no. You could use sharp cheddar and cut quantity in half. Eventually a determined person could learn to like it without. It's honestly not as critical as fresh parm on  pasta dishes. Or some alternate cheese that's not Velveeta will come on the market. But I digress..... :-)

Avocado puree to go on top (optional--it didn't add much but fresh, sliced might have. Or something else with nice color contrast. Like cherry tomatoes.

Directions

Saute onion and garlic in a little vegetable oil .  Add the seasonings and stir around about a minute. Add the "beef" and cook on higher heat as you would hamburger, crumbling it up as you cook.  Add the tomatoes, corn kernels and olives. Stir and watch until the mixture is hot and liquid from the tomatoes is cooked down a bit. Cover,. reduce heat to high simmer, and wait about 15 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings, and when ready sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and remove from heat when cheese melts. Spoon into bowls and add avocado in small blobs on top if you use it. 

Chinese black bean chicken

 Another from "Every Grain of Rice".  Very solid recipe!  We doubled the written version.

~1 lb chicken thighs cubed.  (be sure to do rather smallish cubes)

Marinated for an hour in:  2 tsp light, 2 tsp dark soy sauce.  2 Tbsp rice wine.  3 tsp corn starch.  1/2 tsp salt.

1/2 each red and green bell peppers + some left over snow peas we had lying around.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil and stir fry veggies until almost done; reserve.

Add 2 more Tbsp oil.  Cook chicken until starting to become opaque.  Add 6 minced cloves garlic + comparable amount ginger.  Stir fry a minute until fragrent.  Add 4 Tbsp rined and drained chinese black beans.  Cook another minute.  Re-add veggies, and cook until everything is done.

Add 1 tsp sesame oil at the end.

Serve over steamed rice.

Pasta and 

Garbanzo Beans

4 Tbsp olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed--I used 3 teaaspoons minced garlic

6 Tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp kosher salt

Black pepper and red pepper flakes

Two 15 oz. cans cooked chickpeas--we made from dried beans

1 cup uncooked small-shape pasta--I used whole wheat tiny elbow macaroni.

3.5 - 4 cups boiling water--I used bean cooking juice plus water

Finishing oil

1 Tbsp olive oil per serving

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

red and black peppers

What happened when I froze a couple of servings: After about three weeks I thawed, heated and we ate it for lunch while zoom chatting with friends. I mention that because I wasn't focused on the food as much. It tasted fine, a little bland, but texture and flavor unchanged. I realized later I forgot to add the finishing sauce, which would have made a big difference. I intended to include a dollop of greens stir-fried with oil and garlic and at the last minute didn't. (it sticks in my teeth ) I think it would have done the same thing. 

I"m not putting the directions in because Dave posted them in the Feb Hungry Herald. I followed them and this is my write up on what happened. Mark recently acquired an Instant Pot (pressure cooker) and has in mind to learn to prep things like grains and beans. (also perhaps some Indian dishes). These garbanzos are his first attempt to use the machine. His loyal partner Carolyn may have urged him a tiny bit when he hadn't actually used it after a couple of months of ownership. He claims not to like  beans. But will eat pinto beans in chili. And other dishes when his loyal partner disguises them.  We had a 16-ounce bag of beans and used the whole thing. In the trauma of losing the instructions, not being sure the online advice is trustworthy, and given Mark's tendency to imagine the pressure cooker is a highly explosive device rather like a pipe bomb (exaggerated but not entirely imaginary) I forgot to ask Mark to measure out the water. But it was okay--when the beans were done I strained them, saved the bean juice as Dave suggested,  and added water to make 4 cups. This being our first try at bean-cooking, they may have cooked a bit too long. There is some variation in how long it takes for the steam to naturally subside and ours was on the lengthy side. 

This was a perfect dish for beans a bit on the smooshy side since they become partly sauce-y anyway. I wasn't sure how many beans I would get, so I prepared the amount in this recipe. It has a concentrated flavor so I took out half just in case. I couldn't remember how much cicis change in size. I hoped it would be equivalent to the prescribed two cans, 29 ounces.  
They tripled or more in size. I didn't think about meassuring out 2 1/2 cups. I just dumped everything in. It was clear I needed the reserved sauce, so in it went with the pasta. I added the pasta.

The flavor is delicious! I think so, Mark thinks so! It's on our cook-it-again list. We both think it came up a bit short on pasta, possibly because it was long on beans. Mark sighs and rolls his eyes at the brown elbows and questions whether the original recipe required them--he hopes it doesn't. I think it's personal choice and I am on a neverendng quest to eat a mediterranean diet because it may help prevent inflammatory disease and pain (such as arthritis, which Mom had all over but rarely noticed). Mom also credited her little dog, Perki (aka Pukey by some of the family) for keeping pain at bay. I guess I could get a dog like Perki. 

Faced with that I'm pretty sure Mark's view of whole grain pasta will improve considerably.

Barfley edible pizza

 

C

MY NOT-VERY-SUCCESSFUL PIZZA

I had in mind a pizza that would look a bit like this--melted mozzarella, delicious pizza sauce, sauteed spinach, plus some mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sliced tomatoes added after it came out of the oven.  I had a bag of light whole wheat pizza dough (first try with this), turned out the mushrooms we bought yesterday had already started looking and smelling gross, but that's okay, I plunged ahead. 

What I got was a pizza with an uneven crust, an extra-thick crust and over-brown cheese. I messed up in a couple of ways. I didn't read ALL the directions all over the package of dough.. Just the part for pizza. I didn't take it out of the refrigerator soon enough and it was just about impossible to stretch over the pan.  The other mistake was not checking sooner.  My concern with the thick dough is that it wouldn't cook thoroughly in the recipe's time. It did, but it was too late to save the cheese. It was barely edible.  It also doesn't help that Mark doesn't like the whole grain flavor, even light (the label says white).  I have to laugh that I accidentally put "barfley" (emphasis on the barf) instead of "barely" edible.