Monday Minestrone & Cornmeal Biscuits

There's nothing better on a chilly November evening than a steaming bowl of soup--and since it's Monday, I decided on Minestrone. I don't know if "Minestrone" means "throw everything you can think of into a pot and cook it," but that's what I did. And you know what, it tasted pretty great. Add a couple of cornmeal biscuits cut out in pumpkin shapes, and you've got yourself a meal.
Monday Minestrone
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, small diced
1 or 2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pork and beans (I like that it adds a little sweetness)
1 can green beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup V8 (or one can tomato sauce)
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp basil
2 bay leaves
1 cup elbow macaroni

In a large pot, saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a little olive oil. Add remaining ingredients (except macaroni) and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add macaroni the last 10-12 minutes (and more liquid if needed). Serve w/ Parmesan cheese.

Cornmeal Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Into a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in cornmeal. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Knead about 20 times on a floured surface. Roll out about 3/4 inch thick then cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes.

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.

Chili Cornbread Pie

This recipe is from www.zonya.com (this lady not only has a cool name, but tons of energy to boot. Maybe if I ate like she did I would perk up a bit and you could call me Zindy). She has a high-energy, living-healthy show on PBS which I've seen a few times as I sat lazily on the couch :) The website has a few recipes I'd like to try, but I've only made this one a couple times because it's a great clear-out-the-pantry type of meal, which I love.

Chili Cornbread Pie

2 (15 0z) cans chili beans--I used red beans
1 can corn
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper (this was my addition to the recipe)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (opt)
1 tsp Zippy Zony Mexi Mix (which I, shockingly, didn't have--so I used Taco seasoning instead)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ chilies (I used diced tomatoes and added a small can of green chilies)
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine beans, vegetables and seasoning in a 9x13 pan. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and add milk and oil. Stir just until blended. Spoon 9 even spoonfuls of batter in a 3x3 pattern onto the bean mixture. Place in oven to bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to set about 10 minutes before serving.