Mexican Vegetables on Corn Bread

The other day I was perusing the bargain bin at Barnes & Noble and came across a small little book called New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant. Moosewood Restaurant, for those of you less-in-the-know folk (myself included :)) is a restaurant in downtown Ithaca, New York, world-renowned for its vegetarian cooking and cookbooks. Well, now we know. I'll need to do some research to find the "old" recipes from Moosewood Restaurant, but for now we'll start with the "new" ones. First up, Mexican Vegetables on Corn Bread (topped with a cilantro cream--my addition to the recipe). We loved it. I was a little concerned about the cornbread w/ whole wheat flour but it tasted good and I liked the texture--except after it had cooled, I thought the corn bread had a funny aftertaste. I don't know if it was from the whole wheat flour or what, but we liked it with the veggies, just not as a snack later by itself. Anywho, I'm not tooting my own horn, but we all agreed that the cilantro cream really made the dish (probably because of the fact that my children only eat things topped with Ranch dressing--sad, but true).

Mexican Vegetables on Corn Bread
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (I used one onion, chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, cut into half-moons (I used two)
1 medium zucchini, cut into half-moons
1 green pepper, diced
2 cups corn, fresh or frozen (I used one cup)
2 cups undrained canned tomatoes, chopped (I used one can diced tomatoes)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I just used the cilantro dressing)
salt and cayenne to taste

1. In large skillet, saute the onions and galic for 5 mins.
2. Add the carrots, cover the pan and saute for another 5 mins, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the remaining vegetables and seasonings and cook on low heat until the vegetables are just tender.
4. Serve over hot Corn Bread and top with sour cream or cheese. (I melted the cheese on top of the cornbread pieces under the broiler, topped with the veggies, and then spooned some cilantro cream on top.)

Corn Bread
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9x13 baking pan
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and stir until mixed.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife insterted into the center comes out clean.
5. Allow the corn bread to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Cilantro Cream (this is just a simplified version of the Cafe Rio cilantro dressing recipe)
1/2 bottle Ranch dressing
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice of one lime

1. Put ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
2. Refrigerate until use.