Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

I have a confession to make-- I love cornbread.  My husband doesn't really understand this.  He likes it all right, but not with passion, if you know what I mean.  It must be an American thing.  I was born in the States and he was born in Quebec. Even though I've lived in Canada since I was 18, I've never lost my passion for cornbread, and as a vegan, I've devised several cornbread recipes that I'm happy with.  But, faced with a pile of zucchini and scads of ovo-lacto-laden zucchini cornbread recipes, I decided to devise my own vegan version-- with nuggets of corn added at the last minute.  I almost added some Daiya vegan cheese shreds, but decided that would be overkill-- although, if you do try it, let me know!

I was out of whole wheat pastry flour, so I used my High-Fiber Gluten-Free Flour Mix instead, and you'd never know the difference!


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CORN KERNEL ZUCCHINI CORNBREAD (Can be GF and SF)
Makes 1/ 10" cast-iron skillet-full
Moist and delicious, with the extra nutrition of vegetables. PS: If you don't have a skillet, use a 10" round or 9" square pan-- the skillet just makes the crust crispier.

DRY MIX:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup white whole wheat pastry flour OR my High Fiber Gluten-Free Flour Mix (or your favorite)
1/3 cup soy flour or chickpea flour
1/4 cup unbleached organic sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
WET MIX:
1 tablespoon lemon juice with soymilk, nut milk or hemp milk to make 1 1/4 cups
1 cup packed grated zucchini with skin
2 tablespoons oil or melted Earth Balance
ADDITION:
1 cup thawed frozen (or cooked fresh) corn kernels, or canned corn kernels, well-drained

Oil a 10" cast iron skillet and place it in the oven while you heat it up to 375 degrees F. Whisk the dry Mix ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk or blend the wet Mix ingredients together and add to the Dry Mix. Mix briefly and pour into the hot skillet. Bake 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 198.4 calories; 21% calories from fat; 4.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 284.2mg sodium; 345.9mg potassium; 35.7g carbohydrates; 4.0g fiber; 8.2g sugar; 31.7g net carbs; 5.6g protein; 3.6 points.

Made with Bryanna's High-Fiber Gluten-Free Flour Mix:
Nutrition (per serving): 217.3 calories; 21% calories from fat; 5.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 285.5mg sodium; 337.8mg potassium; 39.4g carbohydrates; 3.6g fiber; 8.2g sugar; 35.7g net carbs; 5.0g protein; 4.1 points.

Enjoy!

Italian kale from our garden patch

I have to tell you that DH and I are NOT gardeners! We both don't like gardening much (I'm almost afraid to admit that around here!), and our soil is very rocky, but DH has made a fertile little patch and then we grow some hot-weather plants in pots on our back deck-- enough to keep us in fresh greens, herbs, and tomatoes for the summer and fall, with a few things in the freezer.

Below are some photos of our VERY modest little veggie patch, and potted plants on out back deck.




A view of some of the plants on the deck (tomatoes, peppers, basil, parsley, etc.)


Basil!

More greens:
Beets

Chard

Russian kale

While I'm at it, here are some views of the woods and greenery around our house:

View from the back deck


View from the living room window

**Back to the eating sort of greenery-- I picked a big bowl of mixed greens the other day and at the same time made a batch of my lower-fat guacamole, and then I had to figure out something to do with them that didn't involve tortillas or tortilla chips (which I didn't have on hand). So below is what I came up with, and it was good!

Below that are some family photos.:)


Masa Crepes with Green Filling, Topped with Black Bean and Corn Salsa and Lower-Fat Guacamole (UPDATE: the recipe will be in my new book coming up at the end of  August 2011!)



And now, proud Nonna has to show off a little!


My granddaughter H. at her piano recital.

5-year-old grandson L., seen here playing swordsman, is now reading whole books by himself!


Here he is playing hockey for the first time:


Two more granddaughters (who are stepsisters, one already 10 and one about to be 10) got their yellow belts in tai kwon do on Saturday:

Going through their paces:



F. doing her high kick.


M. doing her high kick.

Proud moment!

F. on the far left, and M. on the far right.

Enjoy!

It's a bit cooler than the other day, but still definitely salad weather! And hearty salads are great for the Weight Watcher's Core Plan, which I am following just now. I made a wheat berry salad (I'll post that later in the week), but I wasn't sure DH would like it, so I wanted to make an interesting potato salad as a back-up. It was both delicious and eye-appealing.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S POTATO, ROASTED CORN, AND BEAN SALAD
Serves 12

4 lbs. new boiling potatoes or red-skinned potatoes, peeled (cut into same-sized chunks if too large to cook whole)
2 c. shelled frozen edamamé (green soybeans), or baby lima beans (or use shelled or frozen baby peas)
4 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels
2 medium onions, thinly sliced and soaked in boiling water to cover for 10 minutes, then drained
NOTE: I only had regular onions, and this process makes the taste much less strong. I you want the onions really raw, use a sweet onion instead.
1/4 c. cider vinegar
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1/4 c. minced fresh tarragon (or 4 tsp. dried tarragon)
2 medium ripe, firm tomatoes, diced
CREAMY VINAIGRETTE:
1 cup aquafaba or Fat-Free Oil Substitute
1/3 c. cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 c. Tofu Mayonnaise or my Lowfat Eggless Mayonnaise (here's my new version with no extracted oil) or use reduced-fat (though higher in calories than the above) Veganaise

Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until they are tender, but still firm.(OR micro-steam them in a covered microwave-safe casserole for 8-10 minutes-- no water necessary.) Drain in a colander and peel them with your fingers under running cold water (or leave the peel on, if you prefer-- I did because I like the color of the pink-red peels).

Drain them again and cut into medium dice, or thick slices, as desired. Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with vinegar, onions, tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cook the beans in boiling water to cover for about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain well again. (NOTE: If you use frozen baby peas, just cover them in boiling water and let thaw, then drain.) Fold the beans into the potatoes.

Spread the corn (thaw the frozen kernels in boiling water, then drain first) on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil from a pump sprayer. Spray the top of the corn with a little more oil. Broil just until the corn starts to brown and char a bit around the edges and on top.

To make the Vinaigrette, whisk together the Aquafaba or Fat-Free Oil Substitute, the vinegar and salt. Add the mayonnaise and blend until smooth with a stick/immersion blender (or blend in a blender or food processor).

Pour the mixture over the potatoes and beans and stir gently, sprinkling with pepper to taste. Add the diced tomatoes and stir gently; taste for salt. Place in a serving bowl and refrigerate until serving time. Serve on crisp romaine lettuce leaves, if you like.

Nutrition (per serving; made with my homemade Tofu Mayonnaise):
223.6 calories; 3% calories from fat; 0.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 328.0mg sodium; 1120.5mg potassium; 49.4g carbohydrates; 5.8g fiber; 2.7g sugar; 43.6g net carbs; 7.2g protein; 3.7 points.



Enjoy!